How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

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Tabaneske
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How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Tabaneske »

Here is a webpage I found that may be helpful for people in risk zones, like flood, storms or fire disasters.

I found it very useful information to know as I am in a bushfire risk zone.

Hope it help you guys.

http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/how-to-e ... e-seconds/
Donovan
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Donovan »

this is an interesting article, thanks for posting it.

About a year ago I had a kitchen fire that was quickly getting out of hand. I went to the room where my bird is (I only have one bird) .. he's flying around enjoying the sound of the fire alarm. So since I opened the door the smoke was suddenly in that room pretty thick. So i'm trying to catch my bird that is fully flighted and pretty much has his own bedroom and of course he was doing everything he could to get away.

At one point I caught his foot but let it go because i didn't want to break his leg.. then i caught his tail and pulled out 3 long tail feathers and he just kept going.. eventually he hit a wall and fell down to the floor and i was able to grab him up, shove him into his cage and get him outside to the fresh air.

(i didn't start the fire btw haha) ..

Fact is.. one minute i'm sitting around minding my own business, and 15-20 seconds later the house is full of smoke, the power went out, and i'm trying to catch a bird who is freaking out.

I wonder if it's possible to do panic drills with your bird .. (i seriously doubt it).. they're pretty adaptable to things in a controlled setting. Maybe it's possible to teach them what to do (like go back to the cage) when you're freaking out.
InTheAir
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by InTheAir »

Interesting. .. my emergency plan involves shoving Sapphire down my top and grabbing Nila in my hand. .. Sapphire wouldn't like it much, but she'd get her own back while she was in there, I'm sure!

Donovan, I like to train my birds when there are lots of things going on outside that distract them (Thursday morning at 8 am there are rubbish trucks, every evening before night fall there are a million lorikeets coming in to roost).. if they learn it is more rewarding to be focused on me, even when these things are going on, it will prepare them to focus on me when there are other distractions too. Well, that's the plan anyway. .. It seems to be working so far.
But we have also conditioned Nila to be grabbed and are teaching Sapphire to accept it also.
If it was life or death, I'd just chuck a towel over her and work through the repercussions later.
MissK
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by MissK »

I can about guarantee that if I have to grab pets and go, ain't NOBODY gonna be happy with the treatment. But, my little birds have all made it through being caught in the hand without any big issues, and Rocky would just have to deal. I'd rather spend four months trying to convince him it was a bad dream than waste time "suggesting" he get in the travel cage. Life and death is, well, life and death!

That said, I'm going to get my fish pond net and place it with the travel cages.
-MissK
sanjays mummi
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by sanjays mummi »

I would definitely have to catch my monkey first!!, even if it meant towelling, but as I do not have a travel cage, I had better punch a few holes in a boot box! :lol:
InTheAir
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by InTheAir »

Missk, start training the rockster to accept being manhandled? It'll make vet checks easier for him too.
Donovan
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Donovan »

haha throw a towel at a flying bird.. he'll be 10ft away by the time the towel reaches the spot you threw it to
Tabaneske
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Tabaneske »

I do like how this helps for birds inside. But I wonder if it is the same principle for birds in a large aviary. It's harder to catch birds quickly in an aviary than in a room I think. But maybe I am doing it wrong, lol.
MissK
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by MissK »

For a room or an aviary, I really expect you'll end up with a net. Or maybe a bed sheet.

I could try and get manhandling compliance from Rocky, but I haven't got plain old touching compliance yet. Might come faster if I actually worked on it..... :roll: As of today, he'll stand on me and fly to me (in order to stand on me), but there is no such thing as me holding him. Just him holding onto me, the hand or arm or shoulder or head.

