A wee visiter

Ash · Feb 28, 2013

So the last few days I have heard another alexandrine calling back to Yuki's calls. Yuki has been very vocal lately. Well this morning I opened my back door to let my cat outside and saw an alexandrine on the grass.

I was like omg it's an alexandrine. He had the maroon patches on his wings and had a black ring. I was so shocked.

He was eating pellets that had fallen out of Alex's, Yuki's and Kowhai's outside aviary. My cat went outside to do her business she didn't bother him but when he saw her he flew off.

I heard him calling Yuki when I got home from work. He seems to be hanging around my place.

I looked at all the places for lost alexandrines but haven't seen any in my town. Im going to go see the local vets and try to place some ads.

I'm thinking I should leave food out for him. As he seems very hungry. He is obviously a lost pet/aviary bird. So what would be the best way to catch him? I put an apple out top on the aviary this morning and I came back and most of it was gone.

Should I leave the aviary open and leave food and water in it? But after what happened to my birds after leaving them in their aviary im not too sure.

LoveMyParrots · Mar 1, 2013

If he is a tame parrot, and if he will, it would be great if you will come down himself. Maybe bring Yuki with you, so that he sees anther alexandrine, and will come down? Maybe?

Or leave the aviary door open with food and water in it, and wait until he flys in it, and quickly close the door.

I have no idea if that will work since I have never ever tried to catch birds before!

But it must be a pet or aviary parrots since alexandrine are not native to New Zealand

And good luck!

Ash · Mar 1, 2013

Haha thanks

I just saw him outside now. He didn't seem to mind me but my cat followed me and scared him off again. My cat just loves me and likes to follow me everywhere. I can't see him now but I think I'll leave the aviary door open just so he can eat and get some water. We have been having very hot days lately so im sure he will like some water. I will also leave food on top on the aviary just in case he is too scared to go into the aviary.

Haha same here, ive never caught a bird before. I think I will bring Yuki with me next time. She seems to be calling for him a lot.

To me he seems quite tame as I was able to get quite close to him. So lets hope he will just come to me. I am also going to keep looking out for his owners.

MikeyTN · Mar 1, 2013

I would leave your birds inside the house. Plus keep the cat inside the house too. Then rig a string on the aviary door and place food in a line leading inside the aviary. IF you can get a recording of Alex's callings and play it inside the aviary, that will help you get him in. Observe and yank the string to shut the door once he's in.

LoveMyParrots · Mar 1, 2013

Ash said:
Haha thanks
I just saw him outside now. He didn't seem to mind me but my cat followed me and scared him off again. My cat just loves me and likes to follow me everywhere. I can't see him now but I think I'll leave the aviary door open just so he can eat and get some water. We have been having very hot days lately so im sure he will like some water. I will also leave food on top on the aviary just in case he is too scared to go into the aviary.

Haha same here, ive never caught a bird before. I think I will bring Yuki with me next time. She seems to be calling for him a lot.

To me he seems quite tame as I was able to get quite close to him. So lets hope he will just come to me. I am also going to keep looking out for his owners.

That's good news! Good luck on catching him!

Are you planning on keeping him if you can't find his owner?

LoveMyParrots · Mar 1, 2013

MikeyTN said:
I would leave your birds inside the house. Plus keep the cat inside the house too. Then rig a string on the aviary door and place food in a line leading inside the aviary. IF you can get a recording of Alex's callings and play it inside the aviary, that will help you get him in. Observe and yank the string to shut the door once he's in.

Wow, you sounds like a very experienced bird catcher! Lol

Ash · Mar 1, 2013

LoveMyParrots said:
MikeyTN said:

I would leave your birds inside the house. Plus keep the cat inside the house too. Then rig a string on the aviary door and place food in a line leading inside the aviary. IF you can get a recording of Alex's callings and play it inside the aviary, that will help you get him in. Observe and yank the string to shut the door once he's in.

Click to expand...

Wow, you sounds like a very experienced bird catcher! Lol

Wow, thanks!

My cats do stay inside most of the time she only comes outside to do her business. I will try and stop her from following me. I didn't think about trying to record Yuki's calls. Let's hope she doesn't go quiet on me when she sees the camera. Lets hope he will venture into the aviary.

Haha, you do sound like a very experienced bird catcher!

And I think I will keep him if I can't find the owners, of course I would get a vet check done before hand. : )

I will keep you all updated.

Lets hope I can catch him.

Ash · Mar 1, 2013

Do you think it's possible that he could fly from a town that's 4 hours away? I saw an ad that does look like it might be this boy. But the boy in the ad has a closed leg band. I don't know if he has a band or not. If I do catch him I am going to see if he has a band or not.

MikeyTN · Mar 1, 2013

LoveMyParrots said:
MikeyTN said:

I would leave your birds inside the house. Plus keep the cat inside the house too. Then rig a string on the aviary door and place food in a line leading inside the aviary. IF you can get a recording of Alex's callings and play it inside the aviary, that will help you get him in. Observe and yank the string to shut the door once he's in.

Click to expand...

Wow, you sounds like a very experienced bird catcher! Lol

Yes I've caught my share....lol.....Several years ago I caught two parakeets outside in a parking lot with my bare hands. They were flighted! As they flew back and fourth inside my work van....I still have them til this day, they were lucky I caught them cause it got to be freezing cold outside that very night, it was still winter time and it was relatively warm that whole week. I can tell they've been outside for days as they were skin and bones, as the sun went down, they actually flew to lay beside me and huddle against me for warmth cause it started to get cold, they're NOT friendly though but they knew I can keep them warm. They ate none stop and was very quiet for days until they started to sing a week later, that's when I know they were going to be all right.

