Anyone Traveling with Birds?

[janemaati]

I am contemplating going full time (still need a trailer) but have 3 canaries and 1 lovebird. The canaries are simple, just need room for their cage, but Miss Loki could be problematic.... a free flighted, msichevious and willful lil' parrot who likes to find hidey holes and shred paper! She also needs regular hormone shots to help control some of her behaviors; she will get into a non stop egg laying mode, and hide out protecting her nest for months at a time.

Anyone traveling around with such a critter, and any advice? She really is my lil' buddy, but I also am not sure she would like the life style change, it might adversely affect her behavior, and that might make me an unhappy camper!

Jane

[BrockLives]

Hey Jane,

Has Loki taken any trips with you by car before? Does she get wiggy if you move her cage to a different part of your home?

I have 2 parrots now that both travel very well. They are happy just because I am around. However, growing up I had a lovebird (male peachface) who was very attached to his territory (a spot on our kitchen table). When I moved away to college, he was beside himself. I had to leave him with my parents, in his old spot.

Since Loki is flighted, I suggest putting door beads on the Airstream entrance door, so that there's a barrier if someone accidentally opens the door while she's out. The beads work pretty well to keep them in.

You probably already know this, but be very careful if you use a catalytic heater. They have much more sensitive respiratory systems than we do. Also, keep the toilet lid down.

Let us know how everything works out!

I will be going fulltime in 9 days (though stationary for a couple months), so I am really excited to hear about other travelers with birds.

Brock

[janemaati]

She has only gone to the vet..... hates that, but on the way home, I think she sort of starts to get into the ride and the scenery.

Loki is a Lutino (yellow) Peach Face, and oh, yes, she gets territorial, BIG TIME! About the only behavioral problems I have with her stem from the territorial-ness; she usually only nips, but she can and will bite very hard if you invade her territory too deeply. I have a sort of birdy-backpack for trips, and I have taken her out for walks with it on occassion, usually to "break her loop" with the territory thing, and get in there to take out unhatched eggs, etc. Once again, she HATES going in there, but seems to get into the scenery after a while.

I may have to break her of the free flighted habit a bit; bird poop in an Airstream, too small a space already! Seeking out hidey-holes in the cabinets, and getting territorial. Where to put the cage? We moved 2 years ago, and it took her months and months to adjust, so not too sure how she would like a more mobile lifestyle.

Congrats on making the full time jump! I am still a ways off.... need a trailer, need a truck Perhaps in another year. What type of parrots do you have? Let me know how they adjust!

Jane

[Stephen Mick]

I travel with birds quite a bit, usually chicken, duck or quail in the Dometic refer. I'm not sure how much they enjoy the ride, but they never complain about it.

[BrockLives]

Originally Posted by Stephen Mick

I travel with birds quite a bit, usually chicken, duck or quail in the Dometic refer. I'm not sure how much they enjoy the ride, but they never complain about it.

well, they got a nice AC going all the time...

Jane, my guess is Loki would react pretty much the same as when you moved. The inside of the Airstream is going to stay pretty much the same, just different views in the windows.

I talked to a lady who full times with macaws. She has her cages ziptied to the walls.

My dream set-up is something like a cage in the picture at the bottom of this post, something built into the cabinets at about chest/shoulder height. Really expensive! But an option for some (just not me, presently). Those were a custom order from Animal Environments. You can get them done here: Welcome to Animal Environments

What I will be putting in is some sort of bracket system like you mount a microwave, and using large travel cages. Kings makes a great aluminum one (very apropos ), and the other I am using is a fold-up YM cage (likely temporarily as it is a PITA to clean!). They're both about as big as my regular cages, but not as tall and without any legs, so they take up A LOT less room.

I have a green-cheeked conure (Beau) and a white-capped parrot (Jimmy Bullet). They are both really used to traveling. Beau has been across the country multiple times with me, both west-east and north-south. He's very gregarious and loves it. Jimmy has twice, and just kinda goes with the flow. I'll take some pics when I get things set up inside and let you know how it works out. It's all experimental so I'm sure it will get changed a bit before I find the optimal set up.

In the meantime, just keep taking her out with you so it becomes a normal thing for her. Pet shop people, bird forums online, and that sort of thing might be able to give you some more ideas.

[janemaati]

Oh, Loki would LOVE a cage built into a kitchen cabinet.... she's obsessed with getting into them, and it's almost impossible to get her out. I live in California, and get a little paranoid about earthquakes, so I have an eye bolt screwed into the wall, and a dog leash type clip on her cage, so it won't go flying or tumbling. That way, you can clip/unclip easily.

I'd like to take her for more walks in her birdy-backpack, but that generally involves catching her with a towel, then shoving her in there, and she HATES that. Sorry, no other way, lovebirds are very willful, stubborn, and independant, not people pleasers! It would be nice if I could just let her be a shoulder birdy outdoors, but that's definitely not safe.

