THERE'S SMOKE IN THE AIR AND THE BIRDS ARE OUT AND HAVE REFUSED TO STEP UP OR COME FOR OVER AN HOUR! HELP PLEASE!!!

[StormyPica]

So, to start out with, I put the birds in the aviary, and they were fine at first, we did some recall, all was well. Well cut to 1hr later, there were some squirrels doing alarm calls due to a fox and the birds freaked out, and now (2hrs later) they are all calm but won't step up OR leave their perch. And my dad just decided that it's a great time to light the woodstove for the first time in a year, so smoke is pouring out of the chimney a about 30ft away and I am FREAKING OUT. When they got scared 2hrs ago, all I did was recall them and give them millet to calm down. I have tried bringing their cage to them, no luck. I have tried leaving them alone, no luck. WHAT DO I DO??? I'm worried they're going to get lung damage or get sick if they stay out there, plus it seems like they don't trust me now and I have no clue why...

HELP

 

[StormyPica]

@saxguy64 @foxgloveparrot @HeatherG @maddox

 

[StormyPica]

BTW, I never forced them to step up or come or do ANYTHING. Currently they are just vegetating outside in the smoke.

 

[Cottonoid]

Stormy you're such a conscientious animal caretaker

Have you ever had to catch them in a towel?

That might be the least scary-to-them way of getting them and putting them back in their cage?

I'm clearly not the expert though, given my last time getting Cotton is his carrier

If that doesn't work, do you have a fan that you could plug in to direct smoke away from the aviary for a bit?

 

[chris-md]

Take a beat, everything will be fine. This is not a panic situation. Your birds won’t die from this. They’re outside, well ventilated by definition.

That said, If EVER you feel like the life of your birds is in jeopardy like you feel today, THAT IS the time to either force a step up or towel in order to move. If your panicking, those “don’t force” rules go out the window where safety is concerned.

 

[foxgloveparrot]

Bribery treats?
Are they target trained?
I'm so sorry this is happening Ollie

 

[maddox]

I'm so sorry that you are going through this! I love that you care so much about your feather friends. There are a few things that you could try. A towel or blanket to catch them would be my first bet, and if that doesn't work, you could tape plastic trash bags on one of the walls of the aviary just temporarily to block some of the smoke. I really wouldn't worry about losing your bird's trust. They got spooked and are a bit scared, but nothing permanently damaged. Good luck!

 

[StormyPica]

Have you ever had to catch them in a towel?

That might be the least scary-to-them way of getting them and putting them back in their cage?

Yes, I have. I got Cossie and Apollo in, but Stormy is just way too fast... and it's heavily smokey. Like, harder to breathe smokey. I gave stormy millet, but he won't touch it. I tried to force a step up, but he just hopped right off again. I'm going to wait until it gets dusky, then try to grab him.

 

[StormyPica]

I took the cage and held it up and he hopped right in! It's odd, because I had already tried that and he totally refused, but I think he wanted to see the girls really badly and was getting a bit nervous and lonely out there. Plus, he showed that he forgave me for chasing him around and trying to catch him earlier by eating some millet from my hand.

You never know what sort of shenanigans will happen when you own a parrot!

 

[HannahandSunny]

I know you have already resolved your problem and got your birdos inside safely. But I just wanted to reassure you that the spoke *shouldn’t* cause any harm. My birds have been outside when nearby bushfires clouded the air. And now in our new property, our neighbour likes to have bonfires very regularly (annoying!).
Of course, if it was daily and constant..then issues would arise!

 

[StormyPica]

They're all OK today. They stepped up, recalled, and let me weigh them!

 

[StormyPica]

Coming in from the aviary today went VERY smoothly! Stormy hopped in the cage, followed by the girls.