A Frightening Accident and Lesson to All.

[Talon]

Lately when I am in the kitchen, Rikki has taken to attacking boxes of pasta or anything that has RED on it. I usually keep a spray bottle near the stove as this keeps her away as she hates it. Tonight I hadn't noticed it was gone.....I had a pan of boiling water on the back burner, Rikki was on my shoulder as usual...(for the last time when I'm cooking). When I poured the pasta into the boiling water, Rikki dove at the box and pasta pouring in, she went into the pan of water!!! I instinctively flipped the pan of water and pasta over to get her out......she flew off to her cage in the darkened room. There was hot water and pasta everywhere in my kitchen, counter, floor, pouring down the stove, etc.

 

She seems to be okay......no blistering of her foot that hit the water. She has some wet spots on her body that still feel pretty warm. I checked her skin and it seems ok. She is a bit subdued right now, she just wants to be with me. I will keep a very close eye on her. She is still flying and had some pasta with us for dinner.

 

 

 

What a frightening scare. from now on, she will be put in her cage when I am cooking. We are so lucky it wasn't worse........:huh:<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2010/01/04 01:31

[dhorje]

That is what we do. Cocoa is always caged when my wife is cooking.

[Luvparrots]

I'd kick you in the seat of your pants Penny, but I believe you have already done that 10-fold. :dry: Thank you for sharing this with us. Such a scary reminder of how curious our sweet greys are and how vigilant we much be at all times to keep them safe. They so want what they want when they want no matter what! Your quick mind and fast reflexes saved Rikki from a terrible scalding.

[judygram]

OMG Penny that was a close call, glad to hear that Rikki is ok, she could have been badly burned.

 

Sunny does stay on my shoulder when I cook and sometimes Josey is nearby on a playstand but she cannot fly so I never have a problem with her but if and when she does gain her flying ability I will have to cage her when cooking.

[danmcq]

OMG Penny, what a scare!!!

 

Your quick thinking and fast reflexes saved Rikki from a serious burn.

 

Very good lesson for us all.

 

I know how watchful you are over your flock. This just goes to show. Even though we think "It will never happen", BAM!

It happens.

 

Thanks for sharing this.

[Talon]

Believe me.....I feel horrible..... :(

 

This is something I have always done, cook with a bird on my shoulder.....not because I want to, because one will always fly to my shoulder when I am cooking. Usually I engage them by talking to them as I'm cooking to distract them from wanting to go after what my hands are doing. This usually works well, but tonight, I was distracted and quiet....

 

Talon has been taught that "HOT" and "DANGER" when said, means she is to stay away. Rikki after a year and a half of hearing this, finally understands......I neglected to say anything when I was cooking the pasta tonight....:huh:

 

Rikki is in bed right now. Some of the skin on her foot is red....I will watch for any signs of it worsening or infection as I worry about. It doesn't appear she is bad enough to see a vet, but if anything changes, we will go immediately.

 

Having the time to look back, I'm quite upset and feel so bad for her. She relies on me to keep her happy and safe.....I failed her and the consequences could have been tragic when I think of the suffering she could have gone thru because of my negligence..... I will not allow her in the kitchen again while I am cooking for her own safety.

 

Thank you everyone for being here for me. No one else who doesn't own birds would ever understand.<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2010/01/04 03:05

[katana600]

I am so sorry for what you have gone through. It takes a lot of courage to share with us when you feel so bad about what happened. It does help me to keep this in my mind when I think I will only be a minute doing something and don't want to fight a bird to get her in the cage while I am doing something dangerous. Your experience gives me strength. I hope Rikki is okay tomorrow and hope you aren't too hard on yourself because mishaps happen to the best of us.

[lovethatgrey]

Did you try applying some aloe vera on the affected area? Even though there may be no visible signs of pain..I would imagine the area is quite sensitive and probably painful since there was contact with very hot water from what you posted.

 

Thanks for posting about this. What a fright! (((Penny)))<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2010/01/04 06:10

[jessdecutie18]

Everyone makes mistakes, even the best Thanks for sharing your mistake, don't get yourself down about it. Just thank goodness you had fast reflexes and were incredibly lucky! It's a reminder to us all that you never know when something might happen if you let your guard down!

[JillyBeanz]

How frightening ~ we all do it - we all cook with them on our shoulder - I'm guilty of it too.

 

At least you were there and your quick actions deflected a serious incident. I'm sure it was such a shock to you (and Rikki) ~ but just shows how easily accidents can happen in our "safe" homes.

