Talon Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Well, a while back, someone started a thread titled In case of emergency.....something like that. Many of you offered great suggestions about what to have ready in the event of any emergency. Things such as food, travel cages, plans etc. Well, one thing that I am not so sure we all understood happened in my house tonight. I had been having trouble with my oil furnace today, it would come on and blow cold air only. I went down in to the basement and took it upon myself to try and push the button so the ignition would start up. Seeing as it was a Saturday I was happy to save a weekend emergency call to the oil repair company. I was going to call them on Monday morning. I only had to push the button twice throughout the day. It worked the other times. Late in the day, Nilah was chillin out on my knee as I was on the couch watching tv. I felt the cold air blowing out again, so her and I went down in the basement to push the button again.....we came upstairs, back onro the couch and was enjoying our tv show. I glanced out the back of my living room windows and saw a horrific amount of smoke, i jumped up, sending Nilah flying off and went out onto the back deck where I saw fuel oil smoke pouring out the vent of the house. I ran back into the house and shut off the furnace using the emergency switch upstairs. A few seconds later, the smoke alarms went off everywhere in my house. I ran into the basement to see if there was a fire and the basement had a lot of smoke near the furnace, saw no flames (thank god) and on my way upstairs grabbed the travel cages for the birds as I wasn't sure what would happen next. The alarms were still blaring, so my first thought was to get the birds put of the house into the car and back it away from the house if need be. Anytime prior to this when my Smoke alarms went off for any reason, the birds were either in their cages, or they were perched Somewhere up high in the house. They would copy the alarms, staying where they were until I shut them off. Here's the scary, shocking part: my birds would step up onto my hand when asked today, but we're so scared by the alarms, they would then fly off! It was very difficult and time consuming when seconds count to try and get them off the high perches and hold them tightly as I took them to their travel cages nearby and tried to stuff them into them before they could fly out again. it took me a long time to get the 3 of them in their cages while the alarms were blaring. It deeply troubled me....if god forbid there ever was a real fire, how would I get them into their cages when seconds count and flames are coming at you..... it makes me think we need to have a practice drill so they don't fear the alarms, my birds have never been fearful,of their travel cages, they love going off on an adventure in them, but with the quickness, and the alarms blaring, they KNOW something is wrong. Can't blame it on my fear, as I do tend to remain calm in these types of situations, the panic and fear sets in later... I would love to hear any thoughts and advice from others. I just felt is is a warning, no matter how prepared we are, we could never expect something like this to happen, how tragic this could be....:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 I'm glad to hear that everyone in your family and flock are all right. In a strange way this was a good thing, because it let you know what areas of your emergency escape plan you need to work on with your family and flock. I periodically test my smoke alarms so that my parrots are use to the sound of them. I will be gathering up my parrots in the next test to see how quickly I can get them into their cages in a noisy and stressful time. I have not tried that before, but Penny your thread has let me know that this is an area that I do need to work on. So thank you for sharing your experience with us and for the wake up call. I am so glad that all is well with your home and human and fid family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snoepgoed123 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 we have a wood burning furnace, and a few years ago the thing started smoking, nothing serious, just smoke, but it was enough for the fire alarms to go off. The fire alarms were so loud, that I wanted to get my chinchillas out of the house and used the opportunity to make it a fire drill... luckily they were so stunned, and sleepy, that with little struggle, I could get them out of the cage. Next time, weather permitting, I'll have to see how I can do a fire drill incorporating all 3 of the animals... But it is right what you're saying... it's one thing to have the stuff for an emergency... it's another to actually be faced in an emergency... and while just smoke alarms isn't an "actual" emergency... we need to get practice in acting like it was an emergency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 I will say, that my birds are used to testing smoke alarms and hearing them, so that isn't the issue, it was the 2 things combined, blaring alarms And being put in their travel cages. And as far as I'm concerned, a blaring smoke alarm IS an emergency and should be treated as such. That why you have them and when they detect smoke, it IS at harmful levels for our birds delicate respitory systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 19, 2012 Author Share Posted February 19, 2012 (edited) I had a friend suggest a giant butterfly net for quickly catching them.......? My 3 birds were scared, and I saw the fear in their eyes, but they trusted me as I convinced them it was ok to step up and all was well, but as soon as I took a couple of steps, their fear flight instinct kicked in and they were off flying.....on my second attempt to get them, it took a bit more convincing, then holding them tightly against my chest until I was able to get them to their carriers and locked in. Edited February 19, 2012 by Talon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Well, a while back, someone started a thread titled In case of emergency.....something like that. Many of you offered great suggestions about what to have ready in the event of any emergency. Things such as food, travel cages, plans etc. Well, one thing that I am not so sure we all understood happened in my house tonight. I had been having trouble with my oil furnace today, it would come on and blow cold air only. I went down in to the basement and took it upon myself to try and push the button so the ignition would start up. Seeing as it was a Saturday I was happy to save a weekend emergency call to the oil repair company. I was going to call them on Monday morning. I only had to push the button twice throughout the day. It worked the other times. Late in the day, Nilah was chillin out on my knee as I was on the couch watching tv. I felt the cold air blowing out again, so her and I went down in the basement to push the button again.....we came upstairs, back onro the couch and was enjoying our tv show. I glanced out the back of my living