zooman Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 hello everyone. it's been a while since I've posted but I do come on time to time and read your posts whenever I have a chance. I want to share my absolutely scariest 3 days of my time with my TAG Zuri. I've had Zuri now for 4 years and honestly the first 2 he was clipped and couldn't fly. I let his wing feathers grow in after to allow him to be a true bird and until last Friday I didn't regret it. I decided to take Zuri and our dog Zoe to the park to get fresh air and sunshine. we live in Canada and summers are too short. I have a custom (bird safe) travel carrier made from a large cat/dog crate. enough so that Zuri can get sunshine as we live in a condo so I do not have a backyard. Well anyways we were having a good time my wife and I and didn't realized he had chewed through a corner of the screen and was wedging his way through the hole. I have been using this carrier for 3 years so never thought of it. he got out and climbed ontop of the carrier and to my horror he went to fly to me but caught a gust of wind and set him away to the left. he began to climb and tried to turn back towards us but must've panicked and sped up and kept gaining altitude. he started heading for a deep forested area and I took off to track his path. unfortunately I lost him because I couldn't see over the trees, I ran as hard as I could around the bush to the other side and began the search. we searched for almost 5 hours to no avail. I went through the bush and my wife the surrounding area frantically looking for Zuri. his last direction was south and we figured he must've kept going that way. I never realized how great of a flier he was til that day. his stamina must've been great with the last 2 years training of flying in our condo. It was getting dark and we went home and printed 50 copies of flyers and posted them everywhere in the neighbourhood. we woke up and sunrise after a sleepless night and began calling him and ringing his fav bell in the area. we searched all day again and broadened the area. our neighbourhood is filled with forest and nature areas so it was no easy task. the dread set in as we have countless raccoons, hawks, cats, crows ive seen, we kept hope. again a horrible sleepless night now with sunburn. this night it got cool around 17 degrees celcious. sorry don't know the conversion to Fahrenheit. day time temps were in the high 30's again celcious. it was now Sunday morning and I'll be honest I was thinking very bad things for him. we this morning now gone door to door at sunrise and put flyers in people's mailboxes. thinking maybe someone has him in their backyard and don't realize what he is. we came home at noon exhausted and empty. my eyes were dry and painful from the crying for 2 days. at around 1pm we got a call asking if we have found our parrot. we were so excited to get a call but it wasn't that he was found. we again felt despair. not more than 30 mins later our angels called. she said we think we have your parrot!!! my wife hardly knew what to say and forgot to get her address she was soo excited. we raced out the door. when we got there it was Zuri, exhausted dehydrated but aliveeee. he only had a slight scratch over his right nostril probably from landing in a tree. these wonderful people said they were asked by their neighbour to help Zuri because she had to get to church and didn't know what to do with him. he had flown to her porch that morning and wouldn't leave. the husband didn't know if Zuri was tame and put a stick for him to step on and Zuri instead stepped on his hand. he brought him into their home and feed him sunflower seeds and water. he then went to the local store to see if there was a poster and there was ours. what's amazing about this all is that Zuri had done a complete 180 turn back from the direction we saw him go. he was now less then 1 block from our building. it was almost a mile back from where i last saw him and over a very busy highway. when she told us her address we were in shock. I thought he would be miles away not a block. he knew the direction but since we were in a building he couldn't pinpoint where. but since we take him to both our in laws homes he must've felt the drive to go to a back porch course this is my common sense thinking only Zuri knows. the lesson of this story is never give up on your bird and don't tunnel vision one direction they may go. like Zuri he may just have enough instinct to go the direction home. he slept most of the day Sunday and made us tear when he told us at sunset "time for bed" just like normal and it was a sight and sound for sore eyes. today he has bounced back and been 99% of his normal self. we are just soo happy to have our little guy back into our family! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katana600 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Wow. There is nothing as harrowing as watching with horror to see your beloved out of your reach and in a danger zone. I commend you for the tireless efforts to locate Zuri and I think I would have to sleep for a week to get over my own shock. Well written. Congratulations on your reunion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 His big scary adventure, a genuine relief that he is well and home safely. Great use of posters and luck, happy happy for you both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I am so happy this had a good ending as I feared the worst but yes it does happen and you are very lucky to have Zuri back safe and sound, bet you went right out and bought him a new travel carrier he couldn't chew thru so he can still continue to enjoy his outings in the fresh air and sunshine. So glad you shared your story with us as a warning it can happen at any time and also for persistence paid off with his return home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I am sooooo happy you got your boy back!! We had something similar happen with my previous grey. My exhusband was watching the kids while I was out had taken Garth out on the porch, he spooked and took off. He was gone for 5 days and was found sitting in a bush near an office building 2 blocks away. Thank dog they called animal control who then in turn called me. I broke every speed record known to man driving over there to see if it was my bird. I know exactly how you felt and exactly how you must feel having him home again... I'm crying happy tears for you, so very happy he's home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 That is one of the absolute worst feelings in the world. Every minute's an eternity. I'm so-o glad to see that Zuri is safe & sound! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooman Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 thanks for your kind words. yes it was an absolute test of my will and optimism. and yes I will be looking for a new travel carrier. when I bought him I had 2 choices one very girlie one with flowers or a plexiglass one I felt may be too hot to have him in. but after this weekend I will have to invest in the new backpack ones. he is bouncing back really well and trying to give him his fav treats get his weight back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 If it helps, I have a King's aluminum carrier. The things are very expensive. But they are very sturdy & that's what I love most about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooman Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 I have seen those. they look great. is yours heavy? we typically walk to a nice trail and fields and sit out in the sun and shade with them so I wanted something I'd want to carry a little distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 A little heavy. I have the medium carrier which is a nice size for both my grey & my ekkie. I've seen other members post about using it for camping trips. So, I guess it depends on the size of your muscles. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooman Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 lol def not Hercules. just awkward carrying bulky cage. the carrier I was using worked til Friday. the backpack one looked like he wouldn't get the uv and large point of bringing him outdoors. I'll look into it though I have a TAG so maybe the small version is enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingy Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 The small version will not be large enough for a TAG. I have the medium pack and Jake is a petite TAG at 290 grams. He wouldn't have room to move in anything smaller. Honestly if your baby is a chewer you might want to go with the Kings travel cage especially now that he knows he can chew his way out. You could always modify a large backpack to hold the carrier or better yet use the frame for an Alice pack or something similar. If you would rather push than carry you could modify a childs stroller to hold a King cage or even use a wagon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWIX Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Ohhh, what a story! This made me cry and happy at the same time. I am truly happy you found your precious Zuri, and i hope this will never happen again. He is really cute when he said: Time for bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooman Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 wow great idea wingy about the backpack idea. although have to be a modified one with vents all around, your getting my building brain going. his carrier now is a modified cat one where i cut window holes all around and put bird safe mesh, but he never chewed it until that day. weird isnt it? I was throwing the ball around to his sister a miniature pinscher so im guessing he wanted to play too. and twix yes it was cute and made me tear up too since he hadnt spoken a word all day, think he had a sore throat anways poor guy. so the "time for bed" was a little hoarse lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarasota Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I He was gone for 5 days and was found sitting in a bush near an office building 2 blocks away. My heart races just thinking about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darwinsmom Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I He was gone for 5 days and was found sitting in a bush near an office building 2 blocks away. My heart races just thinking about this! It was AWFUL!! I was so upset and so angry at my ex for taking him outside. Every time I read about a lost bird my heart breaks and it takes me right back to those days I thought Garth was gone forever. I plan to keep Zulu flighted, but I have to tell you the thought of accidental escape out an open door just terrifies me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now