Lesson learned

[jgerardo]

The scariest thing happened yesterday. I was moving some tables and chairs that we have from the porch to our living room. As I was bringing them in Luna got scared and flew out the door! I was in shock because he cant even fly all he can do is glide downwards. He cannot fly up! But the wind took him up I guess. I ran out as fast as I could and my eyes were searching frantically for him. But he was not in any of our trees he was not on the fence. My heart sank. How could this be?

 

I take him out sometimes without a harness (rarely) because he has never shown an interest in flying. But he ended up flying out the door and landed in our front yard. I quickly went to him and picked him up and took him inside. Thankfully he did not fly away but I wanted to share that experience with others to avoid losing our beloved friends. Even if they don't fly instincts kick in. Never think that it won't happen to you. That's something I will never forget.

[Muse]

An excellent point. And clipped wings don't matter. Marden was clipped when he flew clear across a large backyard to land on a six foot high privacy fence. He'd started out in my lap - only a couple feet off the ground. A startled bird can have beyond-normal strength that can overcome the lack of surface area due to missing flights.

 

I am glad it ended well. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with others to help prevent this from happening to someone else!

[2birds]

The same thing happened to me years ago. I was about 18 or 19 and I was babysitting my mothers amazon for the week. She was out of her cage all of the time except for at night. One day I went to go in the house and my little dog came running down the stairs to greet me as I was opening the door. The dog flying down the stairs startled the bird and she took off out of the door. Fully clipped wings and all flew right up into the tree in the front yard. She sat up there on that branch chatting away and laughing at me as I was thinking about how my mom was going to kill me. Luckily I was able to get a ladder and climb up there to retrieve her.

 

I'm so glad that you got your bird back, so many don't.

[SRSeedBurners]

The thing people never realize is, just like us, these birds have an extra gear when the throttle is wide open. It's something you only see rarely. All three of my birds have startled me with their impressive flight abilities when they are scared. GreycieMae went by me in the hallway one day sideways because something spooked her in the birdroom and she got out of there. I was underneath the light so she couldn't go above me. It happened so fast and she was gone, if that had been a door to the outside she would never have been stopped.

[Inara]

Tough lesson learned, and an excellent reminder that birds F L Y. HRH Inara's former people used to take her outside without a harness because, like you, they thought that since she had never shown an interest in flying and only "flew downward," that she was perfectly fine to trot out upon their shoulders. Imagine my dismay when they told me that. Not to mention, we live in a state that has tons of falcons and hawks that can and will snatch a bird from a human's arm or shoulder.

 

Even seasoned bird people can make mistakes, but this is one that should never be made. Good post, and am so glad that it all worked out well for you!

[Acappella]

So relieved that this worked out ok. So many people don't believe the power these so-called non-flighted birds can put into flying when something startles them. Thank you for taking the time to describe what happened so that others can learn from your experience. Beak kisses for Luna from Dorian and I.

[katana600]

Thanks for posting this. We have a rehomed parrot with damaged wings. She reportedly "can't" fly according to the previous caretaker of 2 1/2 years, word from the one before that, my vet's assessment and what we have seen. I've often been tempted to leave her out of the cage while we come and go with the dogs but keep all these surprise, startle flights in mind. We take the extra step to close her cage door before opening my front door or we come a d go through the garage. It would be too much to contemplate her being outdoors and defenseless where I couldn't get to her or keep her safe. Your experience reminds me to be vigilant and never say she "can't" fly.

[kins2321@yahoo.com]

All with such excellent posts! What a relief your baby is home and safe. We are all missing our Kiki, who pulled out the cardboard next to air conditioner and flew off! Sean still hasn't forgiven me. Nancy

[JeffNOK]

I am glad your story ended well. My CAG is flighted, so I try to be extra diligent whenever a door opens. But the unexpected can happen. Once when I was driving with Gracie, she somehow opened the door of her travel cage and attempted to fly to my shoulder. Had a window been open she might have been gone. Despite our best efforts, accidents can and do happen.

[neoow]

Blimey! So glad you managed to get him back so quickly without incident!

 

Fortunately I've never been in this situation myself, as Alfie is always in his cage when the doors and windows are opened. However, it would only take me not shutting the door properly or leaving a food bowl hatch open etc. I managed to do that once actually- I didn't shut a food bowl hatch properly and he got out into the house whilst I was at work.

I was at work and got a call from my sister to say he'd gotten out and was in the kitchen. Worryingly enough, she had opened the back door for the dog before she realised Alfie had escaped!! Fortunately nothing came of it and he stayed put. I know she wouldn't have forgiven herself if he had decided to fly and had gotten out - even though it wasn't her fault at all!!

Needless to say, that was a warning enough. I double check all food bowl hatches and doors nowadays!!!