Dealing With Natural/Other Disasters

[Sally]

This subject was brought up in another topic, and it is a good one for a discussion. Everyone should have a plan on what they will do in case of emergency--fire, tornado, hurricane, etc. Everyone also should have instructions on care/handling of their birds/pets in case of medical emergency.

Number one in my estimation is having a contact list, phone numbers of friends who could help in an emergency. This was brought home to me when my nephew once asked what he was supposed to do with all these birds if something happened to me. His first thought was to turn them all loose outside! People who don't know anything about birds often assume that this is the natural, kind thing to do. They don't realize that these birds are used to having breakfast in bed, so to speak, they don't have to forage for themselves. They also may be a species that can't survive in our local climate.

And this is one of the benefits of a local bird club. One phone call, and I know the word would go out, volunteers would appear, I would not be alone.

So let's hear from the membership. I think between this group, we could come up with some great ideas. My worst nightmare would be having a stroke, being totally aware but unable to communicate how to care for my pets. Fortunately, I have a great pet sitter who could step in and care for my pets/birds short term.

[mayble]

Excellent topic Sally.
I can't wait to see what folks have to say.

[Nerien]

Everyone should have written instructions that someone else, anyone else, could follow to take care of all their animals, and anything else about their house as well.

Four years ago last December, my husband dropped me and my then 7 year old daughter off at her dance studio for the first of several rehearsal sessions throughout the day, as it was a week before their big Nutcracker performance. The studio is 4 miles from our house.

An hour later, he came back to get us until it was time for her next session. Because the little parking lot was so full, he was parked at the edge of the road, facing away from home. We decided to go that way, and circle up through town to get bagels from the bagel shop on the way. It was just starting to rain, and about 40°F.

Little more than a mile down the road, an oncoming minivan lost control (the SOB was on his phone) and came perpendicular across the road, about 10 feet in front of us, at 35-40 mph. There was enough time for my husband to shout "what th...." and we were crashing. We t-boned into him, then the crushing mass of both cars spun 360° and slammed us sideways into the guard rail, then the other car spun, slammed the side of my car again, and spun off 30-40 feet down the road. We were five miles from our house. My just turned 12 year old son was home alone.

I spent 2-1/2 weeks in the hospital. Hubby had a severe concussion, had to have surgery a few days later for his shattered wrist (which then took 4 more surgeries later on), my daughter broke her arm and was bruised badly (thank heavens for the booster seat!). My brother took hubby and the kids to his house an hour up the highway for 10 days until hubby was coherent enough to handle things at home himself.

It was quite a scramble to get keys to friends, get instructions for taking care of the animals straight (we didn't have half as many, then), houseplants, what to do if the power went out (we have well, ancient pump, septic, etc) and people lined up to take care of everything. And all that had to be done on top of taking care of injured people, planning surgeries, taking care of the kids and school and holiday parties for them (their life and family was just shattered, so it was important for them to be with their friends and get to follow through on the fun plans they had already made).

You never think it will happen to you. We sure didn't. We were five miles from home. We were laughing, then we were crashing and somehow lucky enough not to be dead, in just an instant.

So yes, write up instructions, talk to someone about them so that even if they can't take over, they know enough to be able to tell someone else how to do it. If you don't have someone who would notice if you suddenly ended up in the hospital and weren't at home, put a card in your wallet saying that you have pets at home and who to call to get them to take care of things for you. You just never know.

(And please use proper car seats and booster seats for your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, etc. And stay off your phones while driving. It does make a difference, maybe life and death. The first few days in the hospital, I had a 1 in 4 chance of dying from my injuries. Because that b****rd couldn't stay off his phone, my kids almost lost their mom less than 2 weeks before Christmas, and our life has never been anywhere near the same.)

[Angela&Shalamar]

I have emergency numbers for my emergency pet person posted in my kitchen and she has a house key. It's also someone a number of my other friends know how to reach as well.

[cindy]

I have my daughter who was taught how to care of the birds...she is also a vet tech at our avian vet/vet's office. She has stepped in and helped many times when needed. She also has access to our bird group on facebook and friends should she need help or finding homes for the birds in case of a tragedy.

As far as a natural disaster such as a hurricane, we have a hurricane shelter at my husbands office we can use...moving birds in small cages to the shelter if we have to. Prior to a storm and during the summer months we stock up on dry good, water, batteries (supplies)dog foods, birds supplies, storing seed in water tight containers. If we can ride out the storm if not bad we make sure the room is secure and safe for them.

We had to prepare for 5 hurricanes in one season....we had it down pat by the third one. Organization is a must in certain situations.

