"Rescue Buckets"

I mentioned my "Rescue Bucket" in another thread, and Capt wanted to see a pic, so here they are.


They're just used ice-cream buckets we've saved over the years that I decided to put to use.
I punched ventilation holes about an inch apart an inch from the top all the way around.


Then I put tape (I used Gorilla-Brand Duct tape because it's super-mega strong) on the top and folded it under to the bottom of the lid and tabbed it.


I store the buckets with the tape like that so that in an emergency, all I have to do is pull the tape from the underside of the lid and secure it to the sides of the bucket, like this:


Here's a pic of Bucky and JJ in the bucket. As you can see, it's a tight fit for Bucky. In an emergency though, uncomfortable is better than dead.


I store the buckets lined with paper towels underneath their cages. There's a small tupperware dish inside with about two days worth of pellets for all three birds, as well as a bottle of water. My thought process is this...
First, in an EXTREME emergency - mainly a tornado - where we have to grab the birds and run to shelter, we don't have time or space for the transport cages we have for them.
Second, if a tornado actually hits, there would be lots of flying debris, dust, and things of that nature. A regular bird cage offers absolutely no protection from things blowing in the wind.
Third, the buckets are sized so that as we "duck and cover" we can just curl right around a bucket in our lap. A cage wouldn't work so well.
Fourth, we could just grab the birds and run to the basement with them in our hands, but scared birds tend to bite and fight to get away. And people (kids especially) tend to let go of things that are biting in terror and fighting to get away. Plus, a fighting and biting bird would be a bit of a distraction when one is trying to maintain one's OWN safety and wellbeing.
Fifth, if a tornado actually hits, the bird's cages will likely be blown away - or quite damaged, as will their harnesses. We'll need a way to secure the birds until we can find alternate arrangements for their housing. If we were just holding on to them while they bit us, we'd still have to be holding onto them for hours afterwords until we could find someplace to house them.

Hence, the Rescue Bucket.
(I guess it's not really a "rescue" bucket, but that's what I've been calling it and since I made it up, I can call it what I want. )

Good idea!

Wow that's pretty good. it's great how you've got the birds used to them ,good work

VickiNumbers wrote:

In an emergency though, uncomfortable is better than dead.

Fer sure.

That actually seems great! Thanks for sharing

I don't think my macaw would appreciate that too much, LOL

That is very cool Vicki! I think I will copy that idea and have one prepared for Merlin in case of fire. Of course only if it is all right with you, since you thought it up .

Thanks for sharing!

VickiNumbers wrote:

(...)
Hence, the Rescue Bucket.
(I guess it's not really a "rescue" bucket, but that's what I've been calling it and since I made it up, I can call it what I want. )

Now if we want to make similar for our fids, we have to mark on them: Copyright by Vicki and her Numbers
Seriously good idea, I wouldn't think about that by myself.

Vikki wrote:

I don't think my macaw would appreciate that too much, LOL

No, LOL! I don't think s/he would!
I've been puzzling over how do something similar for big birds. A great big plastic tote isn't nearly as convenient! So far, the closest I'm getting is something that's rather snug-fitting (to keep him from turning around) with a cut-out for the big tail. I haven't had a big bird so I don't know if something like that would work or not.

As a Safety Preparedness Expert, having an emergency plan is one of my "things." ...and I plan for everyone, not just the people. I've got extra leashes and collars for my dogs with our phone number on them and everything.

I'm kind-of manic that way.

How about a bigger bucket with cover? Nah, you will find the better solution

RogerP wrote:

That is very cool Vicki! I think I will copy that idea and have one prepared for Merlin in case of fire. Of course only if it is all right with you, since you thought it up .

Thanks for sharing!

Margaret wrote:

VickiNumbers wrote:

(...)
Hence, the Rescue Bucket.
(I guess it's not really a "rescue" bucket, but that's what I've been calling it and since I made it up, I can call it what I want. )

Now if we want to make similar for our fids, we have to mark on them: Copyright by Vicki and her Numbers
Seriously good idea, I wouldn't think about that by myself.

Please use the idea, and pass it around. No copyright needed! LOL!

I got the idea after reading about the tornados in Oklahoma. There was mention in one of the news articles about a family who lost two of their three birds. I knew that if that happened to me I'd want to die, so I started making a plan. The Bucket is the result (so far).

The best case scenario is that it never has to be used, but if it saves a bird, I'll be happy.

