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A back up plan for your birds/pets


Shelly Yokum

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A back up plan for your birds/pets

 

Just something I saw on the famous face book!!. Do you have a back up plan for your birds and / or other pets in case of an emergency? Personally I had thought about this, but not really thought about it. In my case, this kind of worries me, since I live a lone.

If you have a fire or flood, can you get your birds to safety? If your not home is there some around that could and would get your pets out of the house? Most people are scared of the big beaks, and my cages are to big to just push out the doors, in a trailer. If you have a power outage, do you have a way to keep your birds safely warm or cool? If you have to be in the hospital for a while, do you have someone that could take care of your birds right away?

I can't answer yes to any of these questions as of today, but you can bet this will change. Now that it has my attention.

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Great question Shelly. I too live alone and have three parrots so I have thought about and figured out what to do in each situation. I have three easy to assemble collapsible large travel cages that are stored in the birdroom and if there is a fire, because smoke is so deadly to our feathered friends; I would just slide open the bird room window and pop the birdies in their travel cages out the window onto the ground. I have an emergency travel parrot bag which has freeze dried veggies, pellets, seeds and water packed in it at all times. Out the window it would go too. My Lily, pug, is usually close to me so she is the first out the window or door. I always keep blankets and water in my jeep which is usually full of gas so I have a quick way to get out of the area in case of a flood. I can see the Columbia River a highway and two streets to the south. In case of power outage, I have a pet friendly propane emergency heater and cooking facilities also within quick reach. Lots of lanterns and flashlights and candles and emergency radio. I have family in the area to stay with if necessary. If I am not home I have neighbors who are friendly with my parrots and who have handled them and have access to my home if necessary. They would get my pets out of my home and would watch out for them. Same neighbors would also watch my pets if I am quickly whisked to the hospital at least until my kids in the area can come get my pets. In case of my death, my son is looking to BBQ my parrots and my daughter says she will be posting on the Greyforums for possible new parronts for my flock. That's right, my children are not parrot lovers!!!!! They are cat lovers!!! LOL!!

Edited by luvparrots
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I have some plans in place, but have not done as thorough of planning as luvparrots. As far as care were something to happen to me/us, my family is all animal lovers, so they'd probably fight over who gets what. ;) An actual in-home emergency is my weak-point and I appreciate the reminder to get on that (never updated plans once we moved from our apartment many years ago).

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I have actually had an electrical fire when I was home, as well as my son. We quickly evacuated birdroom. Tore the " crap" out of the hardwood floors. Got the dogs out. When the fire department arrived... they asked if they were at the " webster Zoo!" ( NOT funny!) It worked out well. As far as willing my birds to others, Sophie is taken care of. Ryan needs to take Sunny, Sean to take Kiki. Nancy

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Yes,this is a much needed thread to think about. I have my 3 birds willed to 3 of my kids, but I think I want to rethink who gets who.....also, need to have an emergency plan other than my travel cages at the foot of my basement stairs. It saddens me very much and breaks my heart to imagine my birds having to go thru the rest of their very long lives wondering what happened to me.....did I abandon them? When will I come back? Will I ever come back? After all, my birds are so young, there is no question they will live a lifetime without me. I know they will miss me and miss the life they have with me that no one else will provide in doing the 'little' things we do together. Their routine, the things they are used to.......I feel very bad that I will be, in their eyes and hearts , just deserted from them......there are times I wished I had given more thought to what will their lives be like without me, was it fair to them........don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I am their best parront, and that no one else will give them a better life, but I worry what their lives will be like. What if my kids get so busy with their lives, they leave them in their cages most of the time, etc. I hope not, but you,can't predict the future....seeing as my kids are still teens and young adults....they have a long time before they settle in with their lives..........

 

So, yes, I am worried, concerned, and do need to put plan in place...:(

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Yes how true Penny. I too know that my birds will also outlive me. I am 65 old and my older parrot just turned 4 years old. I have promised my oldest daughter that I will be looking for new parronts for each of my parrots, as my children are not bird people. My daughter has promised to find them all good homes and to give them away rather than sell them. She is like me, pets are special and re-homing is not for profit. I am still hoping that a grandchild or three will want to have my birdies in the future. I'm not going anywhere for now!!!!!! LOL!!!!