room windows and saw a horrific amount of smoke, i jumped up, sending Nilah flying off and went out onto the back deck where I saw fuel oil smoke pouring out the vent of the house. I ran back into the house and shut off the furnace using the emergency switch upstairs. A few seconds later, the smoke alarms went off everywhere in my house. I ran into the basement to see if there was a fire and the basement had a lot of smoke near the furnace, saw no flames (thank god) and on my way upstairs grabbed the travel cages for the birds as I wasn't sure what would happen next. The alarms were still blaring, so my first thought was to get the birds put of the house into the car and back it away from the house if need be. Anytime prior to this when my Smoke alarms went off for any reason, the birds were either in their cages, or they were perched Somewhere up high in the house. They would copy the alarms, staying where they were until I shut them off. Here's the scary, shocking part: my birds would step up onto my hand when asked today, but we're so scared by the alarms, they would then fly off! It was very difficult and time consuming when seconds count to try and get them off the high perches and hold them tightly as I took them to their travel cages nearby and tried to stuff them into them before they could fly out again. it took me a long time to get the 3 of them in their cages while the alarms were blaring. It deeply troubled me....if god forbid there ever was a real fire, how would I get them into their cages when seconds count and flames are coming at you..... it makes me think we need to have a practice drill so they don't fear the alarms, my birds have never been fearful,of their travel cages, they love going off on an adventure in them, but with the quickness, and the alarms blaring, they KNOW something is wrong. Can't blame it on my fear, as I do tend to remain calm in these types of situations, the panic and fear sets in later... I would love to hear any thoughts and advice from others. I just felt is is a warning, no matter how prepared we are, we could never expect something like this to happen, how tragic this could be....:( Because of the seriousness and potential extremely bad results that may occur, the only thing I would advise is for you to make this a sticky immediately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted February 19, 2012 Share Posted February 19, 2012 Great idea Dave! It's done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 (edited) A net would certainly work in the event of an emergency like you experienced. A note on what we do when we do not want our birds to fly once we have them on our hand. We place our other hand wrapped around their wings with thumb and index finger around the neck so they cannot turn their head and bite or fly off. A towel would certainly work in a 911 such as that as well. Edited February 21, 2012 by danmcq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks Dan. Great advice. I NEVER in a million years expected they would react the way they did when I asked them to step up and come with me.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Talon... when we had an electrical fire, we were lucky that both Ryan an I were both home.Shutting down the circuit breaker, solved the problem, but we didn't know that. Dogs to the car, birds were on their playgyms, I told them " in", they immediately went into cages. ( thank God!) I agree, they could have flown off. I like the idea of a butterfly net!We were lucky. Only damage was scratching the heck out of hardwood floors, as we dragged the cages out.By the time the fire department got there, we were all in the front yard. Safe! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darci Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I had a few fire alarms with my quaker and would have to run to grab a towel to get him out of his cage (something I would normally never do) so maybe a towel close to the cage is a good idea just in case? fire and air quality sensitivity means seconds definitely matter. My cats would run under the couch and I stayed to get them out. I think in a real alarm that could have spelled disaster but I could never just leave them. There was one real alarm and I saw the fire fighters come out with a garbage bag that had a bunny in it. super sad stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 I always keep the dreaded towel within reach for emergencies. You just never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Pillow cases are easily stored and work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 Its sooo important to have a plan in case of fire. My oldest can escape to lower roof thru his window, if he is home,Sean can throw out fire ladder. I haven't provided one for myself, but this just reminds me to get one. We have always planned for dogs in car, birds in cage.We use to practice when they were younger, including birds! Of course we planned on best scenario that they would jump in cage and cooperate.We were lucky that they all got along, and when I said " in", I MEANT it and they were trusting enough to know I meant it! It worked out, but I can see how birds would fly off! Towels, nets, whatever it takes, but make a plan everyone! Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 It's also prudent to have a "go box." (I'm sure this has probably been mentioned a scrillion times already. Ours has: 1 bag of our dog's food 1 3lb bag of Nutri-berries Several bottles of water a towel a first aid kit a copy of vet records on both Dezi and Inara + ID tag/band numbers a recent photo of each a reminder pasted onto it to get Dezi's medications Our human to-go box is similar with a list taped on the outside of it of things to grab in case of evacuation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 I really like the pillow case idea, then I could stuff them into their travel cages that I keep next to their cages easily. Also a box on hand is a good idea. I think we should all rethink and add to our plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giannine Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 I just posted a link to an article that specifically recommends keeping pillowcases in a designated spot where your birds are in the event you have to evacuate in seconds and cannot do so with kennels or carriers. Great tips in it: http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/how-to-evacuate-parrots-when-you-only-have-seconds/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 I think most of that is excellent advise! Although I do agree w/Penny that window signs are a mixed blessing. Also, I'd maybe suggest practice w/the pillow cases beforehand so no one breaks a blood feather in the middle of an emergency! And what about maybe replacing the elastics w/covered hair bands or those small bungee cords? Remove the hooks & knot them. Think the covered material would last a lot longer than simple elastics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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