Forum back online?

[marie83]

Maybe this could be an idea for an article Michael? for those who haven't yet planned anything and for those of us who might want to include stuff they hadn't thought of?

[Michael]

Sounds like a plan. And it's not just about weather emergencies. It's whatever unforeseen event whether it's a black out, family emergency, fire, etc. If not a hurricane, then maybe a tornado, earthquake, or even just a broken heating system mandating a stay somewhere else. I'll try to write something up about this. Since I travel with the birds a lot I take it for granted that I can be ready and out in a minute but for many people this is not the case. As I keep saying over and over again, you gotta tame/train the bird NOW so that when you need it to cooperate, it will already know what to do.

[marie83]

Exactly, thats the kind of thing that even organised people might not think of. I'm a fairly organised person but to be honest until recently I've never considered that something might happen to stop our normal and relatively cushy little lives from carrying on as normal. I mean that sort of thing probably wont happen for the majority of people but its better to be prepared and never have to call on those preps than be unprepared and end up not being able to cope with it or struggling through by the skin of your teeth. If something did happen then sure it would still be stressful but people might as well have put the effort in to make life as easy as possible should the worst happen.

I saw a woman complaining on the news complaining that it had been three days and they hadn't been able to get any supplies, tbh I think 3 days is the minimum people should be able to cope with without government help. It shocked me to see some peoples attitudes when it comes to looking after themselves and their family let alone their pets, especially when living in a place where storms or other disasters are fairly common, even if the ones that cause such destruction are rarer.
We are lucky in the UK but you never know, the worlds changing all the time and things shouldn't be taken for granted as much as they are.

Don't get me wrong I have deep sympathy for everyone who has lost people, pets, homes or possessions, in some cases no matter how far your preps go it will never be enough but the majority could probably have coped much much better if they had stockpiled a bit of basic emergancy equipment such as torches, extra blankets, food, bottled water etc.


Anyway never meant that to turn into such an ranty essay. I just wanted to say that you can't always rely on the governments or other people for help in these situations (at least, not as fast as the help is needed) so take care of yourselves and your pets. I just hope that people who might not have considered doing so will take notice now.

[Michael]

BTW, one situation I realized I probably was not fully prepared for (and luckily didn't have to cope with) is power outage and cold. You see, if the boiler/gas go out, we still have electric heat as back up. However, if the electric goes out, then so does the normal gas boiler. My stove is electric as well. So without electric it's pretty bad. Furthermore most people I could potentially stay with live in the me neighborhood so a major power outage would affect everyone (as it did in many other communities). Obviously I would as much be seeking warmth solutions for myself as much as for the birds but having birds would make it all the more difficult. For a single night, the car might be an option but with the gasoline shortage we've been having that still would not have been a viable multi-day solution.

The best I could come up with is pitching my camping tent inside at home (out of wind that way) and getting tons of blankets and putting the bird carriers under the same blankets or sleeping bag. By staying in a tent (even inside a house) it helps trap radiant body heat and by keeping the birds under the same blanket it shares heat with them. That's the only no-car no-electric heating solution I can come up with and I know plenty of neighborhoods where cars were washed away and they had no power for weeks. At least I could scramble and take this plan into action (or pack my plane and fly some place warmer), however, I think most people would be lost what to do and dealing with a bird and keeping it warm/safe in the mayhem would be too much.

[marie83]

BTW, one situation I realized I probably was not fully prepared for (and luckily didn't have to cope with) is power outage and cold. You see, if the boiler/gas go out, we still have electric heat as back up. However, if the electric goes out, then so does the normal gas boiler. My stove is electric as well. So without electric it's pretty bad. Furthermore most people I could potentially stay with live in the me neighborhood so a major power outage would affect everyone (as it did in many other communities). Obviously I would as much be seeking warmth solutions for myself as much as for the birds but having birds would make it all the more difficult. For a single night, the car might be an option but with the gasoline shortage we've been having that still would not have been a viable multi-day solution.

The best I could come up with is pitching my camping tent inside at home (out of wind that way) and getting tons of blankets and putting the bird carriers under the same blankets or sleeping bag. By staying in a tent (even inside a house) it helps trap radiant body heat and by keeping the birds under the same blanket it shares heat with them. That's the only no-car no-electric heating solution I can come up with and I know plenty of neighborhoods where cars were washed away and they had no power for weeks. At least I could scramble and take this plan into action (or pack my plane and fly some place warmer), however, I think most people would be lost what to do and dealing with a bird and keeping it warm/safe in the mayhem would be too much.

