Traveling with your bird - some
tips from folks who travel with their bird every day.
Before we get into specifics, let's start
with the basics. Emergencies aside, if you're planning to travel with your
bird, get the travel cage a few weeks in advance. This will give your bird
time to get accustomed to the new cage. Also measure - measure - measure.
Make sure it will fit in where ever it will be going car, travel trailer,
family vehicle, motor home, commercial airliner, vacation cottage - just
make sure it fits.
We don't have a flock, we have one small
Indian Ringneck - Sunshine. Sunshine is 17. Catherine acquired him as a
baby. He loves being with mom. We know about traveling with a bird.
At home he has a 30 x 30 California cage (1), a large playstand (2) in the
dining room and another playstand (3) in the kitchen. Every work day
Sunshine climbs into his custom, 18 inch long carrier (4) and comes to work
with us.
We open the carrier, he climbs up his Booda
perch in to his 26 x 20 HQ cage (5) and finishes breakfast. Afterwards he'll
walk back out via the Booda perch onto his King's acrylic playstand (6).
When he gets bored he fly's onto his Prevue playstand (7) or his Prevue 20 x
20 wire cage (8) where he'll stand so he can watch mom oversee the shipping
of packages to our customers.
We spend many of our summer weekends at a
campground. When we get there he usually goes right into his 18 x 18 (9)
Prevue cage. We modified our small travel trailer so the cage fits nicely
into a closet where we removed the top of the door and provided a gentle
light. When we're outside the trailer, we have a large canopy/tent where
Sunshine spends time in his 32 x 21 HQ aviary (10) under the canvas. He
always has one side of his cage against a wall for his own privacy.
If you've been following my notes, you'll
see our little 3 ounce bird has 10 cages and stands. We've never had a
problem getting him into a new cage because 1) we don't make of an issue of
it and 2) he's happy just to be with us.
A travel cage can be metal, fabric or
plastic like - rigid or collapsible. Because it's a travel cage only makes
it slightly different than his home cage. If it's metal, bar spacing should
be appropriate. If it's fabric, the fabric should be durable enough and well
designed to discourage chewing. Clear plastic cages allow for great vision
but may be confining for extended travel periods. It may only have one perch
instead of three or four. Make sure it's comfortable on the feet. Stopping
and starting in traffic should not cause your bird discomfort. A couple of
small toys should be introduced to keep birdie boredom down. If you're
traveling by auto, keep the bird in the back seat away from airbags in case
of "god-forbids." Keep it strapped with a seatbelt to avoid sudden movement.
If your driving at night, cover the cage,
the intermittent glare of auto lights can be scary, especially if its after
bed time. If you're taking a road tip stopping at motels, find a place to
put the travel cage where you bird can sleep with as little disturbance as
possible through the night. We usually find the bath room counter to be the
best spot, it's out of the way and once the cage is covered, affords
privacy. In terms of temperature, it's simple - if your comfortable, your
bird is comfortable. No hot cars with the window cracked or in front of air
conditioners in hotel rooms.
If traveling for the first time, we
suggest a few trial runs before the big trip. Go to a friends, the
vet or even just a ride, the bird gets accustomed to the procedure, travel
process and change in general. If you let the bird out of the travel cage
while in the vehicle don't forget to put him back before any passengers open
the door. Some birds don't like to poop in their travel cage. This is a
judgment call. Choose carefully where you'll let them out to poop. You also
may want to check out the nearest avian vet to your destination, before you
get there - just so you have the info.
Remember. birds in the wild are natural
travelers. Larger birds will fly 50 or miles per day seeking food. Many
migrate thousands of miles twice annually. It's usually less of an issue for
the bird than for you. Lastly, we know you love showing off your bird.
Unknown places would not be the time to do it. Unscrupulous people may have
ulterior motives. While traveling with your bird it's no ones business but
your own.
Have a great trip
Mitch Rezman
General Manager
WindyCityParrot.com
The Avian supply Specialists
