danmcq Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Wing Clipping and the false feeling of security..... Jake is gone and probably dead. :-( As I have read several times and therefore known this for a long time. A wing clip is no guarantee your Parrot cannot fly when frightened. Unless of course, you clipped to the point your Parrot drops like a rock, which would be dangerous to him. Jake my Peach Front Conure, flew off at 10am yesterday morning. His wings were clipped a few months ago. He could only maintain level flight for approximately 10 feet and downhill from there(apparently). We had Jake out on our Patio, sitting on top of his Cage under the water misters taking his morning shower which he loved so much. We have been doing this since April, when it became warm enough (80 degrees) to do so. I was sitting out with Jake watching him, when our Doorbell sounded it's tune and one of my Dobermans started running circles around the bottom of Jakes Cage (6ft tall) in an alerted fashion. Jake became nervous as I watched and suddenly flew maintaining a level flight about 30 feet to our 6ft fence landing feebly on the top and then losing balance and falling to the neighbors side; so it seemed from my view as I was already up and running towards the fence. When I got there, looking over the fence (I'm 6'3) and calling Jake. There were no squawks and no sign of Jake!!! So I went over into the neighbors yard calling for Jake visually scanning the ground, pool, shrubbery and tree's, with no sighting. I checked the other neighbors in back on a third house down with no sound or sight of Jake. He had simply vanished in an instant! I wandered around the entire neighborhood calling and listening for his squawk to no avail. I talked to neighbors and gave them his description etc. This was at 10 am and it was already 85 degrees and by 3pm it was 106. I do not imagine Jake lived through this heat as he was used to a normalized home temperature of 78. We continued calling him and watching trees, walking the neighborhood etc. the rest of day and evening. Weve had his Cage out in open view for him. Now, sitting here at 4 am, I hope, but cannot imagine that he is still alive, after 6 to 8 hours of 106 heat with no water or food source and that he will return or we will find him. But......I still hope, it hurts :-( The reason I posted this in the African Grey room, is due to the fact that this is more about ensuring your Parrots wing clip is sufficient enough that they can only gracefully flap down to the floor at a 45 degree angle and for ALL to check that regularly. Otherwise, the false sense of security you have, will ultimately result in your heart being broken and worse...The guaranteed death of your much loved Parrot unless found!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh Dan my heart goes out to you & Kim. What a deeply sad situation for you both.I know you are a wonderful & caring man & you have done everything humanly possible to find Jake.Let's pray that there may be the slimmest of hope that Jake has survived.You are in my thoughts. Thank you for finding the strength to post this story as a warning to others, as you correctly say a wing clip is never a guarantee that your bird cant fly well enough to escape.A very tragic story & i hope members take this as a warning, many say "oh it wont happen to me " but YES it can happen to you. For you & Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Sooooo sorry to hear that news, I will point my good vibes in your direction. I can't imagine how bad you must feel. Don't give up hope he WILL come back or be found by someone. Strange that you couldn't hear him making any noise. Let as many people in your neighbourhood know, you WILL get him back!!! Please keep us posted! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tari Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh no. Don't give up just yet. Keep looking. Make fliers. Widen the search. And your right even clipped a bird can fly a long ways. So clip and keep your bird inside is very good advice. Or use a harness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Monique Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh ... I am so sorry. Best advice is to NEVER have your bird outside unless it is wearing a harness or in a carrier. In this way you can allow them their wings and also ensure their safety. As Dan noted they can flight even with a reasonable wing clip under frightened circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh Dan, I am so very, very sorry. My heart breaks for you & Kim. I know you are doing everything humanely possible to find Jake. Please don't give up hope. He's probably tougher than you realize. Yes, I have always felt the way Monique does. You should never take your bird outside unless he is harnessed or in a carrier. When they are frightened, they are able to fly like you've never seen, even if they are clipped. Fear does that to them, so Dan, Kim, don't give up. My thoughts and prayer are with you. Please keep us posted when you are able, and thank you for having the strength to share this with us. We are all here for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RdnkParamedic21 Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh Dan & Kim, I'm so sorry to hear that!! Don't give up yet though, birds are super smart as you know so hopefully he is just hold up in a nice, cool bush waiting for you to find him. GOOD LUCK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Dan & Kim, My heart goes out to you and my prayers. Sorry to hear about Jake. Put his cage outside maybe he'll come back. Don't lose hope yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Oh Dan and Kim, I am so sorry to hear this, and it is your worst nightmare happening right before your eyes. I cannot imagine the grief you are experiencing right now but have faith. I am sure God is watching over your loved one right now and you will find him soon to be safe and sound. Know that if I lived anywhere near you I would come and help you search for Jake. I will keep you and Jake in my prayers and thoughts so you may once again enjoy his presence. Don't give up Dan and Kim, I know you will find him and he will be so happy to see you and then you let us know so we can celebrate. This does serve to alert us to never allow our bird outside without either a harness on or in a cage or other containment. I hope no one else has to find out what Dan and Kim are experiencing right now. Maybe by the time I post this he will be found, but I am expecting that post any time, I know you will find him, I have faith and so should you. Please God, bring Jake home safe and sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayosMom Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 We found Jake. We are trying to get him to come down. We took his cage out there, and he wants to come down. He is just scared. