WARNING- excessively and unnecessarily long post... Sorry! My goodness! Im having trouble understanding the defensiveness, sarcasm and hostility of some people when others point out legitimate dangers present in their birds environments. Why on earth would a bird owner who loves and values his/her birds life and safety, be offended when someone points out a danger??? This is beyond my comprehension! I would hope that the safety of the bird in question would be of much greater importance that the owners pride. What ever happened to the concept of growth through constructive criticism? I remember, some years ago, posting a picture of my budgies eating. A friend, viewing the picture, pointed out that a clothespin in the background had been whittled to a sharp point (a detail I had somehow overlooked) by busy budgie beaks. She asked me to please remove the clothespin and replace it with a new, blunt one, as she didnt want to have to read one day of a budgie accidentally impaled on it. I remember feeling grateful that she had noticed the danger (which I should have perceived myself!), and exchanged the clothespin for a new one (which subsequently became whittled into a sharp point... you get the picture!) I learned that day, to keep a close eye on what my budgies are carving inside their cage!! This past Christmas Day, there was an incident at Parakeet Manor (a.k.a., my living room). It was a bright sunny morning, the first one in over two weeks (a Christmas miracle!), and the eight budgies were out, flying around, getting their exercise as they often do. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a large Red-tailed Hawk swooped down to my balcony for a Christmas morning visit. All of the budgies, seeing him through the large window, immediately panicked, seeming to fly everywhere at once. There were more wall and window strikes than I could count!! I think everybody smacked into something at least twice. With some effort, I eventually got everybody corralled back into the cage. Everybody *seemed* okay... but I read that after a hard collision, the absence of neurological symptoms is no guarantee that the bird will be fine; fatal cranial swelling can occur up to forty-eight hours after the initial trauma, unless the bird is taken to a vet and a steroid injection is administered immediately. Being that it was Christmas Day, the vets office would remain closed for twenty-four more hours, (and honestly, Im reluctant to trust the emergency vets in my area with my small budgies) so I had little choice but to wait, with a sick feeling in my stomach, watching constantly to make sure everybody seemed to be eating, drinking and acting normally, and nobody appeared to be sleepier than usual. Eventually, two days had passed, and nobody seemed the worse for wear and tear (except me, who probably sheared five days off the end of my life from worrying so much). My point in all this is: I would give anything to rewind time that morning, to the point where I could have pulled the blinds closed before letting the budgies out. Such a simple, obvious step... but I never thought there was a need to do it. My budgies know very well *what* and *where* the window is; they are introduced to it gradually when they are young. Over eight years, the birds have flown around my living room, quite literally, THOUSANDS of times; not ONCE has anyone ever hit the window. But, as I learned, all it takes it that ONE time, where circumstances come together *just right*, and in an instant, before one can even begin to react, tragic consequences can occur. I was lucky- the incident at the Manor served as a warning. I am keenly aware, however, how easily it could have gone the other way! If, upon seeing one of my pictures, someone had warned me, Hey, I notice your birds flying free with that *huge* unprotected window in the background... Dont you think you should pull the drapes/close the blinds, in case someone is startled and panics, flies into the window and brakes her neck?... Well, I would *hope* that I would have had the good sense to put my ego aside, say Youre right, thanks for the good advice, and remedy the situation. Instead, I learned the (semi-) hard way. Please, friends, lets all put the welfare of our feathered companions first and foremost (I know most do!), and remember that advice from others- no matter how bluntly delivered- is for their (our companions) benefit!! And if anyone ever sees anything in any of *MY* pictures that sets off alarm bells, PLEASE dont hesitate to let me know- I promise I will not be defensive!! Wishing everybody and their babies a healthy and safe 2015!!
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:22:37 +0000
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