Budgie safety (do not read if easily upset)
Dec 13, 2019 18:48:21 GMT
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novascel likes this
Post by novascel on Dec 13, 2019 18:48:21 GMT
I recently accidently stepped on my own bird and killed him about a week ago.It haunts me everyday but I still have other birds I need to care for and I decided to learn from this and to try to best decrease my chances of repeating the same mistake or causing another death some other way.
Obviously you always want to be vigilant but I have put together this list of other ways you can also decrease your chances of accidently stepping on your bird when they're allowed out of their cage.Lots of others have made the same mistake I had and I noticed from many of them it occured usually closer to a door or involved a door so I will start off with cage placement.
1.Place cage away from door or in an area where you are less likely to frequent when you walk.
I think my mistake was placing the cage high up by the door as I was told they would prefer a cage high up where they can see everything and be more secure.It was too high.
I did have some parakeets who had unclipped wings and would fly rather easily to their cage.
but on occasion they would not make it and they would fall back and end up...you guessed it...right in front of the door.
And this was how my budgie had died.I believe he had tried to fly back to his cage and missed and so he fell down.
2.Avoid carpets or rugs that they can get caught on.
Another reason he may have died.
I had a pink rug by the front door to the bedroom that he could have easily gotten his claws tangled in.
the rest of my room is carpet as well but it's very flat carpet with nothing to get tangled with.
3. Find ways to keep them from going on the floor in the first place.
With the cage placement they tended to want to be up on their cage where it was tall and high up.
so I moved their cage to the other side of the room on bed level and added hanging perches from the cieling.They now have never gone to the door or feel the need to.I have a very small room so it was important I placed the cages as far away from the door as possible.
4.Installing a gate or other obstacles to get you to slow down/look at where you walk.
out of paranoia because he died by the door I ordered a baby gate a day after he died and have installed it by the door, one that you cant step over(so me or others dont get lazy)
It has a little gate that opens one way and this is important but you always make sure it has a little latch that prevents it from swinging back and killing your bird or injuring it.
I was able to realize this danger after seeing how fast some people can be about slamming open doors in the house and overall just being in a hurry.
The dangers of someone slamming the door open and smacking the bird or seriously injuring them would be super high without the baby gate security latch.It does not swing inwards where the birds are and you must step back and open it since you cannnot step over.
I plan to find other ways to force me or others to look down before attempting to enter the room.Or just slow us down.The slower you walk the more chances you have of surveying your surroundings and the floor.
5.Covering any mirrors close to the ground.
My door has a gigantic mirror.While my birds never really touched it I feel that its best to take the extra step.I covered it with pink removable wallpaper and covered any areas I couldnt with paper cutouts of birds I got from reusing a calendar from this year.Has a bunch of birds on it and its much better than throwing away a nice calendar with pretty images of birdies
So overall you can be creative about covering those dangerous spots that can potentially cause distractions or lead to dangerous situations for your birds.
Obviously you always want to be vigilant but I have put together this list of other ways you can also decrease your chances of accidently stepping on your bird when they're allowed out of their cage.Lots of others have made the same mistake I had and I noticed from many of them it occured usually closer to a door or involved a door so I will start off with cage placement.
1.Place cage away from door or in an area where you are less likely to frequent when you walk.
I think my mistake was placing the cage high up by the door as I was told they would prefer a cage high up where they can see everything and be more secure.It was too high.
I did have some parakeets who had unclipped wings and would fly rather easily to their cage.
but on occasion they would not make it and they would fall back and end up...you guessed it...right in front of the door.
And this was how my budgie had died.I believe he had tried to fly back to his cage and missed and so he fell down.
2.Avoid carpets or rugs that they can get caught on.
Another reason he may have died.
I had a pink rug by the front door to the bedroom that he could have easily gotten his claws tangled in.
the rest of my room is carpet as well but it's very flat carpet with nothing to get tangled with.
3. Find ways to keep them from going on the floor in the first place.
With the cage placement they tended to want to be up on their cage where it was tall and high up.
so I moved their cage to the other side of the room on bed level and added hanging perches from the cieling.They now have never gone to the door or feel the need to.I have a very small room so it was important I placed the cages as far away from the door as possible.
4.Installing a gate or other obstacles to get you to slow down/look at where you walk.
out of paranoia because he died by the door I ordered a baby gate a day after he died and have installed it by the door, one that you cant step over(so me or others dont get lazy)
It has a little gate that opens one way and this is important but you always make sure it has a little latch that prevents it from swinging back and killing your bird or injuring it.
I was able to realize this danger after seeing how fast some people can be about slamming open doors in the house and overall just being in a hurry.
The dangers of someone slamming the door open and smacking the bird or seriously injuring them would be super high without the baby gate security latch.It does not swing inwards where the birds are and you must step back and open it since you cannnot step over.
I plan to find other ways to force me or others to look down before attempting to enter the room.Or just slow us down.The slower you walk the more chances you have of surveying your surroundings and the floor.
5.Covering any mirrors close to the ground.
My door has a gigantic mirror.While my birds never really touched it I feel that its best to take the extra step.I covered it with pink removable wallpaper and covered any areas I couldnt with paper cutouts of birds I got from reusing a calendar from this year.Has a bunch of birds on it and its much better than throwing away a nice calendar with pretty images of birdies
So overall you can be creative about covering those dangerous spots that can potentially cause distractions or lead to dangerous situations for your birds.
