Taking our BG macaw camping!

[macawluv]

This weekend we are going camping for 3 days. Both babysitters backed out on me. So with no one left to watch Kai we figured we would save some money and take him with! We bought a medium sized dog crate that we are practicing sleeping and eating in.. Wow, I am nervous though! He travels well, but once we are there.. no turning back! He will be sleeping in the car at night to stay warm and safe. Any tips? Have any of you done this?

 

[ToMang07]

I hope there's nobody around you....or you'll probably have some very unhappy neighbors.

Small tent? If it's a large one I'd think having him in the tent would be better, probably warmer than the car. (Bodyheat and all)

 

[macawluv]

There will be others around. Besides being an only bird and somewhat quiet in his nature, we have been very diligent in training and he is therefore he does not scream very often. I am only slightly worried about him acting out of character. :/

 

[miloslave]

I have taken Milo camping a couple of times already. He absolutely loved it. But I agree with ToMang, definitely let him sleep in the tent, your body heat and breath makes it a lot warmer than the car. Thick blanket folded over and over again, (so about 4 blanket thick) below the crate to protect him from cold coming up from the ground, and at least two blankets thick to cover the cage. Milo did fine that way and loved sharing the tent with me.

 

[macawluv]

Ok, good advice. Thank you! The nights are supposed to stay around 60 degrees.. His cage is in our basement which is always around 65-70 so he is well acclimated to that colder range. He sleeps in a hammock/nest that will keep him warm, too. I was thinking wrapping the cage well with a blanket and since it is small would keep him warm. He goes to bed around 7-8 so his sleep would be disturbed if he was in the tent. I think this may be one of those things that we will just know what is the best choice when we get there We took him on a mile walk last night to practice "hiking." He was so good it made me worry less!

 

[GreatBlue320]

I hope you all have a great time this weekend. Let us know how it goes.

 

[SilverSage]

Just be REALLY careful with trees please... does he wear a harness? I just have images of him getting spooked, jumping off you, and climbing up a tree in a panic, or landing in a lake or in a camp fire. I would think that is a bigger danger than the cold... oh and be really careful with the smoke! Birds have a VERY sensitive respiratory system.

 

[macawluv]

Hi, So everything went great! He was slightly chilly Friday night and sat morning. Not really shivering, but I could just tell. The other days were warmer and he had a blast! He was so well behaved, not even one scream. He was finicky with his food and ended up eating more pellets and nuts than I would have liked, but whatever. He was quite the celebrity. Everywhere we went people wanted photos of him and asked a million questions. Normally I love talking to people about him, but we were there to sight see, too...

 

[macawluv]

 

[Birdman666]

Where is that? If you don't mind my asking. That looks like the Colorado river in some places....

 

[GreatBlue320]

It looks like he had a GREAT time! Did you enjoy having him with you? Do you think you will take him on another camping trip?

 

[miloslave]

Beautiful! He looks like he had a blast!

 

[macawluv]

This was in Upper Michigan. Weather permitting and pets allowed, we will definitely take him again. It saved us $100 not having to have someone watch him. Plus, he was a complete joy to have around. He behaved so well. We loved having him with us. Stuck to his usual bed time of 7-7 so we still could sit around the campfire and drink without being dangerous to him.

 

[Minimaker]

We just got a camper that has a small living/sleeping/kitchen/bathroom area in it. I've been trying to figure out a perch place that isn't on the table. I think if I remove the cushion on the couch bench thing I could make a pvc pipe perch with multiple climbing arms on it bolted to a wooden board base that could be velcroed down. Maybe cover the board with white MDF for easy wiping. It's going to be tricky. We needed a bigger one to make it truly workable but can't do that right now with kids still in the house. Campers get expensive the bigger they are.

 

[Blancaej]

Sounds like your macaw is going to have a great time camping! Once you figure out your perch, be sure to share pics. Sounds like you have a good plan!