How to travel?

[Faygo]

What's the best idea on trying to travel with our Conure? We have to go to a different state in about 2 weeks for about 3 to 4 days. We cannot find anywhere to keep him (nor do we really want to put him through that kinda stress) so we're going to take him with us. I have a jeep with a nice big flat area for his cage but I don't know if it's safe or a good idea. I would of course strap his cage secure. Will a car ride mess him up? I planned on keeping his cage covered with a good blanket. Also, will being in this new environment mess with him too bad? Tanks in advance for any help.

 

[weco]

Before going on your trip, you should take your bird out for rides at least once a day, to get it used to riding. The bird should be able to see out of its travel cage & not be packed in with luggage & prevented from watching the scenery.....don't cover your traveling bird.

To keep from making a big mess, while traveling, offer, grapes, apples and/or oranges, for food & drink.....don't hang any toys or swings in a travel cage.....

 

[chippy]

Before going on your trip, you should take your bird out for rides at least once a day, to get it used to riding. The bird should be able to see out of its travel cage & not be packed in with luggage & prevented from watching the scenery.....don't cover your traveling bird.

To keep from making a big mess, while traveling, offer, grapes, apples and/or oranges, for food & drink.....don't hang any toys or swings in a travel cage.....

I agree with not covering... I take Wilbur for rides all the time (so much so that this morning I went out to start the car with him on my shoulder and when I went back in, he looked and me and grumbled as if to say, "HEY! I thought we were going out somewhere!" LOL

 

[Faygo]

thanks guys, i was so worried he wouldn't be able to handle it or he would get a little bird mind boggle by the every changing scenery. I will start taking him with us on shorter trips so he can get used to it. He's still not trusting us enough to be handled or anything, but he does get mad when we leave and he's all about coming out of his cage to walk around (until someone gets too close lol). I now know why he's so iffy, the store I got him from didn't quite treat him right and even used to throw a towel over him to get him out of his cage. He's coming along nicely tho.

 

[shotz71]

I agree to take him on short car rides if he is not used to the car. Also make sure he can see you, and maybe has a toy or treat safely in his cage to comfort and distract him.

We started driving around with our Sunny (GCC) when she was very young, just because we normally traveled on the weekends, and she just naturally would need to join us.
We actually drove from NY to Florida and back with her last fall, and she was such a good traveler. She now actually loves getting in the car now!

 

[MonicaMc]

If a bird gets car-sick, providing fresh ginger or ginger tea up to two hours before the drive can help keep a birds crop contents down.

Try covering the cage, not covering the cage, having the air on, having the air off, windows slightly ajar, windows shut, etc.


Different birds take to travel differently. Some do fine while others don't do so well.


Use a travel cage instead of regular cage. No hanging toys, no open water sources. If need be, train your bird to drink out of a water bottle - this will help prevent water spillage. Fresh fruits and sprouted seeds can also provide moister during the trip.

 

[Birdlover11]

If your bird gets nervous easily it might help covering the cage, but then again might make him more nervous.. Feed him lots of fruits the day before travel so it could supply him with water. Make sure the state you are going to needs a health permit before a animal could come in

 

[Akraya]

My conures made the 10hr trip down to where I moved fine, we covered the sides that were facing the luggage so they could hide if they were scared but let parts uncovered so they could see the front driver and passenger seat and out the window. I didn't drive with them but my dad said they were fine the whole trip, didn't make much noise but were eating and preening etc they've always been good in car rides but we'd never travelled nearly as far as that!
To prevent noise we put an old towel under the cage with one of those windscreen reflectors underneath that.

 

[Faygo]

well it's a 6 hour drive there and then 5 days later a 6 hour drive back. We will also have a dog in a kennel with us. I plan on covering his cage minus one window and a view of us at the front. What toys are good for him to have while moving? We plan on stopping every 2 hours or so to walk the dog and feed Faygo some fresh fruit. He loves bananas but is it ok to give him a lot of those for the water content? If he has issues on the road I figured we could adapt for him as we went, i also plan on trying to give him some water in his bowl when we stop each time (if the fruit is a bad idea). I hope he does ok. We're not able to take him out for test rides right now because it's 20 degrees outside and I don't want to risk him getting sick.

 

[MonicaMc]

If he's healthy, he wont get sick for being outside in the cold for a short period of time. Besides, you can always warm up the car a few minutes before taking him out. If he were to get sick because of the cold, then a lot of parrots would be dead. Here's Charlie, my mitred conure, outside in below freezing temps! (re: snow on ground)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13XmlniLKd4]Charlie Flying Outside - YouTube[/ame]


And quakers, which are from South America, adapted to living in Brooklyn, NY!
BrooklynParrots.com: a site about the Wild Parrots of Brooklyn: Photo-Essay: Quaker Parrots: Master Architects of the Bird World
BrooklynParrots.com: a site about the Wild Parrots of Brooklyn: Wild Parrots in the Snow!
BrooklynParrots.com: a site about the Wild Parrots of Brooklyn: Quaker Parrots in the Snow
BrooklynParrots.com: a site about the Wild Parrots of Brooklyn: Video Clip: Wild Quaker Parrots in the Snow!


This doesn't even mention kea's, the worlds only alpine parrot that is used to snowy alps!



My point is, as long as Faygo is healthy, he'll be fine outside in cold temps. Maybe not an extended period of time like the quakers and keas have become adapted to, but for a short period, between the door of your house to the car, it's not going to be that big of an issue. Besides heating up the car before you put Faygo in it, you can also have him in a carrier covered by thick towels and/or blankets.


Berries and melons are better sources of liquids than bananas are. Heck, oranges would work as well! And pomegranate seeds, apple slices, etc. Try to stick with juicy fruits!


Other than all that, it sounds like you've got a good plan!