On Friday, the 30th September, a gas leak was discovered outside the block of flats. The gas was turned off whilst it was investigated, leaving us without heating or hot water. Unfortunately, part of the solution was for the internal gas meters in three flats (mine included) to be relocated nearer to the external wall, to connect with new piping.
I was told an engineer would be along early on the Saturday morning to drill holes & lay the new piping, followed by someone else to physically move the meter. Because there was potential of dust from the drilling, noise & possibly leaking gas, I decided it would be best to move Perry, Lennie & Moriarty from the lounge (adjoining the kitchen where the work was to be undertaken) to my bedroom. The move would have to be done the night before, ready for the early start in the morning.
Logically, it meant just wheeling two flight cages into the other room, but that would also mean moving furniture out of the way to maneouvre the cages. There is also the bump to be negotiated from laminate flooring to carpet, which if not carefully managed could result in an earthquake-type shake to the cage! Anyway, I decided against this & set up the folding, quarantine cage for Perry & Lennie, & for Moriarty to be in his old cage.
That evening, when Moriarty popped into his old cage, I locked him in. At that point, Perry was in Moriarty’s flight cage & Lennie was in the other flight cage. I carried Moriarty into my bedroom & placed him on my chest of drawers. That cage is big, but can be carried, though I found it difficult to hold it & see where I was going! Perry & Lennie were transported to their temporary lodgings via the small, carrier cage. Despite the upheaval, they all seemed to settle relatively quickly & we had a calm night.
The next day, I kept popping in to check they were okay. I took the opportunity to give both the flight cages a proper clean & adjust some of the furniture.
The first engineer had finished by early afternoon but confirmed that the second part of the job would be completed the next day. As it was not going to be a particularly early start, I decided to bring Perry, Lennie & Moriarty back ‘home’ & return them to my bedroom the next morning. They were naturally pleased to be back in the lounge, but as the afternoon progressed, Perry became very lethargic, to the point he stopped eating. I switched over all supplements to “Guardian Angel” for sick birds, especially when they have lost their appetite. He managed to slurp some of the supplemented water, but barely ate anything.
The next morning, Perry was not any better, but I still had to go ahead with the move. This time I wheeled Moriarty in his old cage, into the bedroom, beside Perry & Lennie in the quarantine cage. The electric heater was on as Perry was fluffed up. Moriarty was pretty restless the previous day in that room, but on the Sunday, he was unbearably restless! He was so desperate to be with Perry. I could not have Perry & Moriarty locked in together as the previous afternoon Moriarty was getting too boisterous for a sick Perry.
As before, I kept popping in to check on them & in particular, offer food & water to Perry. He did manage to eat something & a couple of times even went to the millet himself to eat. I should add that during the week, he appeared to have injured his leg, so his movements were somewhat restricted because of that.
Late afternoon, when all the work was done, they were able to be reunited in the lounge. Moriarty shot in to see Perry (now in Moriarty’s flight cage) & was glued to his side for hours.
It was a difficult weekend, particularly with Perry not being well (he has gradually improved), but we came through it. Though it was an upheaval taking them into my bedroom two days running, I am glad I did it as I think the disruption in the lounge would have been worse. There was lots of noise. Workmen were traipsing in & out so the door was constantly being opened – at least in the bedroom I could keep the door shut & keep the heat in. Also, when the engineer moved the meter, he said a little bit of gas escaped (normal) as he shut off the old pipe, but that it was so tiny there was no risk. Nevertheless, my paranoid self made sure all the windows were open & was relieved the birds were in the other room.
Puddings & Toyboys 
Oooh what a palaver!
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