Parrot Perch Backpacks?

[Ladyhawk]

What Laylatoo said: the Celltei Pak-o-Bird is awesome. They are very well-made and my experience with customer support was phenomenal. Good customer service is a dying art and I was very pleased with the people at Celltei.

I have to admit those sun conures look absolutely adorable in their carrier! Every time I see cute birds, I want them, but I've learned that one parrot is the optimal number for me, no matter how much I'd like a caique or a cockatoo. If I ever do decide to look into a second bird, I will do a ton of research on getting parrots to get along. If it looks like it won't happen I won't do it.

My baby blue-fronted Amazon is sensitive. Still, she learned very quickly to accept the Pak-o-Bird. She eats, drinks (from the Lixit water bottle) and plays with toys while in the backpack. When she's in it, she feels safe from the outside world. And she is, for the most part. As soon as this heat wave is over, we're going out again. And since she is in the middle of being harness-trained, that means we're going in the Pak-o-Bird. I love that thing and Kizzy does, too.

There is one issue that came up. If you wear the Pak-o-Bird as a backpack (it can be slung over one shoulder or worn in front, as well), you cannot easily monitor your bird. This could lead to problems on hot or cold days. Birds cannot dissipate heat as efficiently as mammals. We can sweat. Our birds have to lose heat through their feet and by panting. Panting works much better for mammals than it does for birds. By the time a bird is panting, it is very hot and needs to be cooled down immediately.

In traditional carriers, I kept a close eye on my Gabby bird. With the Pak-o-Bird, I subconsciously decided, "If I'm fine, she's fine," which isn't the case at all, especially on a hot day. Luckily, I realized my error when I brought Kizzy home from a walk on a hot day and felt how hot her feet were. I already knew, cognitively, that birds have trouble with heat, but it didn't occur to me that not having eyes on her at all times might lead to trouble. From now on we're taking a spray bottle with us and I'm going to watch her more closely. This may lead me to using the Pak-o-Bird in a new way: shoulder strap or front pack.

 

[Tami2]

Thank you very much LadyHawk, rest assured I will be mindful of the temperature. I will most likely wear it in front.

 

[Tami2]

Levi's Pak-O-Bird has just arrived.
VERY EXCITED!! YAY!!!

 

[wrench13]

FWIW I always wear the PoB in the front. Did you know that you can unzip the sides and lay the whole thing flat on a table to clean the insides? THey really did their homework on this product. As i said , I went to the factory in Brooklyn, and watched them build Saltys PoB. They showed me the whole evolution of the current design, pretty cool to see how it changed, as a result of customer feedback and research.ANd like Lady Hawk posted, awesome customer service. The PoB, for us, is ideal for long car trips , where I dont want Salty climbing around the car or hav him in his harness for hours and hours. Heck its even got front and side flaps, so you can essentially cover the parrot at night ( we do that in the car because headlights and street lights get him scared at nighttime. Down sides - the water and food cups, made of stainless steel, are cheaper ones - both of mine kinked on the lip but they replaced.

 

[Tami2]

Hi Wrench13,

Yes, it came unzipped & I laid it out on the table as I was unpacking the box.
Levi, was in it twice yesterday and I have it close to where ever he's hanging.
So, it has been in his sights to get used to it. He's pretty much a scaredy cat about everything, so new things are always a slow introduction for him.

I don't know if I'll use it as a transport device as he loves his little travel cage. However, I may consider using it to take Levi to his next Vet appt, just to show her his new digs. Haha

Thanks!

 

[clark_conure]

They only thing I worry about is they way the human body works we keep our upper body mostly stationary when our legs an hips move a lot when walking. With a bird backpack it seems like it would follow the hips more than the sholders and a bird might get leg strain just keeping his balance on the perch, where on a shoulder its more steady. Just something I thought about in pilafs original post.

 

[Tami2]

They only thing I worry about is they way the human body works we keep our upper body mostly stationary when our legs an hips move a lot when walking. With a bird backpack it seems like it would follow the hips more than the sholders and a bird might get leg strain just keeping his balance on the perch, where on a shoulder its more steady. Just something I thought about in pilafs original post.

Something else to consider clark_conure. But, when you think of them in the wild, (& wild birds for that matter) perched perhaps during a wind storm. I would guess they are capable of handling something of this nature. Maybe by going for short hikes w/ Levi and building up to longer ones that would build up his muscle & leg strength etc... to handle longer hikes....

Your thoughts?

 

[clark_conure]

Sounds reasonable....so long as your thinking about the bird more than you I generally give benefit of the doubt. I might end up buying one someday but it was just a concern I had.

 

[Tami2]

Levi's 1st day out in his new Pak-O-Bird. He did very well. I waited for the temp to warm up and I carried him in front. If I could make a suggestion to this company, I'd suggest they put another window on top, so we could keep an eye on them.
I took him down the block to a local field, so it would be more of a walk rather than an actual hiking trail. We took it very slow and only walked a mile. I was grateful that hardly anyone was there for his 1st outing. I'll probably bring him back there a few more times to increase our distance prior to taking him on 'real' woodsy hiking trails.

Get this, as soon as I took him out of my truck & placed him around my neck a Red-tailed Hawk came flying towards us from the woods.

Please excuse the cell phone pic.