Lucky Hen--Again!!

Post by **Sally** » Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:40 pm

Friday afternoon/evening I cleaned cages and water tubes, refilled all vacation feeders, and gave everyone spray millet in anticipation of being at the hospital for the next three days. Saturday a.m. I checked on everyone and gave them all some arugula. Saturday night I didn't get home till late, well after lights out in the bird room.

This morning, I fed dog and cats before jumping in the shower and getting ready to check birds, feed horse, and leave the house. While in the shower, I heard chirping, and thought those birds were at it awfully early. Then I realized that the chirping was far too close. Whipped back the shower curtain, and a bird took off from the top of the bathroom cabinets on the opposite side of the room! Dripping wet, I opened the door to the bird room and grabbed my net, hoping the bird would head into the bird room and company of other birds. No such luck, it flew into the open kitchen/dining room/living room part of the house. I couldn't find it at first, ran from room to room swinging the net, hoping to flush it out before one of the three cats or the dog spotted it and grabbed it. It finally was flushed out from the fake ivy that is on the top of my kitchen cabinets, and it flew straight down the hall towards the bird room. But did it go in? Of course not, it was clinging to the top of the door frame. One swoop of the net, and I had it!

Now to see who it was and where it belonged--a Purple Grenadier hen! This was a hen that was separated from her mate when he started picking on her, so she has been living in a nearby cage with a pair of Goldbreasted waxbills. I checked all over the cage, and I still cannot figure out what happened. Could she have gotten out when I cleaned the cages? Not likely, as this cage has one of those swinging gates where the tray pulls out, blocking the opening. Could she have gotten out when I put the arugula in? Again, not likely, since I pulled out the tray to put the arugula in, and the hinged gate would have blocked her (plus I would have seen her slip past my hand). Mesh is 1/2" x 1", so she could not squeeze through, and the vertical opening where a divider goes is too narrow. The only possibility is when I changed out waterers Friday night. I take down all waterers on one side of the room and replace with clean waterers, then repeat this on the other side of the room. On that cage, there is an opening for the waterer of about 1" x 2". She must have slipped out when that opening was empty for a short time, and I did not notice her.

I have no idea when she got out of the bird room, it had to have been Friday night or Saturday morning. How in the world she managed to escape detection by one of my cats is beyond me. And how she managed to stay alive all that time is an even greater puzzle. Needless to say, she was a pretty tired little girl (though not too tired that she couldn't fly around the house!). I'll bet she spent today telling her cage mates all about her big adventure!

Post by **lovezebs** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:01 am

Sally

Lucky lucky little bird.

I just wonder what your neighbors would have thought had they peeked in the window, to see you come shooting out of the shower, net in hand, to race around the house, with only a smile on

.

~Elana~

Post by **Sally** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:13 am

Good thing my house sits about 200' back from the street!

Atbird · Post by **Atbird** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:14 am

vienneparis · Post by **vienneparis** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 1:40 am

Sally
Lucky bird!!! Good thing neither the dogs nor cats got to her. My two dogs would have been chasing any stray birds around the house and into their mouth!

Post by **delray** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:18 am

Wow! Crazy story. Glad she's ok.

Post by **lovezebs** » Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:44 am

Sally

Haahaaha!!!
Have a wonderful day Sally, without any more adventures like that.

~Elana~

lnlovesorange · Post by **lnlovesorange** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 11:52 am

lovezebs I thought the same thing!!! About Sally running around the house wearing nothing but a (doubt it was a smile) probably more of a ....

or

I'm sure there were a few choice words too!!! But phew

thank goodness that little girl is all right!! And I'm sure that story she's telling is a doozy!!! Let's hope with the cats and the dogs, it's a doozy enough that the others don't try the same thing!!!! It's so strange, that she was out for 3 days.... The bird room is blocked off right? So if she got into the house on Friday, she wouldn't have had access to food or water for those days correct? This is a lucky baby, so glad the story ended this way though, as I'm sure so are you Sally!!!

Post by **Sally** » Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:30 pm

I think she must have escaped the bird room Saturday morning, and then I found her Sunday morning, so that would have been about 24 hours out. Still, no food or water set out for her. Dog/cats have a large self-waterer, but I doubt she would have gone there. Toilet lid was up, but I think she would have gotten too wet to be able to fly out and she would have drowned. This is when I wish I had nanny-cams on in my house, it would have made for an interesting movie! (Except for the time I was running through the house, no adult films allowed!)

Post by **Sally** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 1:43 pm

She did it again!! Escaped the cage, anyway, but not the bird room. I was just in the bird room changing out waterers. Took down all the waterers on the far side of the room and started replacing with clean, when I saw a male Purple Grenadier sitting on top of the cage that has my single male PG. Quickly caught him up, and looked to see where he came from. He had escaped from my double HQ flight, which is across the wall that is at the end of that far side of the room. I have no idea how he got out, but I put him back in with his other bachelor PG male and BCCB males.

Continued to fill waterers, when I saw ANOTHER bird sitting on top of that cage with the single male PG. Quickly caught her up, and realized that it was the same hen that escaped before. She is in a cage that adjoins this PG male's cage, but with a solid end so they can't see each other. She must have darted out that opening for the waterer again!

She was looking down at that male with longing, so I decided to put them back together if she wants him that badly! He immediately picked up a small piece of spray millet and started courting her. She was looking into the plastic plant, like she was looking for a place to nest, so I added a bunch of coco fiber to the cage. I really don't want to be tied down with breeding right now, but it is hard to ignore a passionate Purple Grenadier!

Post by **lovezebs** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 2:02 pm

Sally
Can't stand in the way of 'True Love' Sally

The heart wants what the heart wants.....

My concern would be, how are these little guys getting out of their cages. I am not at all familiar with the species, but are they really tiny , like Goldbreasts ?

~Elana~

Post by **Sally** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:32 pm

Actually, they are bigger than Cordon Bleus, so you'd think they couldn't escape. Not sure how the one male got out, but I do believe the hen has figured out that when I pull out the waterer, it leaves a hole in the cage front that is about 1" x 2", plenty big enough for her to slip through. He has tucked a bit of the coco fiber in the fake plant today.

Post by **lovezebs** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:42 pm

Sally

Coco fiber in the fake plant, eh?
If that's not love, than I don't know what is.
I think you'd better start decorating the nursery, my dear. Whether you have time for breedibg or not, I think I see little eggs in your future

.

~Elana~

Post by **delray** » Thu Mar 19, 2015 8:46 pm

That would be awesome if they successfully bred.

Rox · Post by **Rox** » Fri Mar 20, 2015 2:25 am

Pretty determined hen you have there

Holding thumbs that this all leads to them settling down and giving you babies!!

FINCHforum

Lucky Hen--Again!!

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