Little Boy Lost

VicJay

New member
Jan 23, 2021
3
37
My Hahns Macaw flew away from me last Tuesday. I'm absolutely devastated. He hung around for the first day and then flew off on Wednesday despite us calling and putting out his cage. We have put out flyers to all of our neighbours and posted on facebook. There has been no sign of him.
He was my comfort when there was no one else at home at night. He told me he loved me everyday. I spent all of Thursday crying whilst making posters and sending them out to all of the vets within a 50km radius.
My question is, things aren't getting better. I'm on the verge of tears all the time. I miss him terribly and really want to see him again. Have you ever lost a bird like this? How did you cope? It's been a week now and I still feel like my world is falling apart. I caused this, I took him outside and he got away from me.
If you can share your story with me, I would be grateful.
 

LaManuka

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Aug 29, 2018
25,548
Media
26
Albums
1
33,181
Queensland, Australia
Parrots
Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
VicJay, I'm so awfully sorry you're going through this. I've had a few birds get away on me over the years, but through either divine intervention or sheer dumb luck, I've always managed to somehow get them back the same day - I simply cannot imagine how hard this must be for you, and you have my every sympathy.

There's a website that you can list your Hahn's on, and you can also check it for "found" birds that may be listed here too, if you haven't done so already. Their pages are full of stories of birds who have been returned weeks or sometimes months later...


I have lost birds through illness, on occasion where they were far too young and I've been faced with "no win" situations in terms of their treatment at the vet, and THAT is a hard enough situation to deal with. The not knowing what became of your beautiful bird in a situation like yours would just be so awful, and it should not be a surprise that you're having difficulty coping with it - I know for a fact that I'd be just as devastated. We have a number of members who have suffered a similar loss to yours and I hope they will spot your post and weigh in with their coping strategies.

I wish I could do more for you other than pray for your sweetheart to be returned safely home to you, but I most certainly will be doing that. My heart goes out to you 🙏
 

HeatherG

Well-known member
Apr 25, 2020
3,893
6,966
I’m so sorry.

Our vet school has a grief support group for people who’ve lost their pets. Maybe you could find a group like that if people to talk with.

I still miss Lucy and she’s been gone more than two years. People might think she wasn’t a human, but she was my best friend and companion for many years. You have had a real loss and I am sorry for both you and your bird.
 

