Regular travel with a Green Cheek Conure

[Eyeluvpez]

Hello everyone! This is my first post. I have been researching and considering a Green Cheek Conure for quite a while now. One of my main concerns is traveling with a GCC. More specifically, my family has a small cabin which is a two hour drive from where I live. I frequently go there most weekends in the spring thru early fall. I would rather take my potential GCC with me vs always having to find a sitter and leaving him once we are bonded.

Does anyone have advice or experience with this? I would hopefully be getting him in a month or so, so there would be at least five months of at home time to acclimate him to my home before I would regularly want to travel. I would be sure to get any items needed to make him comfortable during travel and while we are at the cabin, but if anyone thinks consistent travel may negatively affect him then I would definitely have to reconsider for his sake. Is there a chance he may enjoy travel once he gets used to it?

Thank you for any information. I just don’t want to adopt one if I already know it would be too stressful for him.

 

[LordTriggs]

make sure to acclimatize him to a decent travel cage and have another cage at the cabin. Also you will need to make sure that the cabin is bird-proofed and convince your parents not to use non-traditional cleaners and cooking equipment which might be a bit of an ask

also many birds get car sick so take him on short trips building up so he can get used to being in the car

Also note that to have a strict timeline is an easy way to set up for failure, some people here had birds that wouldn't even take a treat from a human for over a year, go on the trips when he's ready to.

 

[clark_conure]

Everything Lordtriggs said. I take Clark on car trips all the time when the weather is nice, we go to stores and stuff, but max is about 25 miles there and back. Once I had a rental car and went on little bit longer ride, I'm not sure if it was because we switched from my truck to a little zippy car or the distance, but he kinda puked all over me.

I also wouldn't go anywhere when it's cold out, (early spring or late fall). Always keep the windows all the way up. And I'd take a few test drives, increasing the distance each time.

 

[Kentuckienne]

We used to take our amazon everywhere, multi day drives, weekend place, everywhere. He was used to the car and allowed to sit on a shoulder most of the time.

We made sure the car was warmed up before taking him to it in the winter. Always in the cage for transfers. We heated up the house leaving someone with him in the warm car when arriving at the weekend place. Eventually installed a wall heater in a powder room to have a warm spot quickly. Be sure the cage isn’t in the direct sun at ay time, or that there’s room to get away from the sun. We kept a cage in both places so there was a familiar house, and used a large travel cage for road trips. Of course check for hazards at the cabin...for example, people sometimes demote cookware for second homes, so make sure there isn’t any non-stick cookware, toaster ovens with nonstick lining, insecticide where he could reach it, and so on.

 

[itzjbean]

Great advice already given. There are great travel carriers/cages out there that would be a good idea, as well as a separate cage at the cabin for your GCC to stay in while you both are there. Is the cabin heated? The only thing I would be worried about is that your GCC gets cold at night, depending on where you live, they do better in warmer temps than colder.

 

[Sunnyclover]

I take Ollie my sun conure everywhere! He flies with me if I am going to a destination in the US and he goes on car trips with me. We took him 5 hours away to our DC trip and he has a blast. He has even been on an 8 hour car journey with me recently. He used to throw up in cars a bit but he has since gotten used to it. Last weekend we even took him on a 2 hour journey in which we stopped for lunch and the restaurant let us have him inside because it is too cold for him outside right now. He got his own seat and a piece of my bread and was happy and quiet as a clam. In fact people brought LOUD children in the restaurant and I was thinking that Ollie who's species is one of the loudest was so well behaved compared to them. If I were you I would go on a short journey 02 2 first to test all your travel gear for the birdie and so he can acclimate. Happy trails!

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, and congrats for contemplating a new companion.

Given the advice thus far, such travel should not be an imposition to a GCC. In fact, it will likely enrich his/her life with varied experiences.

 

[Eyeluvpez]

Thanks to all for the encouraging responses. If anyone else has any advice, tips or stories of your own I’d love to hear them.

The cabin does have heat and AC for when it’s hot. It’s not much different than a house amenity-wise. I’ll be sure to have only bird friendly pans and appliances.

If I do adopt one I’ll definitely take him on short drives to get him acclimated. I do feel a lot better now hearing your responses.

 

[Kiwibird]

Another person whose bird tags along everywhere (weather permitting). He looses his mind with excitement about riding in the car and is always super intrigued to explore new places with us. Parrots are definitely not meant to be staring at the same wall all day every day. They do much better when they get out to explore the world! Safety should always be on the front of your mind with a parrot who goes out and about with you.

I'd suggest you get one of these. They are pricey, but they are durable and good for car rides (sorry, I don't find animals loose in a moving car a very safe/good idea and these backpacks buckle in easily enough!), hiking, running errands, traveling on public transport, outdoor festivals etc... Seriously, one of the best investments a bird owner can make! I *think* conures need the small size.

https://www.celltei.com/products/pak-o-bird-small-size.html