Another thing that can be done is by leaving your bird in a cage inside the aviary. Just be aware of the risk involved in putting a bird together with your bird when the other one have been running wild outside.

Ash · Mar 1, 2013

MikeyTN said:
LoveMyParrots said:

MikeyTN said:

I would leave your birds inside the house. Plus keep the cat inside the house too. Then rig a string on the aviary door and place food in a line leading inside the aviary. IF you can get a recording of Alex's callings and play it inside the aviary, that will help you get him in. Observe and yank the string to shut the door once he's in.

Click to expand...

Wow, you sounds like a very experienced bird catcher! Lol

Click to expand...

Yes I've caught my share....lol.....Several years ago I caught two parakeets outside in a parking lot with my bare hands. They were flighted! As they flew back and fourth inside my work van....I still have them til this day, they were lucky I caught them cause it got to be freezing cold outside that very night, it was still winter time and it was relatively warm that whole week. I can tell they've been outside for days as they were skin and bones, as the sun went down, they actually flew to lay beside me and huddle against me for warmth cause it started to get cold, they're NOT friendly though but they knew I can keep them warm. They ate none stop and was very quiet for days until they started to sing a week later, that's when I know they were going to be all right.

Another thing that can be done is by leaving your bird in a cage inside the aviary. Just be aware of the risk involved in putting a bird together with your bird when the other one have been running wild outside.

Oh wow, those are some very lucky parakeets! I am aware that their are risks involved when putting my birds near wild birds. I know in New Zealand we have far less avian diseases here that's why we can't import birds here. I know Psittacosis is known to be here but it's very very rare and we have to report it to MAF. Which is Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. So they can try to contain it. But still I don't really want to risk it.

Also thank you for all your advice, it's very helpful

Ash · Mar 4, 2013

A little update. This boy has been coming to my house everyday now. I usually see him in the early mornings. We were so close on catching him. He flew into the aviary and when I was about to shut it with a string he flew out again.

I noticed that he has a few feathers clipped. So he does look like a lost pet

Customcasket · Mar 4, 2013

Ash said:
A little update. This boy has been coming to my house everyday now. I usually see him in the early mornings. We were so close on catching him. He flew into the aviary and when I was about to shut it with a string he flew out again.

I noticed that he has a few weathers clipped. So he does look like a lost pet

Hopefully if you catch him you can return him to his owners if they can be found. I'd be worried sick if one of my guys got loose and I'd be hoping somebody would catch them and return them. If you can't find the owners then I guess you'll have yourself a new bird.

It happened with my Siamese, Moo Moo. We found him roaming around a parking lot, I brought him home because I didn't want him to get flattened. He wasn't chipped and didn't have a collar to let us know who he belonged to. My family and I searched for weeks trying to find his family and we never found where he came from so now we have a very "special" Siamese cat. Somebody's loss, our gain. We wouldn't trade him for the world.

Ash · Mar 4, 2013

I have been looking for lost alexandrine posters/ads. But I can't find any in my town

Ive been to all the local vets and everything. I really do hope I catch this boy as I can tell he is very hungry and thirsty. I'm going to keep trying!

I did see one, but that's in a town that's 4 hours away from where I am. And he has a closed band. If I am able to catch him that's the first thing ill check

To see if he has a band or not.

I really want to reunite this boy with his owners. If that's not possible we may think of keeping him, of course we have to catch him.

LoveMyParrots · Mar 5, 2013

I feel sorry for that alexandrine, it must of feels so scared in anther world away from its owner! Finger cross you can be able to catch him!

Ash · Mar 10, 2013

I feel sorry for him as well

Just another update. I didn't see this boy for two days but now hes come back again. He seems to be coming more and more. All different times of the day. Is just too hard to try and get him down. As he stays high and he wont go into the aviary.
No sign of the owner though. Someone did post that their alex was missing in my town but they found him the next day.

Riio · Mar 11, 2013

Wow! Kudos to you for trying so hard to catch this little guy! Best of luck with him.

Ash · Mar 11, 2013

Haha thanks, im still trying. I have been able to talk to him without him flying off. So im going to keep trying. He doesn't seem too afraid of me. It seems like he is unsure about me. So I'm not going to give up!

LoveMyParrots · Mar 11, 2013

Do you have anther empty cage? If you do, maybe put it outside in a high place with food and water, see if he will come down? And try to catch him.

I just had this thought because three days ago, a sparrow flew into my empty cockatiel cage outside. It's the cage I used to keep Kiwi and Tweety if you know them, I had no space to put it inside so I kept it out in my backyard. And somehow, a sparrow went in and it got trapped in it. I had to let it out. Success! First time I actually catched a bird! Lol!

Ash · Mar 11, 2013

LOL. I did put an empty cage outside yesterday/today but the only things I caught was my cat!. She loves going in it and trying to sleep in it. She even tries to do it with the aviary. This is another reason why it's hard for me to try and catch him.

Ive been trying to keep her inside but she does go outside sometimes to do her business(doesn't like to use a litter/dirt box). She will hold it in until we let her outside. And to just sleep in the sun.

I might keep it out for a couple of more days

cthulhus_minion · Mar 11, 2013

Good luck! I've been reading this thread and hoping for the best ever since I found the thread.

A wee visiter

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too smart for their own good

Ozzie is a good boy today! ; )

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