In a tough spot 😣

[Melthemom]

In about 2 weeks my family and I will be moving from Florida to Ohio. I have a 5mo baby, 2 cockatiels and a parakeet. Due to only one person driving and no one able to help us we have no other choice than putting our car on a hitch behind our moving van and the only possible way is the birds ride in the car behind us seeing as there will only be room for the 3 of us in the van.

I'm not happy about this but there doesn't seem to be another solution. The birds will be in a small travel cage so I can keep movement to almost nothing but I worry about keeping them warm with the car not running. The weather is getting a bit warmer but help or suggestions? I'm very stressed about this situation.

 

[Kiwibird]

Is there going to be a second adult/older child or just you and your infant in the moving van? If it's just you and your infant, use the empty seat for your birds. Get them smaller carriers if needed. If you will have all 3 seats filled, could the travel cages fit on the floor below the car seat since an infant won't have their feet in that space? If there is a second adult or older/responsible enough child, can they hold the travel cage in their lap? When we moved halfway across the country, our bird rode in my husbands lap (in a small travel cage) the whole way. Our newt and gecko rode on the dash in mini acrylic carriers. Given how small parakeets are, that could also be a possible solution for them. 2 extra small or small "critter keepers" could be drilled and affixed with a perch and sat up on the dash while the cockatiel (being the largest bird) could sit in a small travel cage or even a slightly larger critter keeper on the floor of the moving van. You can offer food/water when you stop for gas or to rest. You could put them in the travel cages when you stop at a hotel for the night. Putting them in smaller carriers that will fit in the heated cab of the moving van would be better than larger travel cages in an unheated car IMO. These are the carriers I'm referring to and much like people retrofit cat/dog carriers by drilling holes in the side and attaching a perch for larger parrots, a similar concept could be applied to these for XS parrots by drilling and installing a perch:

https://www.petsmart.com/small-pet/...critter-keeper-small-animal-home-5197450.html

 

[Anansi]

Hello, and welcome to the Parrot Forums family!

That is a tough spot. My assumption is that the "3 of us" would be you, an adult or child old enough to be in the front seat, and the baby in a car seat. That being the case, you'd want 2 smaller travel cages. One that could fit on the floor at the foot of the middle seat (no legs to contend with, as the baby will be in a car seat and at 5 months those little feet won't be dangling just yet) and another that could be held in the lap of the person in the passenger seat.

I don't think you should risk leaving them in an unheated car in this weather. Might not be too rough in Florida, but there would be a span of time in that 15 hour trip where the conditions could get downright dangerous for them.

I know there are smaller travel cages that would work for the scenario just fine. It's just fortunate your birds are of the smaller variety.

EDIT: April, I hadn't seen your post when writing mine. We're obviously on the same page. Lol

 

[GaleriaGila]

I'm agreeing with the wisdom above.
I once followed my husband (as he drove the U-Haul) in a car with a dog, a cat, and a screaming Patagonian. You'll be glad you have an eye on everybody in the van.
Good for you, for reaching out for advice.
You can do this!

 

[jugoya]

Use a cat carrier and wedge it below your babies feet on the floor.
Simple enough...or this carrier with a divider down the middle...

https://www.chewy.com/petmate-trave...4peW1yoMJ12a7vEr8CMaAs0NEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Melthemom]

Thanks everyone for the advice! Going to try the cat carrier and hope they don't kill each other haha they love each other but like beta fish, when they each have their own space.

 

[Anansi]

Actually, if you're going with the cat carrier idea I STRONGLY recommend you putting in dividers between them. Or better yet, making it 2 carriers with a divider in one. That's a long trip for the three of them to be sharing such a small space. They might wind up hurting each other.

 

[Kentuckienne]

Just wondering... If you can run the car long enough to warm up the inside of it before starting the trip...and maybe build a small enclosure out of pvc pipe, say, or a large cardboard box big enough to hold the carriers, so that when the car cools down it won't affect them as much ... and a supplemental heat source ... I have this flat gel cushion thingie designed for football games and the like, you can heat it in the microwave and then sit on it. Maybe something like that underneath the carriers would keep them warm enough, especially inside a box? There are also battery operated warmers as well. Oh, there are even heated seat things for cars that plug into the 12V outlet ... it might drain the battery, but maybe if you stop every few hours and run the car for a few minutes it would keep it charged enough? Or...we have these smaller 12V batteries we got off eBay, I think they were for forklifts? ..and use them to power strings of LED lights during outages. One of those would probably run a seat heater for many hours, and they are rechargeable.