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Conference 7.286::pet_birds

Title:Captive Breeding for Conservation--and FUN!
Notice:INTROS 6.X / FOR SALE 13.X / Buying a Bird 900.*
Moderator:VIDEO::PULSIFER
Created:Mon Oct 10 1988
Last Modified:Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:942
Total number of notes:6016

760.0. "A very close call!!!" by GERBIL::DUPONT () Mon Jan 04 1993 18:51

    
    
       Today I was working in my office where I keep 
    my birds. I let my four Finches out for exercise.
    I went upstairs for a quick break and when I came
    back down I couldn't believe my eyes. 
    
       As I am an avid fisherman I had some leftover
    shiners,(bait fish), from this weekend. I was keeping
    them alive in a cooler on the floor. My male society 
    had somehow fallen into the water!!!
    
       He was floating but looked terrible! I quickly wrapped
    him in a warm towel as the water was very cold. After an 
    hour the poor little thing was unconscious and barely 
    breathing. Out of desperation I held him in my two cupped
    hands and kept gently blowing my warm breath over him.
    Very slowly I saw improvement and after an hour of this I
    happily report that he flew back into his own cage, (must 
    have had enough of my breath ;-)
    
      As I write this now a few hours later he looks fine.
    
      These little guys are like kids- you can't expect them 
    to avoid danger & accidents! I have spent many hours watching 
    these guys fly around my office and would have bet a hundred 
    dollars that there was no way one of them would end up in the 
    water! My assumptions almost killed this guy :-( 
    
    
    chet
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
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760.1SAVED BY A BREATH!BRAT::BOURGAULTThu Jan 07 1993 13:4826
    You are lucky, and a quick thinker.    It is amazing what birds can get
    into in a very short period of time.  I have a Yellow Front Amazon that
    virtually never leaves his cage top.  however one saturday morning
    about 3 years ago,  He was in the kitchen on his cage and I was in the
    bedroom and heard his wings flutter.  Now he was always flapping his
    wings in exercise so for a split second I didn't think much about it
    then I just felt that something might be wrong and I ran in the kitchen
    to find him on top of a small space heater -which was quite a distance
    from his cage, and his back tonail was hooked on a small slit on the
    top and he was hanging over the front right near the flame.  I quickly
    rescued him and luckily all he got was very slight singe on one of his
    feet, it stung for about a half hour and he kept nibbling at it, even
    though I immediately ran it under cold water, but not long after that
    he was talking up a storm.  I WAS INDEED LUCKY THAT DAY,  it taught me
    a lesson I never forgot!!!  They are like perennial 2 year old.  You
    always have to watch them.
    
    I heard about a Bourke parakeet that drowned in a glass of water!!!
    
    I bet many other noters experienced fatal or near fatal accidents.
    By talking about them it helps us to take the many dangers into
    consideration when letting our birds out for exercise.
    
    Thanks for sharing your traumatic experience with us!
                               
    Denise
760.2Cats + Birds KERNEL::WITHALLGPerfection in Near Human FormMon Aug 23 1993 15:3620
    
    Reminds me of a situation a couple of years back ...
    
    
    The lovebirds decided to push the tops off the feed bins and have a
    stroll around the top of the cage....
    
    The cat thought all her birthdays had come at once !. I was upstairs,
    heard a very distressed call, not from the cats lunch but from the
    mate. I flew halfway down the stairs and dived headfirst the rest of
    the way, grabbing hold of the cats back legs as she was on her way out
    of the cat flap.  The bird was dropped and he ran off back into the
    front room and flew back to the cage ... <phew>.
    
    It took me three times to get my aim right before the cat finally left
    head first through its cat flap landing ten feet out in the garden.
    
    ps: I don't need telling that cats and birds don't mix :-)
    
    Gary
760.3Cats and lovebirdsRAGMOP::COMPTONThu Aug 26 1993 19:057
Hi Gary,

I've had a lot of birds have close calls, since we have five house cats,
but the only bird I actually have lost was a lovebird who pushed the
door open over the food dish......I clip shut all the drop doors now.

Linda