[fhgwgads]

Nerien it really does happen that fast... and out of nowhere. I was in an accident a few years ago. I was going to pick up a friend from work at the mall not even a mile from home... it was around 9:30 at night.. the mall was closing in 30 minutes. This woman in a mini-van flew out from a side aisle going 50 mph and flew right in my path. I was going around 30-35 mph.. and t-boned her.. but I was in a Subaru. One minute I am driving and the next second I see a van flash in front of me. My brain did not even have time to comprehend.. I didn't even have time to hit the brake.. though I did instinctively. The next second I was sitting there confused... a second later my face and neck hurt.. and 2 seconds after that my lungs burned (the car was older so the chemicals they used in the airbags got into my lungs). For a minute or two I did not even know what to do. I turned my music down... I sat there... I looked for my phone in the console.. which had flown onto the floor by my feet. Then suddenly two guys came running over to me saying, "Get out of the car... get out of the car it's smoking." If those people hadn't been there I'd still be in my car. They asked me if I called 911.. I honestly did not think to.. but by the time I did and the ambulance got there.. my phone died and I was alone at the hospital. Thankfully I did not have any pets at the time.. but you NEVER know. A lot of people may think that they have control of the situation... I can control a car very well.. better than a lot of people I know... but that does not stop others from breaking the rules. And with ANY disaster.. it isn't always down to just you. There are so many other people in the world.. there are natural disasters.

Thankfully I have my boyfriend who could always take care of the birds.. and if anything I would have to find someone to take them. If it were a situation like a tornado someone else experienced or a fire... I don't know what I would do. I can only imagine I would be trying to grab all the birds and take them with me. I don't even want to imagine If I had time I would move them all to the smallest cage and bring them with me and sort it out later.. if I didn't have time for that.. I would just try to take them all. Most of my cages have handles on top.

[finchmix22]

Wow, Nerien
What a traumatic series of events. Glad all of you survived.

Cindy
Do you have time to catch finches in the aviaries? To put in smaller cages?

Here in Texas, the most common and destructive weather is tornados, with high winds and hail and/or thunderstorms the next worst. We usually don't have time to do anything but get into the middle room of the house, maybe with out cats and dogs, but there would not be time to get any birds.
We keep bottled water and canned foods in case of emergencies and no water etc.
The other recommendation, is to keep medications in a water/fire safety box, in case you need to "grab them and run or leave asap."
Unfortunately, if we keep meds for emergencies, they expire before there is an event and they cost money. So, I'm not sure of the best answer.

My biggest concern is for the finches because I know family or friends would be able to take care of dogs and cats. Finches is another issue.

I have told friends to contact the finch forum and members who live nearby if there is a tragedy and I am not around, but I don't know if they'll remember. Therefore, something in writing where others can easily find the information in case of tragedy.
Wow, lots to consider.

[finchmix22]

Ashley,
You are right. These things happen so fast and usually when we don't expect them. I couldn't grab finches, since most are in flights and the safe room for tornados is not large enough for me, two teens, two dogs, four cats, plus 60+ finches in cages. Wow, I wish I had a safe aviary building, if there could be such a thing.

[fhgwgads]

finchmix22 it's true we all have our natural disasters based on where we live. Here on Long Island.. if there is ever a tornado people are running around trying to see it... because it's so small and never happens. But we do have hurricanes. Thankfully we were ok for the last one.. and I didn't have the birds then. My biggest fear would be a fire. I think it's a good idea to have people contact the forum as long as they know how to get on and post. Even if they can message the first person they see and explain and have them contact someone. Of even if everyone found a person on here that would be a contact for them in case of a dire emergency to help post or something. Leaving a written list of instructions, the website, username, password, other users to contact. And hopefully it would never have to be used!! I would certainly volunteer for anyone in my area to take care of birds!! And even for my friends far away I would certainly volunteer a person to coordinate a post to help them find people in their area if they weren't capable of doing so themselves!

[finchmix22]

That is what is so great about the forum! We have tons of members who care and are willing to help however they are able.

[Nerien]

We have blizzards and the occasional hurricane up here, severe thunderstorms, too, and most of the time you have plenty of warning for such events. After the last couple of years, we now have a generator and several electric heaters, so warmth is not a problem. We store bottles (big bottles, too) of water, and keep food you can cook on a countertop appliance on hand, because we can plug those into the generator, and we do okay when the power goes out, having had the experience of three separate weeks with no power, two of them in the winter.

I used to work in industrial chemistry research. Huge facility, lots of labs, two small pilot plants onsite, lots of very dangerous stuff around. Every month we'd have a safety meeting, which included results of the monthly safety inspections, new rules and regulations, review of incidents, and then some sort of safety program. Several of these programs were on fire safety, as well as yearly fire extinguisher training, where we each had to put out a fairly large gasoline & rag fire in a pit out back to make sure we knew how to properly handle the situation & full-sized extinguishers. We saw several videos on home fire situations. Cigarette or something left smoldering in a trash can or fallen beside/into the couch. Smolders for hours, then finally, suddenly, a small flame ignites. Then it grows. It spreads. Once that first little flame happens, a fire feeds itself so quickly, the smoke builds, the heat builds, that you have no more than two minutes to get out of there before the air itself in that room will kill you from the sheer heat of it alone.

If you have a fire, you will not have time to catch birds and put them in a small cage. If you are not next to your smaller bird cages when you see the fire, you will not have time to go get them. If carrying the cages is going to slow you down on your way out of the burning building, you may just not make it.

