Moving/Traveling with parrots

[Birds&Tea]

My husband will be retiring from the military in August and we're planning on moving back to the New England area. We are almost certainly going to be taking a few days to do the drive there (unless something comes up that prevents that).

My questions are both about traveling with the birds (a cockatiel and a green cheek conure) and helping them not to get too stressed out during the pre and post moving process. As of right now, they are both healthy, happy birds.

I'd be super grateful for any tips, thoughts or experiences! We've moved with dogs and cats before but never parrots!

 

[sunnysmom]

Have they had many car rides before? If not, you might want to start taking them on some short drives and increasing to longer drives to help them get used to the long trip.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

My birds love going on car rides! You should get them used to their travel cages and car rides in plenty of time for the trip. Make sure they have food and water, and no toys that could swing and hurt them. You should cover half their cages with a blanket so they will have some shade and more security. I don't like to drive more than five hours or so before I stop for the night and let them out. Sorry, I have no real advice for getting them ready for the stress of moving. I would say that you should start packing well in advance so you are not stressed, and so that they get used to boxes and things being changed around.

 

[Birds&Tea]

Thanks! Taking them for car rides is a great idea.
I'm going to start "de-cluttering" either this weekend or next week. I will call the Vet about de-stressing tips as well.

 

[Mizzely]

Even my fearful birdie Gizmo didn't stress too much about driving and moving. All my birds except Bobber have gone on 12 hour car rides between Michigan and Minnesota when we were visiting family. A few things that help:

- brew chamomile tea and dilute it by half, and offer that as the water source. Helps with car sickness

- take jarred baby food (make sure it's just veggies or fruit no added vitamins except C which is used as a preservative). It provides water and nutrients and I would offer it on a spoon through the bars when we made stops because they usually don't eat much when the car is moving. Alternatively you can offer watermelon or other fruit chunks to make sure they stay hydrated.

- cover half the cage with a blanket or towel. It helps give them a safety retreat and a sunshade if the sun shifts.

- position the cages so that a perch is able to run from the front to back of the car. While moving, it's easier to brace themselves while standing sideways vs getting pitched forward and backward as you stop and accelerate

- find a way to secure the carriers. In the event of an accident, you don't want them flying. Many cars from 2004 on have latches meant for car seats that you can use to secure them. You can use something like a bungee cord, run it through the cage, and attach to the latch bars to help do this. You might even be able to use the seatbelts depending on your configuration.

- don't fill the carriers with toys. They rarely play with them, and you don't want them getting bashed by a toy while you're driving along

I think that's about it! Definitely try a few car rides with them to see how they do, and if you like the baby food idea make sure you try some with them now so they know it's food