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayosMom Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 We have been doing this for 2 hours now. Found him about 6 a.m. Got within 10 feet, and he flew off again. Now no noises coming from Jake. About 7:30 a.m. we found him again. Dan is trying to call him out of the neighbor tree. This has become a block thing now. All the neighbors were looking for Jake. Now that we have found him, they are happy and waiting to hear of a happy outcome. We will be sure to let them know when Jake comes home. Dan & I both were sure he died in the 109 heat yeaterday. We felt like, Jake would have lived for 30 years if it weren't for us. Now we have sentenced him to a sure death. We both were heart broken. The happiness inside when we found him this morning was overwhelming. We will keep you posted. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Hi Kim taking his cage out is a good idea , Keep talking to him this will reassure him & help to keep him calm.Try showing him his favourite food. How far away from you is he ? I wouldn't attempt to grab him at this may startle him & he may well fly further off. Good luck please keep us updated.<br><br>Post edited by: lovemyGreys, at: 2007/09/02 17:59 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 All the time he is within Dans sight is wonderful,it's going to be a long day for you both, i hope that jake soon tires & gets hungry this may well spur him to come to Dan. Gosh my heart is in my mouth, I feel for you guys, Good luck Kim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted September 2, 2007 Share Posted September 2, 2007 Yes Kim. I'm so happy you've seen him. Follow Tracy's advice. Put his cage as close to him as you can without startling him. Keep talking to him and coaxing him down. Put his favorite things to eat out, maybe even on your hand and try and entice him. He wants to go home, you just have to reassure him that it is safe to do so. Keep at it,your patience will pay off in the long run. Don't leave him even for a second. He really needs you now. He's probably scared to death. Good luck! I'll be praying you get him soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 OK, I am SOOO happy you found Jake. Now we need to hear that you have secured him!! Many birds with clipped wings cannot/will not fly down to you as they are just not flight proficient enough to do so w/o major fear. We can hae more dialogue about wing clipping later... One of you may need to get to the pet store and buy a bird net. These can be affixed to long poles and could make it easier to net him if he's rather far off and still spooked. Oh I hope you can get him and believe that you will!! My heart and thoughts still go out to you until Jake is safely back at home. Keep us posted, I know you will.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Yes Mark, I like your idea about a bird net. It might just work if you can use it without scaring them. You just need the right technique, I'm sure Dan can figure that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayosMom Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Thank you all for our good ideas. I may resort to the bird net. Dan is out there 2 hours now. Jake wants to come down, but too high for a net. All we can do is wait, and keep calling him. He does seem afraid to fly down. Only prayers will help us now. He's just too high to reach. Can't climb the tree, its too small limb wise. Thought about calling the fire dept. Hahaha, that would be a bad mistake.............desperate. Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Would local animal control help??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falconeer Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 get a MAT or newspaper and spread his favorite foon on it. Let him see it. Maybe he will be hungry enough to come down for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayosMom Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 We have tried all this. The local Animal control is not service oriented. Dan has resorted to a hat, a chair, sun block, and a soda. He's parked himself close to the cae with all Jakes favorite foods. I need to feed Dayo and clean his cage. He is way past his meal time. So we will post later today. maybe with some good news. We also have company in the house. This is very difficult to deal with. Now that we have found Jake, what if he never comes down........... We put his playpen on top of a 40 foot pole, and that worked. But then it got caught in the tree, and Jake jumped off. Its now getting hot. maybe jake will bemone delirous from the heat, and fly down. 26 hours since he last ate or drank water. OOoooh, our nerves are working overtime. Till later, Signing off my friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falconeer Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 If it helps: Nature works wonders. He survived the night in the wild. I am sure he knows where to find food and water. Just stay with him. He WILL come down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 I think Jake is a little more resilient than you think, Dan and Kim, he has survived this long, chances are he will for longer. Just keep at it and you will finally get him to come down or figure out how to get him. At least you have found and seen him, and that is a good thing, I know you will get him back and I know this is tearing you two up inside but it will all be over soon, I know it. My heart tells me you will have him back safely in his cage before dark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayosMom Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Everybody............we are crying!!!!!! We called animal control, and they came out because a Parrot is a domesticated bird and very much not able to survive in the wild. WE HAVE JAKE and we aer all crying. He is very thirsty, and very hungry, but otherwise looks ok. We will get him inside and give him lost od TLC. Talk later. Kim If he were bigger we would hug him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trina Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 I am so happy for you! I was really willing it to happen. What a relief! Lots of love and have a bath and a good nights sleep... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 This is the best news and I am crying too, I am so happy you have him back in your loving hands, and the tears are of joy, hallelulah, Jake is home. See, I knew you would get him back, you just needed to have faith. Now don't let this happen again, figure out some other way to get him his shower without having him loose on the patio. Of course you don't need me preaching to you about this, but thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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