Phew! Close Call!

[MiaCarter]

One of my little gouldian babies scared the h3ll out of me yesterday.

They're in a 30x18x18 Petco cage. Lots of you have the same one.
There's a big middle door with a smaller door inside the big door. When you open the big door, sometimes the small one gets caught open.
I didn't notice it, but one baby had escaped the cage. I opened the door to the bird room and he flew up -- and before I could react to block him - right out past my head and into my great room -- a dangerous place with 16 cats wandering about and a whizzing ceiling fan!

So I'm frantically tossing cats into bedrooms and bathrooms, trying to get them all locked out of the great room. I figured I could get them cleared out faster than I could catch the bird with my high ceilings.

Incredibly, I got it done! I miraculously cleared the room of cats in under a minute! Not a single close call that I saw. He hung out on the one cat-inaccessible plant shelf above the bird room.

In five years, this has NEVER happened.
Usually, when there are birds flying free, I enter via the bathroom that interconnects to the bird room. It serves as a catch.
I've had large birds who let themselves out of the cage, but they're big and it's usually obvious that they're out and about.
This guy was sitting amidst the greenery on top of his cage, which is about 6 feet away from the door.

Thank goodness I don't clip their wings!
That's why I have a no-clip policy in my house. They'll need those wings if they ever get out of the bird room!

The real shocker was how long it took me to catch this guy!
He's a juvenile, about 6 weeks old now. He hasn't spent much time out of the cage. Only a couple days of free fly before I realized the parents were incubating (and when I have an incubating couple or chicks, I don't open that cage during free fly, as they tend to explore each others' cages and I don't want others disturbing them.)
But this guy was whizzing around like nobody's business for a good 10 minutes! And he was very good at evading my net.
I don't know where he got those strong flying muscles or the incredible agility. Usually the young ones tire within a minute or two and you catch them with ease. But not this little dude!

Thank *goodness* everything worked out nicely!
I guess I learned my lesson. No more entering via the french doors and double check the doors on those white cages!

[MiaCarter]

Accidental double post. If an admin happens upon this one, feel free to delete!

[finchmix22]

Whew! Close Call! I'm glad you caught him safe and sound.

[monotwine]

Little jet fighter pilot in his blood? Seems he likes risky situations and a dash of speed to go with it.

Glad it all turned out well in the end.

[Atbird]

Wow, I can just imagine the cats' faces as you were tossing them out. the shock of you acting in such a manner probably distracted them enough that I wonder if any cat even noticed a tiny little bird

[lovezebs]

MiaCarter
Oh Mia, that was a really close call. The hair on my arms rose to attention just reading about it. Holy crow, 16 kitties and one ambitious fledgling.

One of my kids pulled a similar stunt after snuggling in my hands. I was so used to them sitting in my hands, that I sort of forgot they could now fly. LOL, he went all over the kitchen, before I managed to grab him. Once back in my hands though, he was completely calm and content. But yes, they can sure fly!

~Elana~

[MiaCarter]

Atbird -- YES!!
I must have looked like a crazy lady!
My twits know the sound of beating wings, so a good portion perked up straight away and got that alert on-the-hunt look. And that made me all "oh no you don't!"
But a couple were dead asleep and very stunned I'm sure!

It was a crazy few moments. I'm sure I looked like a nutter.
The first thing I did was I grabbed a broom, as I have a big plant shelf that runs along one entire wall of my great room. (It's sort of a cut-out between the top of the walls and cathedral ceiling)
A bunch of cats were hanging out up there and I knew that was the only way I'd be able to get them down from there without a ladder!
So here I am, trying to herd cats off the plant shelf with a broom (worked nicely!)
I'm sure I was probably yelling, goodness knows what.
I'm picking up two cats at a time and hurling them into rooms, and every time I open the door, at least one or two try to run out.
All the while, I'm trying to keep an eye on the bird to ensure he's not actively being hunted.
Chaos!

At one point, I caught a glance of my MinPin sitting on the back of the couch with a head tilted and this look of "I'll be damned. It finally happened. Mom's finally lost her mind...."
It must have been a funny scene!

lovezebs -- I've done that too!
It's startled the heck out of me when you're holding a baby and suddenly, they fly up and start zipping around! You do forget they can fly!

I think this little guy must certainly have fighter pilot in his blood!
I was *shocked* how well he evaded me!
I've always feared someone would get out of the bird room, even with all my precautions and door locks and paranoia. I'm just SO thankful it didn't end badly.

[KarenB]

Yeah, whew.

I lost a society baby the other day moving all the juvies into their own cage. Last I saw him he shot behind Steve's cage. I hunted and hunted for him and couldn't find him anywhere, pulling out furniture and rearranging tables and odds and ends. I have up for a while and started cleaning cages. Finally as I finished cleaning the parents cage, out he shot like a cannonball from a high shelf into the adjoining kitchen. He was so stunned that I was able to pluck him off the countertop with my bare hands and place him in his new cage with his siblings. The dogs were oblivious, and the cat was asleep. Whew.

[Jen]

Wow...I bet that got the ole' ticker ticking!!! The same thing has happened to me with that little door inside the big door...So now I twist tie them shut because there are several on my cage and sometimes they get "stuck" partially open. It doesn't take much for the little escape artist to figure it out! I'm getting slower and they are getting faster! They will give me cardiac arrest one day...