I like the idea of the pillowcase because birds are so sensitive to smoke/fumes. It wouldn't prevent full exposure since obviously they are able to breathe through it, but I think it would at least filter out a lot and limit their exposure. My rationale being that smoke/fumes/toxins are heavier than air, so would be more difficult to penetrate the cloth.
Adding to it, I am going to get a small gym/duffle bag put together with a few essentials and keep that with the travel cages. I already cleared a space under the hutch in the "bird/school/foyer room" (not sure what you call this area since it serves all purposes lol).
Making myself a list of what to include (other than the actual travel cage & pillowcases), please feel free to add to the list if you have an essential item I may not have thought of. There should be sufficient quantities to last 1 week. I've worked 2 disasters before and I know how difficult it can be trying to get supplies, so I want to make certain that I would have enough to last for a little bit.
1. Bottled Water
2. Seed/Pellets
3. Millet~ if stressed they may not eat anything else or you may need it to coax the bird out.
4. Other food~for my birds this would be a small bag pine nuts & sunflower seeds. These are crack for my birds~ never leave home without them.
5. Food Dishes~at least 2 (food & water), although you could put seed in your hand, sprinkled on floor & use bottle cap to hold water if needed.
6. Towel~ I cover my birds at night, so a towel to cover travel carrier would be needed
7. Toys~ Birds are easily stressed, will need a few small toys to help them manage changes in their environment, otherwise you may find yourself with a bird who starts plucking. I plan to include a minimum of 1 hanging toy & 2 shredders for every 3 birds.
8. Cleaning supplies~ pkg of travel wipes, hand sanitizer, paper towels (taken off roll and folded), toothbrush (or other sm brush to scrub bowls/cage etc)
9. Documentation Folder~ small notebook or folder that has hard copies of pet's history, vet information & 2 emergency contacts for someone who has experience with birds and who could provide temporary shelter if needed.
** Alternative to #9 would be to keep this information electronically stored, using program such as dropbox or similar and then you could simply access from your mobile phone. The problem with this though is that depending on the emergency phone lines may be down or limited and you could lose phone, forget to charge it or something, so hard copy would be needed.
10. Medications/Medical supplies~ any routine prescriptions, vitamins, quick stop powder, syringe/eye dropper.
11. Money~ amount will vary for each of us, but i'm thinking $50 in small denominations.
This is all very similar to my families "go bag". Each family member has small backpack filled with essentials for 72 hrs. I have a larger "family" backpack which carries additional supplies since my children can't carry overly large/heavy packs.
You should check your emergency kits a minimum of every 6 months, but some recommend every 3 months. You will want to rotate the food/water so that it doesn't expire or get moldy.
I'll post some photos once I have everything set up.