What have I got myself into??

[Shezbug]

I would be grateful for any tips on getting Barry stuffed into a travel cage the least stressful way for him for when the time finally comes for him to move.
I was thinking of asking if I could leave a crate sitting outside his cage so he can see it and not be fearful of it but I was wondering if this will be a waste of time given that he will not be able to fully check it out and get in it etc. I am guessing I am going to have to towel him but I have no idea how to do that so it is safe, fast and efficient. I have not had the pleasure of ever having to towel a healthy bird, only ones on deaths door that I have moved from the road side and they do not put up much of a fight. I am not really sure what the best way to go about towelling an uncooperative independent cocky would look like.
There is not enough room in his cage to leave a crate in there for him to be fed treats in and get used to it and he has been pretty much doing his own thing (totally hands off) for over five years due to the medical problems his current mum has. She can not chance having him near her head as she has a port in her skull that leads straight into her brain I believe.
Way too much for me to think about and decide on my own and all you guys give such great helpful tips so I’m begging for help here...... someone tell me how to do all this lol.

 

[faislaq]

I like the idea of leaving the crate near his aviary. It might not be perfect, but it's something. I have no idea how to go about towelling him; it'd be nice if you knew someone who did that could go with you.

Maybe if you left the crate for him to see & have him treats near it, he might be curious enough to inspect it (go in) when the time comes? I'd only worry about it rusting, etc.

 

[Fia Baby]

I would try to avoid toweling him. They can be a bit phobic, he hasn't been handled in a long time and you're new to him. Can you move him in his cage? If not, I'd try to have him adjust to the crate as much as possible. Is he very food motivated? Some of his favorite treats in there might help - mine would do anything for some cheese or a corn chip. I worry that a towel would have him terrified of you for some time into the future.

 

[Begone]

I will also try to avoid to towel him the regular way from that aviary. That would be a very stressful caught and probably very aggressive too and not a good start.

If that bird should be mine I have waited until it's was dark enough so he can't see.
Then throw over him a dark blanket. And ASAP without stress move him to the crate without talking. Using soft cloves is my advice.
After that fast leave him and turn on the light but have the crate covered except for a smaller corner.
You can hide under that blanket so he doesn't see who caught him.

I did that with Akela because I didn't want her to have a negative start in her new home.
She was terrified of humans and once she was over the chock of moving, I let here from long distance get used to me.
If I first have towel and grab her I'm sure of that it would have taken a very long time for her to trust me and felt comfortable having me near.
And as she was so young and very valuable for me (I have been waiting for her 2 years) I didn't trust anyone else to towel her for me.

 

[Fia Baby]

The darkness might work, provided you can see well enough to do it safely.

 

[Fia Baby]

If you're like me, you've always wanted a reason to get some night-vision goggles... Barry sounds like a good reason!

 

[Kimberla]

Sounds to me like you are going to be great "too" owner! Lots of great information has been given to you from this board. I have monster tooz at my house and they are as individual as can be. Two of them are my buddies and the third hates my guts. He thinks my husband walks on water. From the little I could find out about him, he was hatched and raised by a man and his 3 sons. Part of the reason they got rid on him is the bird hated the gentleman's wife. He has been with me for almost 4 years now and he still will run from me to the back of his cage or try to bite me if my hubby is anywhere in sight. I am still trying to make friends. The guys like most tooz are the perpetual 2 year old. Always need stuff to keep them occupied and happy. I love my guys to the moon and back!! Keep us posted as to how it is going. Send pics!!

 

[melissasparrots]

My cockatoo has less issues with being crated and more issues with the type of crate. She loves traveling in all wire dog crate style travel cages. The mostly plastic with metal door style freak her out in a big way. If the bird was once tame, I'd actually consider just reaching in with my bare hand and see how it goes. If it just isn't going to work that way, then towel her and be done with it. Or, if he won't step up on a hand, you can try a stick. Many older, initially wild caught parrots were stick trained and will retain some of that training for years.

 

[Begone]

The darkness might work, provided you can see well enough to do it safely.

I have a small LED flashlight that I use to see the bird. Light on in 1 second only to see where the bird is.
I do this several times to be sure where to throw the blanket.

 

[faislaq]

I have a small LED flashlight that I use to see the bird. Light on in 1 second only to see where the bird is. I do this several times to be sure where to throw the blanket.

It is scary how you have this down to a science! I'm glad you're one of the good guys!

 

[Shezbug]

It is scary how you have this down to a science! I'm glad you're one of the good guys!

 

[Rain Bow]

I placed the travel cage on top of Buddys cage to get him used to the appearance. I don't think he'd ever seen anything but his cage for 20+ yrs. Now, based on how much smarter I hear too's are vrs. Plain old Buddy whos a Zon....

