Bird Emergency Evacuation Kit

This is a list of items to have handy and bring if you have to evacuate your house with your bird in a hurry. I have ONLY listed things related to birds either directly (like cages) or indirectly (like car keys); you will have to take care of yourself and other pets separately.

Immediate threat

If there is an immediate threat to life and limb, such as the house is on fire NOW or there's a gas leak, shove your bird in a pillow case and GET OUT. She WILL be pissed, and if she's panicked enough she might even injure herself, but that's better than her or you dying in the house.

My Kit

I put together most of my emergency/evacuation kit today (Oct 26 2007). The kit contains stuff that I have listed above, stuff recommended by others, and some stuff in the emergency kits I've seen sold elsewhere. Below are a couple photos of the kit, list of items, and what I'm missing.

Starting at top left and going down, items are:

• container to carry it all
• pillowcase
• hand towel
• airline approved travel cage and towel cover (labeled with my name and contact info)
• ziplock bag of corn starch
• styptic powder
• chemical heat pouches (replace yearly)
• food/water bowls
• 4 pages of care/vet/emergency/contact info in a ziplock bag (including my signature on a statement allowing up to $1,000 of care at an avian vet's direction)
• Q-tips and cotton pads in ziplock bags
• flashlight
• Aviator harness
• spare ziplock bags (for poison samples or other use)
• nail file
• scissors
• nail clippers
• pliers (added after photo)
• hand wipes / sanitizer (added after photo)

What I'm missing:

• treats (by necessity, these have to be a last minute addition)
• small sealed bag of pellets
• unopened 12oz water bottle
• vet tape
• non-latex gloves

Everything currently fits into a Sterilite Small Show Offs container. When I add the final items that I'm missing I expect I'll switch to a Medium. I picked this type of box b/c it's clear so I can see the contents at a glance, and it has a handle for easy carrying. Since some of the items are everyday usage things and I don't have duplicates, I put them at the top for easier access.

For a size comparison, the box atop the travel cage. I put labels on the box saying that it's the emergency kit in case it's someone else looking for it, not me, or in case I'm freaking out too much to recognize it without that prompt. :-P

Everything

Below are some lists of everything you might consider putting into a bird emergency kit and/or otherwise bring with you when evacuating with a bird. Keep in mind that a "short" evacuation might turn into longer than you expect, and that if the evacuation is regional (rather than your house burning down, for example), that you may not be able to obtain replacement items. Therefore, if you know there is a chance of an upcoming evacuation, you are best off obtaining this stuff IN ADVANCE.

1. bird/s
2. travel cage (this should be sturdy enough to withstand dropping or hitting)
3. styptic powder (Qwik Stop) and Q-tips or silver nitrate swabs
4. vet tape
5. pouch of corn starch or flour
6. medications
7. hand towel or pillow case
8. full-size towel
9. harness
10. pliers (for broken blood feathers)
11. quick list of vet/care info
12. vet contact info
13. printed information about their care/feeding
14. medical records
15. current photo and physical description
16. sealed bag of bird food for a day
17. full food for 5 days
18. water for 5 days
19. water bottle for cage
20. treats
21. non-latex gloves
22. hand wipes / sanitizer
23. container to carry everything
24. spare car keys
25. cellphone
26. largest cage that will fit in the car
27. cage cover
28. Winter: heat pouches (chemical hand warmers)
29. Summer: ice packs in a cooler chest
30. toys
31. newsprint
32. cage-cleaning supplies