I really need some advice!!!

[Nikki.toth]

***A BIRD NET! Don't know why this has never occurred to me before! Any thoughts or advice on these?***

I've posted on here previously about my adopted rescue Amazon Hamish. He's 28 years old (I've been told but no ring to confirm this) and he's a very 'difficult' bird. 'Difficult' in this case can be translated as (on occasion) savage mean old bugger with a very big sharp beak that has honed my reflexes to near perfection!'
He is cage aggressive. Seriously aggressive. I'm working on Hamish's issues and I know it's going to take a long time and occasional misjudgements on my part are going to lead to bites. Every interaction with him is risky and this is just through the bars on his cage.
ANYWAY..My reason for this post is more specific....
I have to get Hamish into a travel cage soon. I've done this once before and it was unbelievably traumatic to him (& therefore to me) I feel sick now having to replay it in my head in order to write it here.
Due to his aggression and the fact he'd seen the packing and then moving that was taking place around him, he's not daft, he knew something was going on and was worried and bitey all day, I wore thick gloves and used a towel to try and pick him up to put him in the travel cage on the bottom of his cage (minimising the length of time I handled him) It was horrendous. I couldn't pick him up quick enough and he either slipped or jumped off his perch and landed at the bottom of the cage, he flipped over onto his back in absolute terror making the worst screaming noise I've ever heard. He'd managed to grip the towel tightly, too tight for me to take it back so I had to maneuver the travel cage over him and kind of scoop both him and the towel into it. All this time he was screaming, the most distressing sound I've ever heard. Talking to him the whole time trying to sooothe him just wasn't even touching the awful situation and I had no idea how else I could calm him down. He was in such a state I was worried sick he was going to have a heart attack. He was silent during the 20min drive and was immediately put in his own cage.
By the morning after he was completely fine and back to his usual grumpy self so thankfully no long term traumatisation but how the hell am I going to get him in a travel cage again soon? It's unavoidable. I will be completing my move, no more after this one but he also needs a trip to the vets, just for a general health check. Can anybody give me any advice on this? I cannot see one of my birds in such absolute terror and know I'm the cause of it.

 

[fiddlejen]

***A BIRD NET! Don't know why this has never occurred to me before! Any thoughts or advice on these?***

My immediate response to the idea of a net, is, - don't do it.

AT one point I had come up wiht that solution, as my budgie Jefferson was getting very resistant to going back to cage for me to go to work. But it seems that ALL birds instinctively know what a net is, and they were ALL HORRIFIED. It seemed just the Sight of a net was very traumatic to them, to both of my budgies and also to my sun conure. They are all breeder-raised birds, by the way, and I have no reason to think they ever saw a net before. So it must be instinct.

For that reason, I personally would recommend Against any use of a net with any pet bird.

 

[ToMang07]

Absolutely not.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[SailBoat]

Not sure how you are approaching your parrot with the towel, but the reality is that an untamed Parrot is going to scream and scream loudly. May even obtain a honking tone. Not sure how long you have had your Parrot, but it is time to begin socializing your Amazon so that you are not faced with this terror event every time you are going to the see the vet.

Our Amazons have all loved riding in the car or SUV and know that the carrier is the doorway to those trips.

No it's not easy, but its time to begin developing a relationship.

 

[Scott]

I would discourage use of a net, limited to life-or-death circumstances such as quick escape from a fire or natural disaster. Panicking a bird is harmful to the bond and can result in grave danger including heart attack.

Definitely try socializing Hamish to at least step up on a stick for insertion into the carrier if possible. Perhaps next least harmful technique is using towel during darkness to scoop him up. Once in carrier he may settle down for drive to vet and eventual move.

 

[scrufy]

I helped a friend that had a similar problem for a vet trip.
We held the travel cage against the open cage door a slipped a fly swatter through the bars and very gently steered him to the travel cage. No issues at all.