ravvlet

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
2,349
7,081
Seattle WA
Parrots
Kirby - OWA, 33yrs old (2019-)
Broccoli - Dusky Conure - 3?mo old (July 2023 -)
~~~
(Rehomed) Sammy - YNA, 45 yrs old (2022-2023)
(RIP) Cricket - Cockatiel (2019-2022)
Our cockatiel got out last fall, and we were able to get him back after a little less than a week. I felt horrible the whole time too. It turns out he flew almost four miles from the house!

Flyers are fantastic; we also notified our local animal control who were able to give the people who found him our contact info so we could go get him. I remember how tired he was.

Not sure if it’s the same as the parrot alert @LaManuka posted, but there’s also https://www.911parrotalert.com/
 

LaManuka

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Aug 29, 2018
25,548
Media
26
Albums
1
33,181
Queensland, Australia
Parrots
Fang ({ab}normal grey cockatiel), Valentino (budgie), Jem (cinnamon cockatiel), Lovejoy(varied lorikeet), Peach (princess parrot)
You're more than welcome, VicJay, and I'm glad to know we've been able to help in some small way. Honestly, I think just being a member of a community of like-minded people like this is of enormous value, because we get it. Sometimes even the custodians of other types of companion animals fail to comprehend the depths of the bonds we share with these miraculous feathered creatures, but we do understand it here. I lost my "heart and soul" bird, my little Lilly the lorikeet, to illness just this past January and there is hardly a day that has passed since that I have not cried buckets of tears over her, and I know there are countless others here who understand this pain as well. I do believe that just being among those who can empathise with you is very helpful in and of itself.

I will be holding you and your little one close in my thoughts and pray that he can be restored to you.
 

wrench13

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Parrot of the Month 🏆
Nov 22, 2015
11,383
Media
14
Albums
2
12,567
Isle of Long, NY
Parrots
Yellow Shoulder Amazon, Salty
THink of your house as ground zero. You want to start flooding an area of 5-10 miles around your house with flyers. More is better! Also check with all the vets and pet shops in that area, to see if some one has come in with your parrot. Keep at this for 6 months. Lost parrots DO come back, but with renewed effort. Take heart!
 

BirdyBee

Well-known member
Jan 7, 2022
3,748
Media
34
Albums
6
8,080
South Africa
Parrots
Current birds:
John
Snowy
Pippen

Past birds:
Grumpy
Sunny
Griffen
Jeff
Gertjie
Oh no!!! Not another birdie gone! :( Always makes me so sad to hear. My dear Jeff flew away on 28th May and hasn't been back since 😢 💔

My best advice is to try not beat yourself up to much. I felt really depressed when my boy was gone. I felt really guilty but soon after I decided to lift the burden of guilt, and instead of going, "ugh I'm such an idiot, I hate myself, how can I make such q mistake??", I have to say, "I will try and find Jeff and bring him home, it was a terrible mistake I made but not on purpose". It is very hard. I still have my down days where I feel like crying.

Don't let yourself get depressed. The moment you're gonna let yourself lay in bed the whole day, your hope will quickly fade away. I had to get myself to go on with life, and try find my Jeff. I'm not saying let go of it, I'm saying don't put your whole life on pause because if your bird, but also keep looking and hoping and praying for your bird to come back(or whatever you do in your religion).

Try not to lose hope. It is hard, in all the pain, our little light of hope fades away, and it's hard to get it back. I talk from experience. I really have to try hold onto that hope. I know Jeff would be very sad to know that I'm going to give up on him. Hope is hard, especially since we're so uncertain.

You know, it's ok to cry. This is a very emotionally painful experience. Don't bottle it up. I tend to do that, sadly. I tend to cry alone at night when no-one is there that will judge me, so I can silently let out my negative emotions. If you don't want to do it around people, just go somewhere private. Most people I know don't know about Jeff. If anyone asks me, "What's wrong?" I say that no-one understands or I don't wanna talk about it. Because non-bird people don't know what it's like and just say, "Did you get a new one? " or "Well when it comes back clip the wings". Not nice.😞

If you want to read more of Jeff and how I dealt with it, here is my thread:

I hope your macaw comes back soon and I will send my prayers for him.

If you need someone to talk to, feel free to DM me.
 

Terry57

Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Nov 6, 2013
47,514
Media
47
Albums
13
38,717
Spruce Grove, Alberta, Canada
Parrots
Hawkhead(Darwin),YCA(Dexter),VE (Ekko),OWA(Slater),BHP(Talli),DYH(Calypso),RLA(Kimera),Alex(Xander)CBC(Phoe),IRN (Kodee,Luna,Stevie),WCP (Pisces),CAG(Justice)GCC (Jax), GSC2(Charley)
I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I have seen birds here found several months or even a year after they escaped. Don't ever lose hope!

You may also want to contact any rescues in your area. Our local rescue ends up with almost all the birds that are found. If you are comfortable with it, you could share your general location here, we may have members in that area who could be on the lookout.

Sending prayers and hope that you are able to bring your baby home soon.
 
OP
V

VicJay

New member
Jan 23, 2021
3
37
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #10
Thank you for all of your replies. I am feeling more positive today. I am widening the search area and dropping more flyers into letterboxes. I have also put flyers into all the pet stores and feed stores in the area. All of your advice has helped me immensely, so Thank you.
 

maddox

Supporting Member
Parrot of the Month 🏆
2022 Parrot of the Year 🏆
Mar 15, 2022
209
Media
1
632
Fairfield Connecticut, USA
Parrots
Maddox is a green cheek conure
I am so sorry to hear this! Please, whatever you do, do not blame yourself. These kinds of things happen, and my heart breaks for you. I mentioned this story in a similar post, but a lovely lady in my community lost her cockatoo and posted tons of posters around the neighborhood. After almost a month, they were reunited. Please don't lose hope! You have the support of all of us here, and we are rooting for you!
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top