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I have often wondered about this. Austin is only 5 and my plan in the beginning was to let him grow up with the birds and they could be his for life. It worry's me what if he don't want them when he is older, then what. I just though he could see what was done for them and keep it up once I am gone. I am 39 and will have a birthday soon. I worry, if I go before he is 18 I really haven't found the right person to take care of him, and the people I concerned wouldn't have a messy bird let alone 3. I thought the transition of being with Austin wouldn't be as hard as going to a stranger.

Living in a trailer, I don't have a lot of room and their taxi cages are in building right outside, but I couldn't get them in a hurry, so after thinking about all this, I need to bring them in and just stack them in a corner some where I can get them.

You all have done me a world of good, knowing that I am not the only one that has these thoughts

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Everyone needs to have detailed emergency plans. I suggest thinking it through and coming up with a what to do binder with tabbed sections on how to handle various emergencies, by season if necessary. Look at your location and determine what types of emergencies are most likely fire, flood, wind, snow, power outage, tornado, earthquake. Now make your lists.... what do you need, what needs to be done, who's going to do it, when and any not to do's in case your not home and someone else is following your list. Your final list for each section should read like a check list with the most important on top.

Edited by Wingy
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Wow, you are incredibly organized. I can see how that would help. When we te snow storm or power outage warnings, I have a list in my head that I dictate on the phone, and of course everything is usually ready, flashlights, extra batteries, water, food etc. I recently had a big generator installed and wired to my home as recently, we were without power, phone, etc for 6 days. The worst of that is we have a well, and septic, so no water or toilet flushing, AND we have horses requiring an incredible amount of water daily!

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Here is a little story about how helpful the binder was. The kids were

teenagers and home alone. The NWS issued a warning for an unexpected early

season snow storm. I was able to call home and have the kids use the check list

to get things ready. By the time I got home the flashlights were on the

charger, the box with winter gear was brought out, kids rooms were cleaned to

avoid tripping hazards, glow sticks were placed in rooms in case the power went

out, garbage cans were in the garage, everyone had gotten a shower, cell phones

and game units were charged, and the steps were salted. I feel that I took away

the scary and added organization because everyone that was home could work from

a list and didn't have to think at a time when action was needed. The list

helped me because I was able to focus on getting home instead of thinking about

all the things I needed to do when I walked in the door.

Wow you are organized, good for you and I am bad about being organized but we all should be prepared for whatever is the most likely to happen according to where we live being it hurricanes, floods, blizzards, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires or other natural disasters. I vow to do better.

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I'm not near as organized as you are Wingy, but I do have a binder. It mostly consists of skills like cooking with out power, what to do in case of shelter in place for hazard leaks, and other things you need to know in an emergency. I also have a kit with things I need for every season. I keep a bag packed for my dog and it's with his travel cage in a location where it's easly accessable and planning to do the same with Elly May when she gets here. I have back packs with importaint papers and a little food and water for me and my husband incase of evacuations or fires. We keep 3- 65 gallon water barrells in the garage, full at all times, and it came in handy when we had a pipe bust and couldn't get a plummer here for 2 days! You would be surprized how fast 65 gallons goes. But hey I had a shower everyday! The weather in Kentucky can be quite unpredictable no matter what the time of year. We had an Ice Storm (it was supposed to miss us by miles), Major Flooding, and a Hurricane in the span of a year here. Yes I said hurricane in KY, I can't remember which one it was, seems like it was Ike. My daughters that live about 80 miles north of us were with out power for over 2 weeks, and none of them were prepaired, even though we told them they needed some kind of plan in place. With all the earthquakes, tornados, and other things that mother nature has thrown at us lately I would be scared to death if I didn't have something put back.

 

Thanks for bringing this subject up.

Kim

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