I put his fav. treats all around the inside (super big sunflower & pumpkin seeds that came in his food @ the time. I'm not sure how much time you have... She (owner) sounds very sick. It still took weeks of practicing & work to get him in there. I let him choose the pace tho. We had nothing but time.

 

[Shezbug]

I placed the travel cage on top of Buddys cage to get him used to the appearance. I don't think he'd ever seen anything but his cage for 20+ yrs. Now, based on how much smarter I hear too's are vrs. Plain old Buddy whos a Zon....

I put his fav. treats all around the inside (super big sunflower & pumpkin seeds that came in his food @ the time. I'm not sure how much time you have... She (owner) sounds very sick. It still took weeks of practicing & work to get him in there. I let him choose the pace tho. We had nothing but time.

Time to work on this is not really an option due to Barry being outside in an aviary so there is not a safe place for him to interact with the carrier and get used to going into it (the aviary is not really big enough to safely leave a carrier in there). It is also difficult as the current owner is very limited in what she can do safely with Barry and I live a fair distance away so just popping round to do it all myself is a four hour round trip each time. I do not think I will be able to make it as easy for Barry as I would like but I will do my best to limit the stress he will feel because of the move.
He has become used to not being asked to do anything and being able to be the total boss of his world, I believe he is a little stubborn and only eats a few foods.

 

[Rain Bow]

The evening/ in the dark thing then. Hopefully it will not be a workout when the time comes.

Good luck! Rooting for the home team.

 

[Begone]

It is scary how you have this down to a science! I'm glad you're one of the good guys!

I'm not sure that I understand that but it used to be funny so I will join the Party too.

 

[BirdEE]

My Umbrella actually got his nails cut yesterday. I just pick him up and he sits on my hand and I back him in. Basically one swift quick motion. He doesn’t really care TOO much. He talks the whole way to wherever he’s riding though. I heard “Hi Dad” about 10 times and “Whatcha Doin?”, “Hi pretty bird” etc etc.

Just a swift motion of them going in backwards works for me.....

 

[BirdEE]

My cockatoo has less issues with being crated and more issues with the type of crate. She loves traveling in all wire dog crate style travel cages. The mostly plastic with metal door style freak her out in a big way. If the bird was once tame, I'd actually consider just reaching in with my bare hand and see how it goes. If it just isn't going to work that way, then towel her and be done with it. Or, if he won't step up on a hand, you can try a stick. Many older, initially wild caught parrots were stick trained and will retain some of that training for years.

Same. Mine doesn’t mind his travel crate. Here’s what he has. He’s cool with it so long as he can see. Like I said, He prefers to hang from the side of it and talk the entire ride. I need to get a bigger diameter soft perch (that’s the one that came with it), but he’s barely ever in it and not for very long so I haven’t yet.

 

[Shezbug]

The aviary Barry will go in once the time comes is maybe four (or more) times bigger than he has been used to for the last 20 years. Would I be best off to give him the whole area straight away or start him off in a sectioned off part of it? I want to change the wire on the aviary anyway so before I do that I thought I should find out if I am best off trying to recreate an area similar to what he is used to or just give him the extra room from the get go. Will all the extra room on top of the move be extra stressful for him or will the extra room make things easier for him?
I visited the new house again and paid extra attention to the size difference, wow, I originally thought it was about double the room he currently has but I was wrong after having another look....it is much bigger than I realised.
He has a hollow log he likes to hang out and play in so I will bring that and put it somewhere he can feel sheltered from prying eyes if he needs to. I will also try to make sure he has more things to forage through as he seemed to like doing that when I visited and gave him some new toys.
It’s the size difference that is worrying me as I have heard of birds being overwhelmed by the extra cage room they have been given after being used to smaller areas.

 

[Begone]

I would not worry about that it's bigger.
But part of that aviary should have a dark and covered area. (Incl the roof) He will need a place that he can feel safe in.
If he have that you can put him in how big aviary as you want.

You can make the area dark on the sides with fresh branches.
If you give him a bigger toy now you can place that in the new aviary so he has something that is familiar to him. But i guess that you already planned that.

 

[FlyingMacaws]

@Shezbug, I figured I’d give how I put Archie into her crate. Archie and I had about a 20 minute introduction before starting our 2,000 mile road trip together. So I totally relate with the time and distance issue. Archie has feet issues due to having only a single perch for 15 years. (Archie was sadly like to many others was very neglected.) Archie didn’t have cage aggression issues but she truly wanted nothing to do with a step up stick or a bare arm to step up onto. So I put on several layers of clothes and after Archie tested the sturdiness of my arm with her beak she stepped up. Once you have him on your arm or a T-Perch you can than place him backwards into the cage.