Story Bird: Chain Story

I went out to check the birds again on my regular just-before-dark rounds.  My female Bare Eyed Cockatoo had her foot stuck in a chain which held a toy bell.  Her foot was completely stuck and would obviously require tools to free her.

Now the problem:  The male Cockatoo, being a horny little devil this time of year, wants to eat the face of anyone who enters the cage.  Cindy and I double-teamed him.  Cindy preceded me into the cage, brandishing a trash can lid as a shield.  While she held the blood thirsty screaming demon at bay, I wrapped the female in a towel and removed the offending toy from the roof of the cage.

We carried the whole toy and towel-wrapped bird into the bathroom and closed the door.  If she escaped in there (all our birds are fully flighted) she'd be easier to recapture.  We attempted to remove the chain from the bird's foot, but it was too tightly wrapped to be able to untangle it without risking injury to the bird. We ended up carefully cutting the chain from the foot, then removing the remainder of the chain from the swing toy.  We kept the Cockatoo wrapped in the towel during the whole ordeal to minimize stress.

I'm happy to report that the bird seems to be fine.  She's using all toes on the trapped foot and is holding onto the side of the temporary cage we put her in for observation.  She seems to be fine, but we'll keep her in the house tonight just to be sure.

For those of you with outdoor aviaries, make sure you check your birds several times a day.  If this bird had spent the night with her foot trapped in a chain and suspended upside down all night, I think we'd have lost her.  The regular evening check saved her!