Our big birds are pretty easy to deal with. If we ever had to leave in a hurry we would just throw them into the car loose. They perch on the seat and don't really move. Getting them into a tote or such would not be fun, besides the fact that they can chew through plastic, so it would be pointless. Bryan put Merlyn in one of those hard, plastic dog carriers once and he chewed through the side of it like it was butter. If anything, collapsable metal carriers are the best bet for large birds. For our small guys, we have the soft, collapsable backpacks in the closet. We don't have anything smaller than the Hahn's so we don't need any kind of "container" that you would need for, say, a cage full of finches.

I have been thinking about the rescue though. Once we're moved in we should devise a safety plan. Though I have no idea what we would do given that we have so many birds and so few humans to help them. If the place were on fire or something, I would think my first instinct would be just to open cages so they can at least get out, though that would be chaos. Any ideas?

With that many animals, in a fire your idea is probably the only viable option. Your safety plan should probably include scrupulous fire prevention hygiene as well as a plan for recovery in the unlikely event that you had time to open enough cages, windows, and doors for birds to find their way out before being overcome by smoke. I'd suggest some very bright exterior flood lights that are wired separately from the rest of the rescue. First, light deters intruders, both human and the 4 legged kind. Second, if you overdo need to release the birds, they'll fly towards the light thus escaping the building.

Whenever one is formulating a safety plan, remember to include potential man-made disasters your area is prone to as well. Are you near a water treatment plant? I am. I've planned for a chlorine/chemical spill. Do you live near a major highway? Think about all the big trucks that travel along that highway. Oil refinery? Gas station? River with shipping lanes?

Too often people make a plan for a natural disaster and quit there, but there are a whole lit of man-made disasters happening in our world as well.
Be Prepared.

Vikki wrote:

I have been thinking about the rescue though. Once we're moved in we should devise a safety plan. Though I have no idea what we would do given that we have so many birds and so few humans to help them. If the place were on fire or something, I would think my first instinct would be just to open cages so they can at least get out, though that would be chaos. Any ideas?

Wildfires out here a few years back - people packed up what animals they could and the rest were set loose to fend as best they could for themselves. There were loose animals being rounded up for quite some time afterwards. A few pets you can toss in the car, when you have a lot or something like horses and other livestock in a true big emergency that's about the best that can be done.

The wolf sanctuary here, we went on a tour, they indicated they don't evacuate the wolves and they don't set them loose. They have some sort of underground thing (not clear what) that they'd get the wolves into (if possible) and hope for the best.

I wonder what zoos' emergency plans are?

patdbunny wrote:

I wonder what zoos' emergency plans are?

I doubt they are pretty. Mostly hunker down and survive. I'm pretty sure the LA zoo at Griffith park went into emergency mode a year or so ago when there was wildfire in the park. There was no indication of mass evacuation of animals and I can't imaging that's possible. I would guess that the back-of-exhibit areas are relatively fire-resistant, with sprinklers and such and that they lock down and hope for the best.

Vikki wrote:

I have been thinking about the rescue though. Once we're
moved in we should devise a safety plan. Though I have no idea what we
would do given that we have so many birds and so few humans to help
them. [...]Any ideas?

I can tell you how it played out when my barn was evacuated during the Station Fire two years ago. (Yes, we had great fun with the Station Fire, it burned down to about a half mile from our house and all the way down the hillside across the street and across the wash from the barn where my horse is boarded.) When I got the call that the barn was being evacuated, I hurried out to help. It was quite a scene, with the fire beginning to lick up over the adjacent hillside and a pandemonium of people with horses. But it was a controlled chaos -- those who had trailers onsite were supplemented by a contingent of volunteers with trucks and trailers. There is a pull through path for trailers, and they just kept loading the trailer at the front of the line, sending it off, loading the next one, and so one. The place was empty within about a half hour. They went to various sites where show stalls and so forth were available.

I wonder if a local bird club could arrange an on-call "bucket brigade" for larger flocks and aviaries?

patdbunny wrote:

I wonder what zoos' emergency plans are?

I'll have to check that out, I vaguelly remember hearing it a couple years back but that was with the smaller non-lethal animals that I work with not a big tiger or the like. I'd imagine they wouldn't just set those free in an emergency due to public safety hmmm....

The new bird building is being wired this week for lights and air. I should suggest hard wired fire alarms and perhaps some type of sprinkler system. I know we normally have extinguishers in every room, but in the event that we weren't home, sprinklers would work in a pinch.

I think the firealarms are a great idea. I wonder if the dust and dander would hurt them?

fire alarms are required by code here, so we have one in the bird room. I also have a CO alarm in there. I think the dust is more likely to set them off than hurt them, but so far we haven't had a problem.