Hi parrot people, welcome to another blog, I hope that you and your feathered friends are finding fun ways to deal with the heat.
Please parrot people would you go around your house with your eyes wide open and check that there is nothing dangerous that could hurt or harm your bird while you are not looking.
Go through each room.
Lets start in the kitchen, where are all your cleaning things, furniture oil, washing powder, dishwashers, what about things that you use in the garden, are they in the kitchen? I am thinking of ant killer, snail bait, cockroach killer, what about moth balls? Find a place up safe in a cupboard, where your bird does not go.
Side-by-side activities are very good, but you must make sure that where you are taking your bird is safe.
What about the bathroom? Is there anything in your bathroom that is dangerous, remember a bath or bucket full of water is dangerous, birds can drown in an inch of water. If you are going to take them into the bathroom don’t leave them unattended. Watch out for shampoo, soap and anything that you use for yourself.
When you go through the rest of the house watch out for cords, plugs,electrical cables, fish tanks, can your bird get behind the fridge, this is dangerous too.
Look to see where your bird likes to sit with you. Are they near open windows, it has been stifling hot, and if you have open windows and fans going, make sure they are safe and your feathered friend can not get to them.
Make sure that the doors are closed when you wander outside. It is always good to let your bird travel with you, mine travel without me and I have had to train everyone in the house about safety, you should too.
My son has been home from England for 2 weeks and he has learnt very quickly about open windows and doors.
Whether your bird has clipped wings or is flighted safety should always be your first concern.
When you are out by the swimming pool, where is your bird, keep him safe by not having him too close to the water, remember, birds DO NOT swim, they DROWN!
Keep them in the shade, and always make sure they have water to drink.
Do you take your bird in the car on outings, watch the windows! train your bird to sit quietly somewhere safe.
Parrot people, it is mostly common sense but all of us at any time can have an accident, I include myself with you because I too can can do do something silly without thinking.
I have a new bird that is learning his way around the house, and coming in the garden with me and the car on outings, so at the moment I am very safety crazy . We should all take a wander through our birds enviroment once a month and look at it as they would see it, and check that we are keeping our feathered friends safe.
Remember people, I am at the end of the phone if you run into a problem.
Mary and Sonny have joined the parrot family of Harare, so it is a big welcome to them.
Until next time, stay cool as best you can….. birds love kicking ice cubes around, try it and see.