Moving across the country

One of the big reasons my fiancee and I have been actively seeking a home for one of our macaws is financial struggle. After much discussion, we have mutually decided that Florida's job market and cost of living is not an option for us and are moving to San Bernardino California at the end of this month. I am transferring with my job and are cutting expenses significantly with this relocation. However, we are still planning how to best move the birds. In our current situation, the only option is to put them in carrier crates and drive across the country. Does anyone have experience with long distance moving with parrots, or have any suggestions on how to make it as painless and calm for them as possible? We have looked at Avitech AviCalm and HomeoPet Anxiety relief. Does anyone in the forum have experience with either of these products? Any advice for someone on a limited budget is much appreciated. We are doing everything possible to prevent a rehoming and are committed to doing everything we can to give the best life we can to our fids.

Thanks in advance.

Avicalm is great but it isn't a sedative and is t really meant for this sort of use. Instead of supplements I would suggest acclimating them to the crates by making it a game with treats and start taking them on short car rides. It's very doable; many of my birds love car rides and even the wild ones did fine on our move from Hawaii to Georgia. You can do this


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SilverSage said:

Avicalm is great but it isn't a sedative and is t really meant for this sort of use. Instead of supplements I would suggest acclimating them to the crates by making it a game with treats and start taking them on short car rides. It's very doable; many of my birds love car rides and even the wild ones did fine on our move from Hawaii to Georgia. You can do this


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They are acclimated to their moving cages. We moved 900 miles south to FL a year ago with this method, and also drove back up north during hurricane Irma as well. However, this is 2,500 miles and it's beyond daunting to me. I wake up at night panicking from the stress. I just want to make sure everything and every scenario is planned out. We have 2 bird friendly stops along the way, so that's something.

Then I really wouldn't worry about the birds. You have a plan, so breath! I just moved a dog, cat, 30ish parrots, and my pregnant self from Hawaii to GA and then almost died and had my baby 6 weeks early, HE almost died, we had a hurricane, no furniture, my husband still isn't here (we haven't lived together since early July because of this move), and a bunch of other things that I won't get into. I stressed and stressed and stressed over the details because there were a lot of really important details! But in the end we all made it 4,500 miles and we are all fine. And many of my birds weren't adapted to the carriers they were shipped in, and they actually had to be boarded for a month and packed by strangers, and we didn't have their cages yet so when Irma hit I had to put them BACK in their crates to bring them inside out of the aviary.


The birds will be fine; they are resilient. It's YOU I'm worried about!


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I'd think you'd want more than 2 stops along the way TBH. We made a roughly 1200+ mile move from AZ to OR a few years ago and even driving from before dawn to well after dark (long, exhausting days) we had to stop for the night twice. You're traveling twice that distance. Pet friendly hotels are pretty common these days just about everywhere.

If your parrots are ok driving in the car, they should be fine. I'd suggest if at all possible you find them cages big enough they can at least stand upright and turn around in it. For a CAG a parakeet cage from petco would suffice, I'm not sure about a macaw though, but I've seen some tall cages at chain pet stores that are too small for any bird to live in but would work fine for a few day trip. Those dog/cat type carriers where they have to be hunched over and can't see or move, I would imagine would be terribly uncomfortable for a bird to spend several days in as opposed to a small cage. Kiwi was actually thrilled to spend 2 1/2 days crammed in a UHaul cab with us stuffed in a budgie cage. Seriously. He was happy and shaking his tail, preening, making happy noises the whole way. When we stopped at rest stops, we'd let him out for a few minutes inside the cab and when we stopped for food/gas, set him up on the steering wheel and let him check stuff out. At least someone enjoyed that drive!

I'm thinking something like this would be a more comfortable long haul option for your birds:

This is about the size of what Kiwi was in, just big enough he could be upright and turn around in it and even scot a bit from side to side https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco...for-birds/you-and-me-square-top-parakeet-cage

Maybe this for a macaw? Their tails are so long, I'm not sure how they measure out, but I think this is a cage I've seen in store before that seemed big enough for a macaw tail https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petco.../prevue-pet-products-madison-bird-cage-copper

I just have one thought, I've lived in both Florida and California at some point in my life and you think California will be better on the fiances then Florida? There are 48 other states. I mean, do you have something lined up already, or family there?

I drove from California to Texas with two macaws two amazons and a CAG.

Mine are stay put trained, and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, riding in the car. So they did great. I used car seat perches. No travel cages. I put blankets down in the car to catch poop and food debris.

And in the motels, I brought PVC and connectors with me, and just did make shift playstands for them to sleep on, again using old blankets as poop catchers.