Don't kid yourself that you will have time to rescue your birds and still make it out alive. If the fire is small enough that you can put it out with a home extinguisher or pot of water, you need to be doing that, not trying to catch panicked birds. If it is not that small, you need to just get out as fast as you can, because you really won't have more than about 2 minutes before conditions are not survivable. If it should happen, I don't know if I'd ever get over the guilt of losing all my precious pets to the fire, but there is no way you should expect to or try to save pets instead of yourself. And if you don't get yourself out, some fireman is going to be risking his life trying to find and save you.

Tornadoes you might have time to take action. Hurricanes and blizzards and thunderstorms, yes. But don't mess around in a fire. Just get out. I'm sure by now there are plenty of videos on Youtube showing what happens in a house fire, if you don't believe me. Just get out.

[fhgwgads]

Nerien I have fortunately never had an experience with a fire before. I have had friends who have.. and I know that you can never, ever predict what you will do. I cannot imagine how fast fire spreads because I have never seen it.. even with being surrounded by friends and family who are or were in the fire department. I am sure.. faced with the situation.. it would be different. I had a friend who was asleep and his place caught fire and he was trapped in his bedroom.. the place was almost gone and he jumped out the window breaking both his legs. The instinct to survive is incredibly strong. I just can't imagine the situation. I do have two fire extinguishers thankfully! But no amount of fire extinguishers can prepare you for a fire. Just like no matter how many people think, "Oh, if a car comes at me I will just swerve out of the way really quick". No. You won't. And until you are in a car accident you won't understand that. Being as prepared as you possibly can is the best you can do! Which is part of why my worst nightmare would be a fire! Because to me it is the most catastrophic situation I can think of for myself and probably many others! That is exactly why it scares me so much, and I have no idea what it's like to experience something like that.

[wildbird]

This is a great topic! Your life can be instantly changed by an accident. A beautiful Memorial Day weekend turned into a nightmare for me. Parked at truck stop in North Carolina, I had just put the bath dishes in for my two English Sparrows, Sweetheart & Little Bird. I decided to walk to the truck stop. Near the entrance a speeding car came out of nowhere. All I remeber was seeing the hood & thinking "where did this come from". I was thrown under the front wheel & the car came to rest on my arm inches from my head. A witness came to my aid. I told him my birds were in my truck & they would die if no cared for them. He immediately offered to take them and care for them. I had instructions for there care and contact information for their vet in an envelope on the dash. Included was a power of attorney for the birds to be transferred to my vet if needed, but I was over 1000 miles from Lake Worth, Fl. I went into surgery & was hospitalized for 3 days. During this time Ray & Lydia Ellis took excellent care of my birds, even calling the vet for further instructions. They visited me in the hospital & I stayed in their home until a relative came for me. I also credit the police officer who came to the hospital to tell me that the birds were taken care of & give me contact information. Someone was watching over us on that day. Presently, there is no one where I live in Ocala, Fl., who I can count on in an emergency. People I have known for some time have either moved away or are in failing health. I do keep instructions in an envelope marked "In Case Of Emergency" near the birds. There is one breeder in the area, but he has indicated that he is planning on retiring and selling out. I also have instructions in my vehicle & wrapped my drivers license in note paper alerting anyone that there are birds in my home that will need care. It would be great to have a place to post emergencies only involving the care or transfer of birds needed due to a catastrophic event. It's definitely worth discussion.

[finchmix22]

Wildbird
That is a great idea to keep something in an envelope about the care of the finches or something with your ID etc. All I have right now is the Pet Sticker the fire department gave us for dogs and cats. I wrote in sharpie there are 2 dogs and 4 cats, but I know they won't try to get cats, who probably will hide under furniture. I could save my dogs because I keep them crated at night and the leases are by their crates. The finches would take too long to move the cages or flights if there was a fire. If there is a tornado, we're all in danger, since there are not enough spaces in a house that are safe during a tornado. So, only my two kids and myself can fit easily. If we add the animals, it will be a very tight squeeze.
I try to keep bottled water and non-perishable food around, as well as extra mediation, if possible. I was told to keep a small bag with underwear, socks, shoes, medications, etc. You can grab it as you leave your room. The problem is I think in a panicked situation, I'd probably forget the bag.
I have instructions for care of all my pets on my desktop on the computer. I have a friend who has access in an emergency. I think that giving a copy of the instructions to the vet, neighbor and friend is probably a good idea. Also, a contact for the finches, such as someone who knows about finches and bird care near our homes or on the forum. At least, whoever tries to take care of birds, pets etc if we were in the hospital would know where to go for help and information. I know I'd be happy to help anyone in our metroplex area in an emergency.

[wildbird]

I would add "BIRDS" to the fire department sticker. They won't even know they are there if you don't list them. There's always a chance they could be saved, if someone knows they are there. If there was a fire & I knew I couldn't get them out, I would open the cage & house doors at least giving them a chance to escape rather than being trapped to die in a fire.