First time camping in a tent with a bird

[ShaunaR]

Hey everyone! Hope you are all having a super summer so far! It's been busy for us so I haven't been here as much as I'd like to. We are packed and ready for a 3 day tenting trip and leaving in a few hours! Pixie is ready too as you can see in her "tricked out" Pac o Bird carrier. I am so glad we got the medium long version as I can put many layers of paper towels in the bottom and just pull the soiled layer out whenever needed. We can also fit 3 perches inside and she has lots of room. I am nervous...but we have plans to cover every angle we can think of from over heating to how to keep her food. I plan on taking lots of video and pics so will share those here. It's supposed to be 27-30 degrees celcius every day so we are bringing a shade tent as well as our regular tent. If anyone has any final words of wisdom they would be much appreciated!

 

[Terry57]

No words of wisdom, just wanted to tell you that I hope y'all have a fantastic time and I want to see those pictures when you return!! Pixie looks adorable in her "tent"

 

[Kiwibird]

Sounds like you've got your bases covered, and for a caique sized bird, the medium is really big (it *just* fits our zon)! It's really like a mini-cage in there for her! Looks like Pixie is all set for a great trip

I haven't taken Kiwi camping (we aren't really the camping type), but I have taken him out in his pak-o-bird (he came to a concert a few weeks ago) and my best advice is to not be nervous! When you're scared and stressed, your bird picks up on it and becomes scared and stressed too. When you're having fun and are positive, your bird is going to follow suit. Oh, and if you didn't notice it before, there are some loops on the back of the carrier you can use the seatbelt through! Hope you have fun, and be sure to take lots of pics!

 

[dskidd]

Awww! Yet another addition to the Pixie Gallery-of-Cuteness! Can't wait to hear all about it (and see photos, of course!). My guess is that, by the end of the trip, you and your husband will be asking each other "Um...so what were we worried about again?"

Derek

 

[4dugnlee]

Aww..sounds fun! I really have to get me a couple pak-o-bird carriers. Have fun and post pics.

 

[ShaunaR]

Thanks for the well wishes folks! Well Pixie is asleep in the tent now all tucked into bed. She ate fairly well considering all the distractions. She seems to really enjoy listening to all of the sounds in the forest which really makes us happy. Feeling the breeze in her feathers ...you could tell she just loved it! She flies fairly well and is not clipped so we have only taken her out of the pac for her fresh food supper when we have both done a sweep of the tent to ensure all zippers are closed. Hopefully she will be better harness trained by next trip so we can use that to ensure she is safe. I just couldn't wait to share her first dinner in the tent with you guys!

 

[ShaunaR]

Ok getting the hang of it now!

 

[Neenie]

Awesome, certainly looking for ideas for when we go camping this year as want to take my Kito but am concerned about the heat factor and how to keep him cool enough, will be following yr posts. Have a great time

 

[ShaunaR]

Hi everyone! Well we survived camping enough to be heading out for another 3 day stretch today! The fresh air does us all some good and I am still off work so away we go! Pixie was amazing! The happy little soul just chirped and loved the sounds of all the wild birds! I was concerned she might be scared but no way! It was interesting that by the 3rd day we had more birds visiting us than we had during the trip we took at the same site before we got her too. A couple of them came very close and seemed to want to get a look at what was making such odd noises lol! Pixie ate very well too! We had a new cooler fail and it had her veggies in it...what to do! I had brought some Golden Feast Garden Flora and so when needed I dehydrated it in boiling water which worked beautifully! Those veggies take awhile because they are so hard but it did work in a pinch. We also brought a special water supply just for her from home so that we knew it was safe. I make my own mash with either a fruit or vegetable base and add couscous or quinoa. I freeze it in ice cube trays (with lids) overnight and throw the results into zip lock bags. I had some difficulty keeping them frozen but will try another method this time. I will put them into separate small bags and wrap them in frozen packs and then in newspaper and THEN place that in the cooler. With this in addition to her baby bird mash which she still gets in the morning and before bed. I was able to put the frozen or very cold ice cube mash into a cup which sat in a bowl with boiling hot water until warm which did the trick.
We have a brand new tent that is well sealed so we allowed Pixie to be out of her Pac o Bird there several times a day. She was always quiet when the crows came around which was good and her reaction when a plane went by was priceless! She must have wonder what kind of bird it was lol!
We are still working on the harness so will try it this week out of the tent. Pixie hates it but does allow it to be put on because she is so hand tame. I just give her lots of praise and something fun to do once it's on. I think once she experiences going outside with it she will be happier to put it on.
A word about why we are doing all of this.
I was concerned when we got our first bird (Steve the Canary) that a caged bird is not a natural thing and cruel....yea I was one of those people. The reason we decided to get a parrot was on the condition she could go out and see the world outside of the cage regularly. When we saw the look in her eyes at being in the forest, we knew we had done the right thing. That look is something you just can't deny. I just can't wait until we can train her to fly on the harness! We did run into cooler, damp evenings and solved that by placing a heating pad on low around her pac for about an hour before bed and then covered her with several blankets. We put the pac on a camp table between our cots at the head in the tent and left a spot so she could see me at any time in the night. We also left a low light on for her. The weather has been extremely hot so we had a spray bottle with warm water which we used to cool her off a couple of times per day and always had her in the shade. We also had to take care not to expose her to direct air conditioning in the vehicle.
I think thats about all we have learned! Looking forward to this week's trip!
Shauna

 

[Kiwibird]

Sounds like Pixie loved her camping adventure The pic of her on your head is too cute. She's quite happy to be preening herself up there. I think it's wonderful for parrots to get outside and enjoy the world. They are such smart, inquisitive animals, it does them a world of good to experience new sights and sounds. Looking forward to pics from future adventures!

 

[RavensGryf]

Glad all went so well sounds wonderful.

Not to be too far OT, but that arm tattoo is absolutely AMAZING!!!! :11: Beautifully done artwork, and the bird with the key, the cat... Ooh I just love it.

 

[Timothy]

That's so adorable. I took my Blue and Gold on an over night camping adventure once. She spent the day on her T stand in the shade outside the tent (Supervised of course in case of hawks) I wish i had a camera at the time. It was a bit of a struggle with such a large bird but we did it and hope to do it again! Im sure your little guy LOVED the outdoors as much as you did. Oh and btw, have you thought of getting some dry ice to keep your stuff frozen? its reallyt cheap and you can get i from most supermarkets, like publix and wal-mart. Works wonders in a cooler to keep things fresh