When we made rest stops, they got food and water bowls. At night, and first thing in the morning, in the motel, they also got food and water bowls. Shake out the blankets outside, and put them back in the car, and off we go again...

clark_conure said:

I just have one thought, I've lived in both Florida and California at some point in my life and you think California will be better on the fiances then Florida? There are 48 other states. I mean, do you have something lined up already, or family there?

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I was thinking this too and googled it. Mean home price there is $151K. Where I am, it's in the neighborhood of 340K! Almost makes moving to California seem tempting...

For the record La Quinta hotels are pet friendly with no pet fee when we drove from South Dakota to Georgia we just waited to see how far along our rout we were going to get that day and then called the nearest La Quinta. They were all clean but nothing fancy and we paid about $40-$60/night depending on location.

There is also an app called "Bring Fido" that helps to find pet friendly hotels.

We did good and water in the mornings but I also used seeds as the "bedding" in my hard sided carriers. On a normal road trip they would have been out and about but because we had the dog in the jeep as well as had it packed full of stuff, we couldn't risk them getting into a tiny corner and getting stuck. We obviously didn't have all of them with us for that; only 3 parrots and 4 finches and the dog.


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clark_conure said:

I just have one thought, I've lived in both Florida and California at some point in my life and you think California will be better on the fiances then Florida? There are 48 other states. I mean, do you have something lined up already, or family there?

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The cost of living is slightly cheaper than it is here in Tampa and the job market is much better and pays reasonably. I am transferring with my job but my fiancee will also be bringing in a reasonable amount out there. Also, my sister and niece are there and we have a friend moving in with us for a year.

Update: We made the move successfully, and things are going even better than expected. Although it was one of the most stressful things we've been through, we definitely made the right decision.

Welcome to the West Coast.

Welcome to SoCal!! The Inland Empire has much to offer with an abundance of homes built prior to the 2008 bust. If you carefully plan the freeway traffic, beaches, mountains, Mexico, and the desert are a reasonable drive.

Check out Magnolia Bird Farm for a huge selection of bird food, toys, supplies, etc. (Riverside location is closest to you)

Thank you! We have been to Magnolia Bird Farm several times and it's amazing. I am incredibly disappointed that they don't carry bird pellets, though. We live in Highland currently, which isn't the greatest but it's just for a 1 year lease.

Interesting thread, indeed! Good luck in your new home, I hope the babies are settled in. I am considering a move from Trinidad to the UK and am working on the documentation for my OWA and YSA, so I really need Silvana to be on her best behaviour!

AfricanGreyEnthusiast said:

Thank you! We have been to Magnolia Bird Farm several times and it's amazing. I am incredibly disappointed that they don't carry bird pellets, though. We live in Highland currently, which isn't the greatest but it's just for a 1 year lease.

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They normally stock Zupreem Pellets in fruit and natural variety, three different sizes. I believe they also carry smaller 1lb varieties of other brands.

Savi said:

Interesting thread, indeed! Good luck in your new home, I hope the babies are settled in. I am considering a move from Trinidad to the UK and am working on the documentation for my OWA and YSA, so I really need Silvana to be on her best behaviour!

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Stock up on warm coats Where in the UK are you wanting to move to?

bigfellasdad said:

Savi said:

Interesting thread, indeed! Good luck in your new home, I hope the babies are settled in. I am considering a move from Trinidad to the UK and am working on the documentation for my OWA and YSA, so I really need Silvana to be on her best behaviour!

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Stock up on warm coats Where in the UK are you wanting to move to?

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Bigfellasdad,

I lived there for 18 years, so I sort of know what to expect. London, to settle them in, then probably somewhere west or south-west of London. It would certainly be a big move for them, and that's my main concern. The paperwork/procedure is horrendous tho!

bigfellasdad said:

Savi said:

Interesting thread, indeed! Good luck in your new home, I hope the babies are settled in. I am considering a move from Trinidad to the UK and am working on the documentation for my OWA and YSA, so I really need Silvana to be on her best behaviour!

Click to expand...

Stock up on warm coats Where in the UK are you wanting to move to?

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Whereabouts in the NW are you based?

Scott said:

AfricanGreyEnthusiast said:

Thank you! We have been to Magnolia Bird Farm several times and it's amazing. I am incredibly disappointed that they don't carry bird pellets, though. We live in Highland currently, which isn't the greatest but it's just for a 1 year lease.

Click to expand...

They normally stock Zupreem Pellets in fruit and natural variety, three different sizes. I believe they also carry smaller 1lb varieties of other brands.

Click to expand...

That's my biggest issue here. Not much of a variety with bird food, so we go natural.