I've got some time before it's really an issue, still need a trailer and a truck! Conures are very cute and personable, the ones at the pet stores are always right there charming me. White caps are mellow, like Meyers? I'm a little afraid of getting anything bigger, Loki is little, but can bite hard! (But she's really sweet, most of the time)

Jane

[BrockLives]

Ah, what a cutie

The cabinet cages look great. I can't wait until I can actually afford to do something like that (money is tied up with other Airstream stuff for awhile.. hee). It just seems so practical. For now though, they seem very happy in their travel cages, they're better than they were in my last apartment even. I don't have them strapped down. If I move, I will just put the cages in the truck with me. I'd miss them on the drive anyway..

Conures are very charming - they are my favorite. Beau, however, is strictly charming for me. He's my "jealous boyfriend." I think most of that is because I moved around a lot when he was growing up, so he wasn't around other people. He will talk to other people and dance with them, but he is bity and unpredictable with just about everyone but me.

My white-cap is very mellow. I've heard people compare them to Meyer's, but in my limited experience, Meyer's seem more skittish. They are related to Amazons and supposed to act similar, but not as aggressive. He is really pokey with he moves, very deliberate. Kind of snuggly, he loves his head and shoulders rubbed, does NOT want to be held though. Follows people that he likes around. LOVES playing in water and drinking hot water (....). Very trusting and gentle. He never bites unless you ignore his warning bites (he kinda hisses and lunges, but won't bite down). My friends love him, even the ones that don't like birds.

But anyway, feel free to PM me anytime with bird/Airstream questions. So far I haven't really done much different than I would in an apartment.

[janemaati]

You could probably build a cabinet cage pretty cheap. I think I got lucky with Loki, lovebirds sort of have a bad reputation, but she's pretty good behaviorally. Maybe someday I'll look into a White Cap or Meyer's, a mellow big bird.... I've already experienced the rambunctious lil' ones!

[Phoenix]

A few years back, bird-flu was in the news. I recall hearing that here in Arizona and I think California, the authorities were confiscating birds at the border inspection stations. I think this was mainly intended for chickens, ducks, etc., but I would worry about pets if they decide to do this again. (Just an unrelated comment, perhaps more applicable to pet potbelly pigs these days, for swine flu...)

[janemaati]

Someone else brought that up too. I guess I would have to hide her, and hope she keeps her squeeky beak shut.

My biggest concern right now is that she is very spoiled, 100% free flighted with the run of our tiny house (she's pretty good about keeping the poop contained to her area) and if we go on the move, she will more likely have to spend much of her time in her cage, which won't make her happy!

That might not be a bad thing, she is a little too spoiled, but for me, the retraining will require a lot of patience and probably taking some bites and hostility, no fun for me!

Jane

[BrockLives]

Another thing, I just found out a few days ago when I called with insurance questions. I have a full timers' policy with Progressive which includes injury insurance for your pet... according to the rep I spoke with, they won't cover parrots :/

On bird-flu, parrots aren't carriers, just poultry. There's not 1 documented case of it in psittacines (parrots), not like that will help much if border patrol is after you. But I've personally never had any problems with it. I've been pulled over 3 times (AZ, PA, and KS) with a bird/birds in the car and the bird has never gotten any notice (I'm not a terrible driver, really!) Besides, the bird is your personal property, a domestic pet, and you have rights.

There are a couple species (lovebird and canary aren't any of these though, so no worries for you Jane) that are illegal to own in certain states. However, if you are traveling through, you can have them with you. Quaker parakeets and Nanday conures are the only two I know of that have a ban on them.

Tennessee is the only state that bans owning a Nanday conure.

Here is a list for Quakers:
State Laws for Quaker Parakeets

[wolf146]

I cracked up with that line - a good laugh in the morning! wolf

[centennialman]

I was at the Rocky Mountain Vintage Airstream Club Rally in Laramie this past weekend and there was an attendee that had two birds (parrots?) in cages outside. She said the birds travel with her all the time and love it.

[janemaati]

Thanks y'all! LoKi might like travelling, but I guess my main concern has been her destructive tendancies and her obsession with getting into kitchen cabinets and lil' hidey-holes. I've been roping her in with a squirt bottle lately (she just has to see it, and she leaves whatever alone) and I guess I will have to start containing her more. But sometimes, she is awful cute when being mischevious! Also, she has been on hormone shots to stop her breeding behavior, and finding an avian vet on the road might be a trick; maybe we can stay at the KOA in Petaluma once a year, and pay a visit to her vet, and some of my old friends.

[digger bear]

My wife and I have two Macaws. A huge Greenwing and a Hahns. We love them like our own children. The Hahns will put up with riding -- the Greenwing thinks it is one of the coolest things in the world to do. We have owned these guys for 18 years, raised the GW from an egg and had an aviary 7 years prior to that. That said, I am no expert but will offer an opinion. Take it or leave it.

We will not travel with our birds.

They are way too high maintenance. I won’t keep them cooped up in a hot car/trailer when we take side trips which severely limits us (and them).

Most people don’t know how to act around birds. They have some sort of cartoon (tweety bird) view of them. Putting them outside in cages invites children’s/adult hands to poke/grab at them – you can’t watch them every second of every day. Birds who don’t know people, especially ones who are wildly grabbing at a “cute birdie”, will draw blood.

