very sad story :o(

[Pips mom]

Yesterday after my brother's wedding we went to go pick up a cockatiel. The owners are moving to Arizona this month, so I was planning on taking the bird and finding it a good home. I was told this was a male, but it turns out she was female, and only 2 or 2 1/2 yrs old. We went to pick her up and actually kinda know these people.....I used to know the wife from school and her mom is very good friends with my mom. We stayed and chatted for a while, and then when we left I had my boyfriend carry the cage as we were still all dressed up for the wedding and I had heels on and some steep stairs to go down! He got way ahead of me and when he got to the car......all of a sudden, the bottom of the cage just dropped to the ground! It came free from the cage, so he tried to slam the cage down so she wouldn't get out, but there was a seed guard on it and it only took a second and she had squeezed through the small space at the bottom and flew away :very_sad: We left right away and never told the owners what happened and I think I was in shock for a while.
First thing.....I know we weren't at fault for any of this, and I could see that very clearly as I watched the whole thing helplessly. My boyfriend never even banged the cage or touched it on anything.....the bottom just fell off! Also.....after inspecting the cage further, one of the places where the bottom attaches was broken and the plastic piece that broke off was not in the bottom of the cage.....which leads me to believe that it was broken beforehand. Also.....I know the girl cleaned the cage before we got there, and she may have taken it apart and not put it back together properly. AND....no matter what, we were not aware that the cage even came apart like that! and they should have told us.
I can't believe that this has happened. It's one the worst things I've ever had to see happen, and even though I don't feel at fault, it doesn't seem to make me feel any better about the whole thing. We don't know what to do, if we should tell the owners.......actually I think am feeling a little anger towards them for being careless when it comes to that cage....AND it is THEIR job in the first place to find this bird a home......if they did that, then maybe none of this would have happened! Anyway......I am doing what I can to try to find the bird. Tomorrow I am placing an add in a local paper there and I have searched through pics online of cockatiels and found a few that look similar, sent them to my son who will print out flyers......he lives in the area where the tiel escaped over in NY......I am in Mass, about an hour and a half away from the town where the bird got out. I have posted on some sites online as well. One good thing......the bird escaped in a pretty highly populated area where she is likely to be found, and the weather is somewhat cool at night, but not too bad right now and still warm during the day.
The tiel's name is Patches, and I think she may be cinnamon pearl pied, because her grey was very light in color and she had alot of yellow on her head, pearling on her wings, pink feet and beak and a tiny little bald spot that lutinos have. Also the bird is banded.
This whole thing has just been so upsetting to me and I have considered never getting involved in anything like this again because I just don't want to put in a situation like this again, and have to be a part of it and watch a bird fly off. I just have to hope that Patches gets found now. :(

[linda040899]

The right thing to do is to call the owners and tell them what happened. I'm sure they care about the Tiel and will want to find her, if possible. It's not anyone's fault but accidents do happen and I'm sure the owners knew about the problem with the cage.

Never, ever take any cage with a removable bottom outside without securing the bottom to the upper cage. I learned this same lesson, only I was lucky. The bottom of my cage came off before I got to the front door.

[LauraO]

The right thing to do is to call the owners and tell them what happened. I'm sure they care about the Tiel and will want to find her, if possible. It's not anyone's fault but accidents do happen and I'm sure the owners knew about the problem with the cage.


Ditto to what Linda says! There are things that can be done to look for the bird, and looking for him/her is the right thing to do.

[Anneka]

Tough situation but I think the owners should know the truth.

There is a good Yahoo-based group for missing birds.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/911ParrotAlert/messages

I hope you find her.

[michael]

How terrible for this to happen......:(......Hopefully, if someone does notice Patches they are intuitive enough to know this bird needs a warm safe environment. I would also contact the owners as there's still a possibility she may only remain within a mile or two from where she escaped.

Finding fault should be out of the question as there was never an intention to begin with. Really, this is energy that would instead best be spent on everyone's search efforts. Prayers that somehow Patches is found very soon. Good luck!

[Pips mom]

I realize that finding fault is not the best thing......but you just can't help thinking about WHY it happened and what caused it when something like this happens. I think most people feel that way. In the mean time I am doing all I can to find this bird, I have all the info I need at this point and will have flyers posted in the area and also will call animal control/police and all those places that need to, and will do the best I can.
I know the owners should know the truth.....I do see my boyfriend's point though as it was his idea not to say anything. Them knowing isn't going to help the situation any because I am trying to find the bird, and if I need someone in the area, I have my family there that can help out. Telling them is only going to upset them, plus it's not the easiest thing for me to do, to call and tell them. I may decide to though, but for now they don't know. I do also have the option of telling the woman who is one of the owner's mom....might be a little easier and she could tell them. I think they will end up knowing, but I guess I am hoping that maybe the bird gets found before then!

[Pips mom]

Never, ever take any cage with a removable bottom outside without securing the bottom to the upper cage. I learned this same lesson, only I was lucky. The bottom of my cage came off before I got to the front door.

I am so glad that you didn't have to learn this lesson the way I did! Thank you for sharing that......it makes me feel a little better that someone else had a similar situation......and got lucky. We were close.....he did manage to get the bird in cage once he put the cage down to the bottom, but unfortunately the bird was trying as hard as she could to get out and squeezed through an opening in the bottom as he couldn't get it on straight quick enough.

[shylevon]

I would also call the vets in the area and the local SPCA. Ask them to be on the lookout for the little guy. A lot of people don't read the newspapers, so you need to think of what those people would do if they found a bird. I think the first thing I would do is call the SPCA or the vet in my area, and I think a lot of people act as I would.

I am sorry for the little guy, and I hope he will be all right.

[Bubblelady]

Ditto on the vet. Just last week when I was in my vet's office they were discussing finding a home for a talking parrot that someone had found & brought to the vet. The finder and the vet clinic staff had dilligently tried to find the owner for two months, covering a wide geographical area. Without success. I know you will do everything in your power to find this bird. But please don't waste any energy on feeling guilty. Sometimes, it's just a case of "S**t happens"!

[Kali]

Stop feeling guilty, accidents happen,
I lost my lovebird Marty when the bottom fell out of a cage, I probably didn't check properly after I cleaned it, now I never take that type of cage outside, but I learnt the hard way.
I hope the little cockatiel gets found.

[elijahfan]

wow dont worrie too much, i allways hold the base of cages incase this happens, i think telling the owners is the best thing to do, i had a frined lose a tile and it was found so there is still hope yet

[Pips mom]

The thing her is that we didn't know the bottom of the cage came apart. In fact, I really haven't even seen a cage that did this except for Pip's old cage, and his old cage, the way the bottom and top of cage went together, there was never any chance that it would come apart.....it was very secure and when I used to take it apart to clean, I had a very hard time getting it apart and putting it back together. The top part of cage with bars had small bars sticking out at the bottom, and those would fit into holes on the base......those holes were securely in the middle of very thick plastic so there was no chance of them coming loose, even the plastic cracked or something. I would feel safe bringing that cage outside, and I just never thought for a second cages would be made this cheaply where the bottom just snaps on and can come off......why on earth would cages be made this way? There really isn't any need for the bottom to come off the cage as the grate and bottom tray both slide out for cleaning! I think cages should NOT ever be made like this! Look here just on this post how many people now have seen this type of thing happen! Three......just on this post. How many birds would have been saved if only they didn't make cages that the bottom comes off of! Surely worth the effort for companies to make this adjustment and not make cages that come apart this way.

[lemonypickett]

So sorry to hear of your woes. Sometimes we try to do the right thing and bad things happen. Maybe it was god protecting your birds because this one may have had PFBD or something.

My saga of trying to do good has me $400 in the hole for vet bills already.

Try craigslist, I always see ads for found cockatiels and budgies in there.

[Pips mom]

The bird was healthy......she looked in good health, her feathers were beautiful, and she was very active and alert. The owners told me she was a good eater, and she was a perfect size for a tiel. The only good that could come of this is she finds a home this way. We had two very cold nights last night and the night before......daytime was warm enough though. Today was gorgeous outside and also when I left work tonight it is still really nice out and plenty warm enough for the bird to survive if she's still out. Supposed to stay nice out now for a while and not too cold at night, so that is good......but those two cold nights were still kinda cold for a cockatiel to be out in :( I hope that she gets found.......she got out in an area where it's popluated enough......just have to hope she lands in the right place or finds a person who will try to get her and take care of her.

[lemonypickett]

I think with PFBD you can't tell. That Psiccossis (clyamidia one) is more of the one that has symptoms I think.

I am sure she will be found by someone. Every week my local paper has tons of found birds (well 5 or so per issue) that is a good amount. Think positive. I will check my local CL posts too for you. You never know.