Today I had him on the edge of my upturned, open palm. I don't know why that is so pleasing, but it is. :D I can, once in a blue moon, pick him off the side of the Budgie cage by closing my hands around from the back and scooping, but he is not a fan. The motion has my thumbs meeting side by side in the center of his back. If I put him down before he's gotten over his surprise we can all live through it, but I'd be a fool to do it when it was not absolutely necessary.
-MissK
InTheAir
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by InTheAir »

Tabeneske, I've never seen anyone catch aviary birds quickly, even with a net! Maybe it would be possible with a net as wide as the aviary so they can't get past it :lol:

Missk, I love it when Sapphire sits on the open hand too! It's so cute.
You've seen my video of Sapphire doing her early manhandling training? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOGjb83bddE this allows her to get accustomed to being touched on her terms. Being comfortable with hands around her makes grabbing her less bothersome.
Admittedly, she is a girl and likes to borrow under us naturally. Nila also learnt that trick when he was little.

Btw, if you can arrange it, next time you grab rocky to scoop him from the budgie cage, try plonking him down onto a jackpot of his favourite treats. If the grab only is for a short distance this will help build a positive association, or at least somewhat negate the negative one! I usually do the grab with one hand and plonk them onto my other hand which has treats on it. I have used it on both birds, sometimes for training and sometimes because there is no room for negotiation when I need them to move ...
MissK
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by MissK »

It's a great idea! We'll do it eventually!
:D :D :D
-MissK
Donovan
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Donovan »

IntheAir, do you have other threads that detail that method for training them to be touched and grabbed?
InTheAir
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by InTheAir »

Donovan, no I haven't written anything about it elsewhere.
As irns aren't very hands-on birds it is important to use a very high value treat, something that really makes it worth their while.
I start by planning what behaviour I want to end with (in the video I want to be able to hold Sapphire enclosed in my hand), I then choose the smallest approximation of the trick I can think of - walking under a hovering hand that doesn't touch her, then the hand is offered lower so she ends up touching it when she walks under. When she is comfortable with that the fingers were closed slightly so she has to push her way in and so on.


Also check out http://www.goodbirdinc.com, one of Barbaras latest blog posts is on how to touch your bird. Her dvd on training for medical exams has a good break down on how to teach them to accept toweling.
Make sure you're starting at the smallest approximation and that the bird has room to retreat without flying away, if he starts to get a little uncomfortable. You don't want the training session to turn into a game of flighted retreat and recall!
Also, don't follow him if he retreats, get him back to the centre of the perch first and make a smaller approximation. Also pay close attention to how comfortable the bird is, it is no use advancing until the bird is very comfortable with the current approximation.

If you don't have a good grip on the theory check out goodbirdinc or a clicker training site first. It really is important to understand how to train effectively! I think Barbara explains the whole process and mindset very well with minimal jargon!

It's a very slow process and it important not to ever rush or force it. Though if you do have to grab the bird for some other reason outside of training it won't impede your training much, if you have got the foundation right and you are moving at the right speed for the bird.
Donovan
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by Donovan »

I apologize for taking this thread in a different direction, but i'll justify it by saying that the ability to handle or even pick up my IRN could actually help in an emergency :)

That being said, InTheAir, I tried your method for gradual touching. I am allowed to touch his beak already so there was at least a tad bit of foundation already there. I tried it first thing this morning. He bit me but not hard. It was just enough to tell me, "don't do that". I tried again about an hour later and it worked great. I can't say it resulted in me petting him but as he was reaching into my hand for his treat I was able to touch him with my pinky finger and it didn't bother him. I did this about 3 times with no issues. I'll keep doing it.
MissK
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by MissK »

Donovan, keep me posted there. I had a similar experience with Rocky as he was jamming his head into the treat jar while my finger was still in there. HE was petting ME with his head! :lol: :lol: :lol: I didn't follow up on it, though.
-MissK
sanjays mummi
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Re: How To Evacuate Parrots When You Only Have Seconds

Post by sanjays mummi »

I managed to stroke Sanjays back once when he was doing his "funny shape" thing, he turned very smartly ready to nip, and threw me a filthy look! :|
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