It also makes them a target for theft. Our aviary was broken into many years ago. The criminal broke up a few very rare breeding sets, managed to kill every bird he grabbed (they were VERY aggressive since they were defending their sitting hens) and lost a lot of his own blood in the process. If this happened in a public campground - you should have a good lawyer on retainer.

In the event your baby becomes ill, you will need an avian vet. Right now, the last avian vet in the whole state of Kentucky (who was pretty limited) moved to another state. We now have to take our Macaws over two hours to get care. Imagine having an emergency at 2 in the AM trying to find a competent Avian vet in a strange town!

Finally, I would not dream of travelling with flighted birds. One gust of wind or getting spooked by the neighbor’s dog and he will be gone. Remember, we provide a lot for our pets but, we also take a lot away from them. By being brought up in a home, my birds were never taught to navigate, fly under stress, forage for food, sleep away from predators or even how to get down from a high tree branch. Once my Greenwing grew just a few too many feathers and got away from me, he almost made it to the interstate a half mile away (I don’t think he has ever seen a semi truck or understands what it could do to him) but fortunately he flew INTO a tree and dropped to a very high limb at our local police station. He was scared to death, kept calling for me and had absolutely no idea how to get down. I had to find a very tall ladder and do a bit of climbing to carry him down. The amusing part of that story was the Homicide team was outside and watched the whole thing. I would hate to see yours become startled in a wooded area and shoot out your door. It has happened to friends of ours and it heartbreaking.

We hire a “bird – sitter” when we travel.

Your Mileage May Vary. Whatever you do, best of luck to you!

[janemaati]

She would never go outside without her cage, and she never goes out where we are at now; she's fully flighted, but a 100% indoor birdy. Keeping her cool while traveling, etc does pose a problem. The big ones like the macaws kinda scare me.... my lil' lovebird can bite pretty hard, and I would not relish one from a giant! She has a favorite bell, which she knocked down yesterday; 1.) she understands I am helping put her bell back up, but 2.) I am invading her territory and touching her beloved bell. So what does she do? Perch on my shirt, and bites my chest! I pry her off, and she latches onto my thumb! We are in the kitchen, so I stick her under running water to make her release. She looks shocked, and sulks the rest of the day. I'm telling ya' sometimes she's bucking for a new home, and I'm not sure she will travel well in an even smaller space, with her very possesive nature.

Jane

[digger bear]

Just like having a two year old in the house. My experience is the bigger they are, the gentler they are. The green-wing is a big playful baby (like a baby great dane). He reminds me of John Beloushi in Animal House. Complete wild and trusting abandon. That said - they live/think in terms of absolute patterns and can mentally overload pretty easily. Your birds bell fell - it broke a pattern and upset its world - your messing with its possession further put it up and over and made it jealous to boot. With our birds, since they live in the moment, they wold have gone into attack mode as well. They would also have felt really bad about it after the event.

The water faucet was a great idea! They are so surprised they will snap back to reality. Mine is obsessed with socks. He will get into my sock drawer, steal them and chew up anything around the drawer. Sometimes he will try to shoot past me to get to my stash. He looks at me and communicates very clearly - "I know it wrong, you know its wrong, we both know its going to happen so just relax!" He will get a time out in his cage but eventually - it happens. Its so cute it almost offsets how angry I am.

Gotta love them!

[janemaati]

With mine, the big obsession is paper.... lovebirds love to shred, and stuff the strips into their tail feathers. Soooo, it's hide the mail, lock up the books, especially anything you really want, because it's assured she will zero right in. But at bill time, we have a nice arrangement; she leaves the bills alonw while I write checks, and she gets the envelopes. Afterwards, she does her job, and shreds my credit card numbers!

Jane

[Tom Nugler]

Been following this thread for a while so I guess I’ll toss in a few observations.
Sue’s Green Cheek conure Sammy picked her out at the breeder in April. Since then she(?) has been out 2 weekends camping and spent a week at the WBCCI International in Madison. The bird has adapted very well to traveling.
The vet didn’t recommend boarding such a young bird and finding someone to watch her at home is difficult. That experience didn’t go over with either the bird or the sitter. I think they know when someone doesn’t like them.
So on the road we go. We have a smaller cage we keep for the trailer but put her favorite toys and sleep tent in it in order to maintain some familiarity.
I’m still working on a good way to transport the bird. The trailer cage is too big to keep stabile and the small transport cage Sue takes to go to the vet just pisses the bird off. Would something 12x16 work better?
Sammy does like to be up high enough to see outside while we drive. A cage this size can be secured to the center console in the truck and provide some view outside.
At International we ran across a woman who traveled with a pair of birds with no problems to speak of. During the Vintage open house I brought the cage outside under the awning. She’s a good conversation starter. I could keep an eye on her and the visitors.
2 more trips scheduled this season so we’ll see how thing work out.

Tom.

[janemaati]

Ah, she's cute! Still just a lil' baby!

Jane