Advice on travelling with a bird???

[Meaux20]

Hello everyone,

I apologize for this very lengthy message; but I'm new to this forum and in need of some advice.

Has anyone ever done long road trips with their parrot? If so, any tips or suggestions?

I have a maroon bellied conure who is 20 years and his name is Meaux (pronounced Moe). I've had him (he has been sexed and is definitely a male) since he was 6 months. He is the ultimate picture of perfect health and will probably live another 20-25 years. He loves being around people, especially men, but he is biter. While I'm a female, we do have a love/hate relationship - he loves to snuggle with me and lets me pick at his pin feathers, but he also has no problem nipping me when he gets annoyed or wants something. Yet there is no denying it - he trusts me completely and I love him to death.

He has a huge flight cage that sits in front of a sliding glass door so he can see outside - I find he has always been extremely happy when he can watch the outside world. Meaux tends to whistle and say hello to the familiar faces and absolutely loves the sound of any big truck.

I bought him in Hollywood Florida and then moved 12 years later to the Chicago suburbs. We drove the entire way - so that is by far the longest road trip he has ever been on.

He likes going places because for him it means being around lots of people - which he loves. However, he does get extremely car sick. On the big trip my vet gave me an antihistime to calm his car sickness which did work a little bit.

When I have travelled I would either board him or leave him with friends or family. Since he is a biter I have always provided a cage where his feeding dishes are accessible from outside of the cage. So while I'm gone he is never touched or held for fear of being biten - which leaves him very depressed.

So here is my delimma - I have an opportunity to travel around the US for the next 1-2 years. During this trip I do plan to stay a few places for a couple of months - so there will be some time to settle. I'm thinking about taking him with me on the road. My fear is that with his car sickness he might get really sick.

I've thought about the following:

1. I would love to leave him with friends or family, but no one will handle him - so I fear he will get very depressed, especially since I'll be gone for almost 2 years. So this is not an option.

2. I've thought about boarding him, but I fear that he won't receive the attention and/or might be put in a bad location with no windows - again, becoming very depressed.

3. I've thought about giving him up to a parrot sanctuary, like Oasis.org, but I feel guilty that I'm abandoning him just because I want to travel. Plus, will he be happy, even happier than he is with me? Or will he feel that I abandoned him? Will I be able to take him back when I'm done with my travels?

4. After thinking about 1 - 3 above, I decided to take him with me. It will, no doubt, be a pain to travel with a bird; but I don't know what else to do. I realize that he might be stressed, he might become sick, but he might also be happy to be with me.

Has anyone ever travelled with their parrot? Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much and have a fantastic day!

Kimberly

 

[Retro21]

We have traveled all over with our macaw, we used to have an RV that had a cage in it for her. She went everywhere, from Key West to Las Vegas. She loved it and was a very good road warrior! However, traveling with a bird that gets car sick is another matter. I don't have any experience with that. It's too bad that you don't know any bird lovers that would take the time to get to know her and attempt to handle her, that could be your back up plan if taking her with you didn't work out so well. I wish you luck, I hope it is a great adventure for you and Meaux!

 

[horsesculpter]

We also travel all over the US with our macaw. She has her cage in the trailer, but rides in the truck with us and loves it. Like Retro21, ours does not get carsick. Have you tried a covered cage so the bird can't see outside while you are moving? I definitely would take him even with the car sickness. I know how our Macaw suffered when she was rehomed to us. Don't do that to your bird. She is happy now but it took months and she looked for her special person for a year or more. Hope somebody knows some remedies for car sickness and good luck.

 

[mrgoogls]

i havent taken Cooper on any long travels or vacations. but he had almost a 2 hour ride home from the store. and a few weeks ago we got a new furnace, and kept him in the car with us all day long from like 7 am to 9 or 10 pm in his carrier while the fumes cleared out. he was fine. if like Retro, and you have an RV with a cage, ignore this, but if your using a carrier in your car read this. do not put water i the dish when you are driving!! in an RV it is probably fine, but not a car! it will go everywhere! just stop every once in a while, pour some out of a bottle, let him drink, then dump it when you start out again. you can keep food. i would take all toys out except foot toys. they can swing around and hit him. if its a really small light one it might be okay, but no big wooden ones. thats about all the adivice i got for you. hope it helps

 

[ruffledfeathers]

I never 'travelled' with my Georgie, but when i had her, we often took overnight/weekend trips and she moved with me a few times. I was always surprised how well she took to it! I think she actually enjoyed it.

 

[henpecked]

I have never seen a car sick parrot, so can't help much there. i have traveled all over the US with pet amazons. I usually get them used to their travel cage before a trip and carry a large cage for longer stays.

 

[Remy]

Maybe there is a homeopathic remedy that could help. Or maybe some ginger or other herbal tummy helpers.

I used to get carsick when I was young, but I eventually outgrew it. Maybe she will too.

 

[MonicaMc]

You might try different ways of traveling with him in the car.

In a cage with the AC/Windows open (in other words, air movement)
In a cage with the cage covered, or partially covered but enough he can still see you
Give him a few of what's going on outside.
Try feeding ginger and/or ginger tea at least 30 minutes to 2 hours prior to traveling
Provide fresh ginger inside the cage while traveling


Likewise, you might want to start and see when his car sickness acts up. Is he fine sitting in the car while it runs? Is he ok while moving at a slow speed? At what speed does he start getting sick at? IS there any length of time that he gets sick? As in, does he get car sick within minutes? Or does he start getting car sick after 5 minutes? 15 minutes?

It might help to take short trips that he can withstand, and slowly increasing the amount of time in the car to a suitable amount of time. That, and trying to find ways to ease his discomfort before really long trips.