sweetpeamusic
Member
Hi all,
I am moving permanently to Japan from Seattle in a few days.
I understand the concern with moving birds overseas and I considered other options, but I really couldn't bring myself to re-home Nico (green cheek conure) after our 3.5 years together; living with me is all he's known other than his breeder and brief stints at the bird-sitter’s, and he is very bonded to me and my fiancé. When I got him in 2018 I had no clue I would be moving overseas, but plans change and life happens…
After months and months of frantic planning and paperwork (might post a thread on this later since there are so few resources on moving parrots internationally), the logistics of moving are complete.
The situation: I am absolutely terrified of what might go wrong during the 10.5 hour flight to Tokyo, and have spent many nights on the phone/computer trying to find some way to take Nico with me in-cabin, to no avail. Avian Influenza rules(which restricts where I can have layovers with Nico) and rules of major airlines (no pet birds in-cabin) means I have no choice but to put him in cargo for the long flight.
The details: I am flying with JAL (Delta doesn't allow pet birds at all) whose website claims he will be in temperature controlled places for as much of the travel as possible, but obviously Seattle during late October can get pretty cold and I’m worried about him having to sit out before he gets into the plane (forecast says temp will be about 50 degrees tops, we will be taking off at around 1:30pm so at least it’ll be the warmest part of the day; Tokyo should be between 60-65 degrees when we land).
He’ll be in a hard plastic crate as per the requirements, and the cargo hold is described as “temperature controlled and dark to encourage sleep.”
As soon as I am able to collect him after the flight he’ll be going straight home with me (an hour by car).
The silver lining: Nico has been on planes many times before, although always in-cabin and for less than 6 hours. He’s generally really good with traveling and is used to being taken to a bunch of different places (by car, bus, plane, bicycle, etc).
The frantic questions: What can I do to ensure that Nico has the safest and most comfortable flight possible? What should I bring as food/water (he’s not super good at drinking from a water bottle)? What should I do for him/have ready for him when we get there?
I am moving permanently to Japan from Seattle in a few days.
I understand the concern with moving birds overseas and I considered other options, but I really couldn't bring myself to re-home Nico (green cheek conure) after our 3.5 years together; living with me is all he's known other than his breeder and brief stints at the bird-sitter’s, and he is very bonded to me and my fiancé. When I got him in 2018 I had no clue I would be moving overseas, but plans change and life happens…
After months and months of frantic planning and paperwork (might post a thread on this later since there are so few resources on moving parrots internationally), the logistics of moving are complete.
The situation: I am absolutely terrified of what might go wrong during the 10.5 hour flight to Tokyo, and have spent many nights on the phone/computer trying to find some way to take Nico with me in-cabin, to no avail. Avian Influenza rules(which restricts where I can have layovers with Nico) and rules of major airlines (no pet birds in-cabin) means I have no choice but to put him in cargo for the long flight.
The details: I am flying with JAL (Delta doesn't allow pet birds at all) whose website claims he will be in temperature controlled places for as much of the travel as possible, but obviously Seattle during late October can get pretty cold and I’m worried about him having to sit out before he gets into the plane (forecast says temp will be about 50 degrees tops, we will be taking off at around 1:30pm so at least it’ll be the warmest part of the day; Tokyo should be between 60-65 degrees when we land).
He’ll be in a hard plastic crate as per the requirements, and the cargo hold is described as “temperature controlled and dark to encourage sleep.”
As soon as I am able to collect him after the flight he’ll be going straight home with me (an hour by car).
The silver lining: Nico has been on planes many times before, although always in-cabin and for less than 6 hours. He’s generally really good with traveling and is used to being taken to a bunch of different places (by car, bus, plane, bicycle, etc).
The frantic questions: What can I do to ensure that Nico has the safest and most comfortable flight possible? What should I bring as food/water (he’s not super good at drinking from a water bottle)? What should I do for him/have ready for him when we get there?