 

Hope Rikki is okay x

[pearllyn]

What a scare for you.

I'm afraid I have to put my hand up too and admit to Alfie being in the kitchen sometimes while I cook.

I hope Rikki is ok and the only lasting affect this has on her is to keep her away from pans! (Although I don't imagine she will get the chance!)

Don't be too hard on yourself - accidents are just that.

x

[casper]

Penny, I really hope Rikki is ok today, I will be thinking of you both and pray her foot will be fine:)

[Greywings]

It took courage to share that story, the flip side is that maybe some one will take the lesson offered and keep their own birds safer because of what happened. Hope Rikki heals quickly and do let us all know how she is doing. What a scare!

[rbpittman]

Penny, thank you so much for sharing and for having the courage to do so. My husband didn't understand why I was always so upset when he would cook with Dixie on his shoulder - she loves him so much and he loves having her near. After reading your post, he admitted he thought I was over reacting to the possibilities and now understands how quickly things can turn for the worst. We're praying that Rikki's foot will be fine and thank you for sharing this with us, even if one grey owner makes a change, it is worth your efforts and determination to prevent other's from making the same mistakes. You've already helped my family and flock.

[danmcq]

Good morning Penny.

 

How is Rikki's foot looking today? I hope it is just superficial and perhaps a little Aloe Gel will sooth it. :-)

[Debandbella]

Poor Rikki, i hope shes feeling better and youre calming down from the shock!!!

[Janfromboone]

Thanks for posting this. It may keep another bird from having the same experience - but not as good of an outcome.

[she]

Penny, I hope all is ok today.I hope everyone learns a very valuble lesson.

[Talon]

Hi everyone. Sorry for not updating sooner. It was a long work day. When I got Rikki up this morning, she seemed happy. She really wasn't too hungry tho...she was talking. When I held her, the bottom of her Left foot felt really hot, that's the one she keeps holding up. I felt bad I had to go to work and couldn't stay come with her. when my daughter got home from school, I called to check on her, she thought Rikki seemed ok.

When I got home from work, she was glued to me. She kept on my shoulder and when I would sit still, she would go to sleep. She ate dinner with us and she continually kept fluffing up her feathers, I knew she was uncomfortable. I just put her to bed early as she was so tired. I feel so bad for her, she really seems to not be feeling too well tonight....I will see how she is in the am. Her left wing has some messed up feathers from where it went into the water.... :(

 

Thank you to all for your kind words and concern. It really is nice to have this family to share our ups and downs with. Others who understand.....:huh:

 

I will update again tomorrow. Unfortunately, Monday and Tuesdays are my long work days.....:angry:

[judygram]

I hope Rikki is feeling better tomorrow, poor thing but don't feel so bad, you did what you had to and probably saved her from what could have been much worse.

 

Let us know as soon as you can how she is.

[ecodweeb]

Oh Penny, I do understand how you feel right now. I felt the same after the beak clipping incident with Talula.

 

You earn karma for posting what happened. Karma to you for a lesson learned.

 

I concur with aloe on affected areas, Rikki will appreciate it.

 

(((((Hug)))))

[Jayd]

Are prayers to you, just read the post. For accidents like this, our vet told us to apply "Neosporin Cream", Cream, not Ointment!!! It's safe for birds.....We have the same worry with Spock, he hates red also...Jay and Maggie... :(

[Luvparrots]

Praying that Rikki is okay and all is fine.

[Joolesgreyuk]

Don't beat yourself up about it Penny - there but for the grace of God as they say, accidents will happen at the most unexpected times. I'm sure you are feeling terrible but Rikki's injuries do seem to be pretty light, all things considered. As others have pointed out it was very brave of you to post about this and I know you did so to prevent this happening to others, therefore you have my my karma for the day too. ;-)

 

The main thing now is to ensure Rikki's swift recovery. Did you try the aloe vera gel? Jayd's suggestion of Neosporin Cream also sounds a good one. Please keep us updated.

[Talon]

Morning update! Just got Rilli up for breakfast. She ate some oatmeal, a little peanut butter toast. She prefers to just stay on my shoulder and preen. She is somewhat quieter than usual. Just wants her mommy...

 

I haven't put anything on her foot, I can't see anywhere that it might hurt her, and I know she would just lick off whatever I put on it. It seems to be the bottom since she holds it up sometimes. Also what ever I put on it would come off as soon as she perches somewhere...:huh: