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Question

Loose Cockatiel not mine


Sent to Pet Experts September 10, 2006 3:27 p.m.

I have found a cockatiel loose in my yard flying with Morning Doves. I have been trying to catch it daily and nightly but no luck so far. What is the best way to catch a cockatiel that has probably gotten loose from someone's home. We live in the country not near any other homes.
XXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX

Optional Information:
Breed: cockatiel

Already Tried:
Placing a cage in the trees with birdseed, and lettuce. Climbing the tree to see if it will come to finger. Tried catching it at night. Made a large net, which it flys from as soon as it sees. Whistling for it in hopes it will come in house. It answers but will not come. I live in VA and I'm afraid that it won't make it through the colder season.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status: Closed   Value: $8   
Answer
September 10, 2006 3:37 p.m. (9 minutes and 22 seconds later)
ACCEPTED Check Mark

Hello. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to catch it. Only it's owner, with whom it is familiar would have much of a chance and it's even hard for them because the bird is so frightened at being in a totally unfamiliar situation. Cockatiels are the best flyers of all pet birds and depending upon how long it has been loose, it could have traveled quite a distance. What you need to do is check all the newspapers for ads for lost birds. Most papers will place a "found" ad for you, for free. Check with all vets and animal shelters as most owners will contact them to report the bird missing, in case it's turned in. If at all possible, it is critical that the bird be gotten back with it's rightful owner. That is due to the totally different kind of bond a bird forms with it's owner, as compared to a dog or cat. There are also many sites on the internet where both lost and found birds are listed. You should check with those as well. I'll give you some links to help with that. I hope you will be able to assist in getting him back with his rightful owner. I know they will both be eternally grateful. Best of luck and let me know if you need more help. Patricia

http://www.parrottalk.com/missing.html
http://www.birdsnways.com/birds/blost.htm
http://www.birdhotline.com/
http://www.birdmart.com/classifieds/lost/
http://members.aol.com/thepetpage/
http://www.birdmart.com/classifieds/found/
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/peepuff/lostfound.html
http://bellaonline.com/articles/art3239.asp
http://www.petfinder.com/post/classifiedhop.html
http://www.avianrescue.org/resources.html#lost
To Report a Found Bird: Bird911-request@ParrotTalk.com
To Report a Lost/Stolen Bird:
Bird911@ParrotTalk.com
http://www.petfinder.com/post/classifiedhop.html

Bird HotLine — World Wide Bird Lost and Found

Lost & Found Birds Listing

Birdhobbyist's Forums - Lost & Found Birds

The Pet Page - LOST, FOUND, STOLEN, RESCUE and WANTED ANIMALS

Yahoo! Directory Animals Classifieds > Lost and Found

PARROT CONSERVATION GROUP LOST AND FOUND: Lost, Stolen and Found ...



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PicturePatricia  -- Parrot Consultant -- 100% Positive Feedback on 1534 Pet Accepts
Published author, free lance bird behaviorist, adviser to the parrots at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.
Reply to Patricia
Sent September 10, 2006 3:46 p.m. (9 minutes and 43 seconds later)

I am presently in a wheelchair and my husband has MS. We have searched our local papers in the lost and found section but nothing found. If we cannot find the legal owner and if we cannot catch it will a cockatiel survive the winter in VA. He/She is very much at home in our trees and seems to have made friends with all the doves that we feed. I just don't want it to suffer come winter.
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
September 10, 2006 4:03 p.m. (16 minutes and 24 seconds later)
ACCEPTED Check Mark

Unfortunately, no it will probably not survive the winter. However, it may not even make it that long due to predators and/or starvation. It's great that you are trying to provide food but wild bird seed is not even close to the same thing that parrots need and if you want to give lettuce, it must be Romaine. Ice berg lettuce has no nutritional value at all. A bird will just fill up on it instead of eating proper nutrition. Parrots of all kinds won't survive long on a seed only diet anyway. They need veggies and many other food items. As you can see, that makes it very difficult to try to provide for an exotic parrot as compared to native wildlife. I can only suggest that you continue to do what you are doing and you might get lucky and snare it. If you should catch it, by all means come back and let me know so I can help you with proper care instructions. Also, check out those lost and found sites at the links I gave you. I'm going to give you one more link to a Cockatiel chat board where you can post a lost and found message. It's not something you have to join or anything like that. All you have to do is click on the "post message" and briefly tell them the situation. I would not describe the bird in detail. Make any one trying to claim it do that. I would post something like "Found Cockatiel in Virginia, list the nearest large town if you like, and be sure to show an email address where they can get back to you. The folks on that board are very good at spreading the word to other message boards when there is either a lost or a found bird. I hope this will help. Patricia

Click here: Tiel Chat Cockatiel Message Board Chat



__________________
If I've helped, please click the ACCEPT. Even if a deposit was made, I won't get paid until you accept. A bonus is always appreciated and leaving feedback benefits us both.
PicturePatricia  -- Parrot Consultant -- 100% Positive Feedback on 1534 Pet Accepts
Published author, free lance bird behaviorist, adviser to the parrots at Sarasota Jungle Gardens.

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