Altitude sickness?

[kellie]

Okay, now I know this sounds kind of dumb... and I feel almost kind of weird for asking, but can Lukah get altitude sickness? I live in Phoenix where the elevation is 1,117 feet (340 m). I want to take Lukah on a weekend trip with me to the mountains where the elevation is 7,546 feet (2,300 m). Would he be okay with this? Can he get altitude sickness or have trouble breathing/functioning because of the steep climb in elevation?

I know it's kind of a weird question, since birds fly and all, but my grandma has had canaries her whole life and she told me I shouldn't take him up to the cabin because of the change in elevation.

Thanks guys!

Also this increase in elevation would be over the course of a 2 hour car ride.

 

[Captsteve]

Hmmm, Never thought about this...I'm tuned in for answers, Am planning a 3 week RV trip soon to Utah from florida.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I wouldn't be surprised if it's possible for a parrot to get altitude sickness, but I wouldn't worry about 7,546 ft. Just don't let Lukah do any vigorous activity like flying.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've taken my bourke parakeet from an elevation of 4,500 feet to above 6,300 feet... My ears popped 3 times! I felt bad for her, because it was through a very bad curvy mountainous road and she wasn't feeling well...

That said, my mitred conure went from an elevation of around 1,300 feet to over 4,500 in one day, not to mention the ~7,200 feet mountain pass to get from those two points! And he did fine!

And Jayde... poor Jayde... she went from Ohio (~900 ft) to Texas (430 ft) to me (4,500 ft) in two days. On an airplane. All I can say is that she arrived safely and was *NOT* happy being stuck in a carrier!

 

[kellie]

I found this website that talks about birds, when migrating, rising to elevations of 10,000... It says that their lungs allow them to take in more oxygen than mammals do. So I think he would be okay? I was going to check with the vet when I brought him in, but now I can't meet with the vet till probably next Saturday..

Monica- How fast did Charlie go from one elevation to the next? Our trip would be from pt. a to pt. b in 2 hours. I just feel like that's really fast to change elevation so quickly... but then, Lu is a bird. Isn't he made for changing elevation quickly? haha

How Fast and High Do Birds Fly?

 

[kellie]

But then I just found this article which says they prefer to live at an altitude of less than 1200 m. The cabin is at 2300 m. So maybe he wouldn't like it up there anyway?

 

[MonicaMc]

The bourke parakeets elevation change was within 40 minutes... and it could very well have been over a 3,000 ft change. I don't know what the highest point is on the road, as I'm a little confused on that point... One says ~9,000' and the other says ~10,800'... So for her, it was a possible 6,000' change in elevation within 40 minutes, then back down 4,000' in elevation... and this had to be done in reverse on the way back! (all in one day - note to self... I hate that road! I'd hate to travel it in the winter! - if you are curious, look up Mt Rose Hwy in Nevada!!!)

With Charlie, the elevation change was probably 4-6 hours. It was the Bay Area of SF to Reno, NV. This was 7 years ago though, so I don't remember exactly how long it took.



Personally, I think that if Lukah is fine with traveling, he'll probably be fine with the elevation change!

 

[kellie]

Awesome! It seems like he would be okay then. He's only traveled a couple times with me (his last owner drove from Wisconsin to Arizona with him) and the drives have been short (to my parent's place about 8 minutes away), but he always seems okay with them and he always has a blast at my parent's, so I think in his mind the travel part of if isn't so bad for the outcome!

Thanks so much

 

[MonicaMc]

Well, whenever you make the trip, I hope things go smoothly! And you'll have to tell us how Lukah does!

 

[BoomBoom]

Good luck on the trip. Birds are probably equipped more than any other animal, to handle higher altitudes. I read of birds being flown on a plane all the time and they were probably stressed from the trip but otherwise ok.

Have fun with your bird!