Yea I havent thought up a good solution for this one as yet. I would get an emergancy generator but the fuel will be a problem one day- how long one day is I don't know but I can imagine it happening in my lifetime, besides that we live in a flat so we have no outbuildings to put one in. Obviously woodburning stoves etc are out of the question for obvious reasons. Only thing I can think of is some sort of electric heater somehow connected to some sort of battery then having a few back up batteries which are always kept charged but I should think that will be really expensive and finding an electrition willing to convert a heater (if its even possible). It would be enough to heat a small room though. Best I can do for now is move them to the smallest room which hapens to be the central room, get some double sided draft excluders for the doors and cover the travel cages with loads of blankets. Tbh though I don't think it will ever drop cold enough to put their lives at risk but at least they would be more comfy, again I would rather be prepared than not-just in case..

[Michael]

Actually I don't think a battery/generator can practically power any heater. Heaters consume a ton of power and I don't think any system under $5k could possibly generate enough power for even a modest heater. I have a generator and I think it can provide up to 2000 watts. That might be enough for one heater but nothing else. Not sure what the duty cycle is but I doubt it could go all day powering that. A battery wouldn't be enough power for sure and would run out way too soon. I had a whole complicated system and huge battery just for an electric blanket and enough power for like an hour. The thing was ineffective so I stopped using it for my birds in winter.

And you're right, any "burning" heat you can make whether a wood burning stove or even a gas/kerosene heater would probably be dangerous for our birds in terms of fumes. I'd say anyone's best bet in event of heat loss with birds is to get them in the car and drive some place with heat or south as far as you can go. In other words it's probably more useful/safer/cheaper to store a couple canisters of gasoline for an emergency than all kinds of equipment. Unless you live on an island or place like NY where you can get stranded and then you're screwed. Folks on rockaway (that didn't listen to evacuate) were stranded without electricity/water/heat for multiple days and the bridges were closed... not fun.

[marie83]

Well I'm no good with technical stuff so I got no real idea what is practical and what is not.
I know the people on here http://www.peakprosperity.com/ have a ton of ideas for self sufficiency and prepping, alot of it seems to make good sense for someone who isn't really educated about these type of things. The website is an interesting read even if you do decide the evidence stacks against it. Alot of them isn't practical for apartment living though or as you say, people with birds because of fumes etc. I've started to put a few things into practice though, not necesserily because I believe everything is going to get that serious in my lifetime (it might I guess but still...) but because I think its good to have the reassurance, if I ever lose my job, if prices become extortionate, a pandemic or some sort of short term interruption... All I'm doing is rock bottom basic stuff at a rather slow pace but the lack of electric/heat scenario is a worry.

I don't want to go crazy and worry about every little thing but nor do I want to be reliant on the government or charity if anything did ever happen because I want to know I can look after my family and pets.

[liz]

Because our house is so long our furnace does not heat the dining room and sun room. We installed a wall mount natural gas heater in the dining room. Last time the power was out for 3 days it heated the whole house. When the dinning room, kitchen and sun room got warm the heat went down the hall to the living room and bedrooms.

We have a natural gas stove and just have to manual light it for cooking.

We have plenty of candles which Myrtle respects (the flame scares her) but I intend to get solar lights to put out during the day and bring in at night. We even have sunshine when it rains.

The only thing we miss is the TV.

If we have to evacuate, I have a handy capped van that will hold a large parrot cage and all the other cages. It will be cramped but the dogs and cats will fit too.

This thread needs titled Emergency Prepairedness.

[marie83]

Hey Liz, glad you have some plans in place to keep you and your family safe. Do be aware that candles gives off smoke which can be harmful to the birds, its not just the flame that is a danger. If your just on about using them for emergancies then there shouldn't be too much of a problem provided the room is well ventilated.
I'm considering getting some wind up lamps rather than just battery powered ones- any know if those are any good? I stopped using candles when I got the birds but tbh they made me wheeze a bit anyway, particuarly the scented ones so that was no big loss to me.