Escaping Greys

[neoow]

I have seen so many posts on facebook recently about missing greys. In the UK we are in the middle of a heat wave so naturally doors and windows are being left open more often. Air conditioning in the home is not overly common over here as it's normally too cold and damp to need it. I've seen multiple lost/found bird notices being shared every day over the last couple of weeks and it saddens me every time.

I made this thread to try and start a discussion about how to bird proof your home to try and ensure your beloved birds are kept safe. Please feel free to make any recommendations you have and hopefully this will be a useful thread for bird owners or potential bird owners.

I in no way intend this to be a judgmental post or aim to make anyone feel bad if they have lost a bird before. I'm just looking for suggestions on how to try and prevent the worst from happening. I am in no way perfect myself... I once didn't close the food hatch on Alfie's cage properly and he spent most of the day flying around the house on his own with the dog until a family member came home and found him. The phonecall I received was thankfully to ask me to come home to put him back in his cage rather than to say the dog had injured him or that he had flown out the back door when it was opened to let the dog out. I was extremely lucky that day. I also was cleaning Alfie's cage out and took both of the bottom sections of his cage out when a cat was in the room. I turned back to see the cat wandering round the bottom of Alfie's cage with Alfie climbing around the top looking worried! Again... I was very lucky!

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I have two indoor cats plus Alfie at home, so I am always super paranoid about potential escape routes. When I moved house I invested in "flat cat" mesh (http://www.flat-cats.co.uk/) for several of the windows throughout the house and also the patio doors. This sticks to the window/door frame with velcro and allows me to open doors and windows then stick the mesh back into place- keeping the animals in and all the pesky bugs out. This allows me to let fresh air into the house and Alfie can also enjoy sitting in front of the doors getting a nice breeze (and some sunshine) without being able to escape. For those of you who are handy with a sewing machine you could probably make your own but I opted to have them made to fit my doors and windows as I didn't trust my own sewing skills!

I believe people also rely on their birds sitting on their shoulder or a perch happily and will take them outside in the garden in hot weather thinking they will just sit there and behave. It's only going to take one little thing to spook a bird off a shoulder and into a panicked flight. Even if a bird has had a wing clip, if they get enough of a breeze underneath their wings they will take off and can get stuck in a tree or fly quite a distance. I think it's safer to always take your bird out in a cage/travel cage or on a reliable harness (if they accept a harness).

Open doors and windows are a hazard at all times. Again, if your bird is spooked or just being curious it's only going to take them a matter of seconds to find themselves outside whilst your back is turned or whilst you are holding a door open.

I've seen other suggestions previously where people use chain/beaded curtains over their doors. This is enough of a barrier to prevent their bird from getting outside (and also helps keep the bugs out too)

Anyone else have any other helpful suggestions about how to keep birds safe and trying to prevent possible escapees?

[Luvparrots]

Screens on all doors and windows works for me.  I have had my flighted greys since 2007.

 

[SRSeedBurners]

Seeing as how you are in the U.K., you can easily get the chain fly screens over there.   They work wonders to stop a bird from flying through an open door.   This is what we used on the back door where I lost Tinkerbell twice.   Once I put the chain screen up, she won't fly through the door.   In case you're wondering, she flew through the door trying to find me.   Once I was in the back yard cleaning cages with the door open and she managed to pull her bird room door open and flew out of the house looking for me.   Fortunately I was about 50 feet outside and she flew right to me.  The second time I was going through the door and had no idea she was in the living room.  She landed on me as I was exiting the door.

 

 

Edited July 7, 2018 by SRSeedBurners

[judygram]

I too have noticed that it seems to be a lot of escaped birds lately and many of those seem to be in the UK and for exactly the reason you state, more open windows due to the heat wave.

I also have screen doors and screened windows but my windows are rarely open as its too hot in the summer, must run a/c as I can't take the heat like I used to. Our children are gone so we have no little ones running in and out but for those who do they must be vigilant about those doors when the birds are out and about in the house.