Thoughts on taking my cockatiel to some pet stores to get some toys and treats?

[Rico_Tiel]

Hello everyone! I have been wanting to take my winged fetus with a slight temper and a strange fascination with rubbery phone cases who craps 1,000 pounds with me to the 2 pet stores we have out here. once I have enough allowance that is. he does tolerate the harness, but he hates putting it on but ignores its existence once he is engaged in what I'm doing. I would bring some wet wipes so I could clean up his poop, some water, and food. are there any precautions i should take? aside from dogs that is... I plan on doing this in May when it begins to warm up and I will write down everything to look at! thank you so much in advance! (pics of rico for bird tax hah)

 

[SailBoat]

Our DYHA loves to travel and would love to visit a store with walls of toys, etc.. Several other members regularly visit their local Pet Stores.
We elect not to take him as he becomes very unhappy if his selected volumes do not make it home.

 

[wrench13]

I take Salty with me when I go bird toy shopping. In harness of course. I let him pick out the toys, saves money on un-wanted, un-used toys.

 

[HeatherG]

Rico is a good looking little guy! He seems like he’s very friendly.

I take Willow for short outings but I usually carry along his perching basket. That’s lined with newspaper so he can poop in there. Also when we go into a store I make sure Willow has “gone potty” before we go in so he will be more or less empty. And I always have tissues along. I am very very careful about the poop because no one HAS to let me bring my parrot with me.

It’s a privilege to have your bird accompany you. So you need to be sure he doesn’t chew on or poop on anything—and if he does then you will need to buy it.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Our DYHA loves to travel and would love to visit a store with walls of toys, etc.. Several other members regularly visit their local Pet Stores.
We elect not to take him as he becomes very unhappy if his selected volumes do not make it home.

interesting... my cockatiel has never been to a pet store before, aside from when i got him. any tips with car travel?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I take Salty with me when I go bird toy shopping. In harness of course. I let him pick out the toys, saves money on un-wanted, un-used toys.

i like the name salty hah
but yeah, im sure my little flighted rat would appreciate picking his own toys rather than me bringing home a toy he wont use because his highness has decided his royalty is far too good for it hah
im sure the flighted rat pig would enjoy picking his own treats the most because he is a food loving piggy haha

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Rico is a good looking little guy! He seems like he’s very friendly.

I take Willow for short outings but I usually carry along his perching basket. That’s lined with newspaper so he can poop in there. Also when we go into a store I make sure Willow has “gone potty” before we go in so he will be more or less empty. And I always have tissues along. I am very very careful about the poop because no one HAS to let me bring my parrot with me.

It’s a privilege to have your bird accompany you. So you need to be sure he doesn’t chew on or poop on anything—and if he does then you will need to buy it.

thank you! he is friendly mostly but he is a bit of a moody judy

willow is a cute name! that was the name i picked for rico before i got rico (2 years ago when i wanted a tiel before i had a tiel when i had budgies, before they flew over the rainbow bridge)

also, any tips for taking birds in the pet store and going in the car?

thankfully my poopy bird doesnt poop much when on a harness and when he does its typically small then when he gets to his cage, he essentially poops out the HUGEST poopy i would ever see from him! it rivals his morning poops which are massive. but i will stay vigilant for poop lol

but yes, being able to bring your bird or any animal anywhere is a huge privilege!

 

[foxgloveparrot]

I take my sennie and YNA to the pet store a lot. They like to pick out their own toys for me to buy. I only take them to bird-specific stores, though, because I'm worried about people bringing in their dogs and spooking the birds or worse.

 

[SailBoat]

interesting... my cockatiel has never been to a pet store before, aside from when i got him. any tips with car travel?

Our Julio is a true traveler and loves to ride in the SUV as it gets him up above cars. He has to be able to see what is happening around him. Huge, multi-wheeled trucks, he will display his vast dislike for the noise and is happy once they are passed and now behind us.
His self-assigned responsibility is to watch the sky for creatures of danger, which include aircraft! If we spot a Red Tailed Hawk in a tree watching for its next meal, he become a bit touchy that one of his Humans saw the Hawk before him!
His biggest dislike are those other vehicles that notice him and match speed pointing at him. If they stick around to long, he simply turns his back to them, which in the Amazon World is a real put-down!
He commonly rides for several thousand miles each year between family members, trips to the cabin and numerous other places.
He is a true Road Warrior!!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

I take my sennie and YNA to the pet store a lot. They like to pick out their own toys for me to buy. I only take them to bird-specific stores, though, because I'm worried about people bringing in their dogs and spooking the birds or worse.

sadly, we don't have any bird specific stores in my area and my bird is a cocky little monster, so dogs don't scare him UNLESS they are running or approaching us. I think I boosted his ego too much by saying "who's my big monster?" and playing chase with him (it's where he sees me start running towards the hall or out of the hall and he chases me while I act scared of him and giggle because it's really funny to me) or when I call him Godzilla after letting him watch Godzilla vs Kong. thankfully my pet stores rarely have dogs in it, mainly just little dogs like chihuahuas and small terriers.


and my more exotic pet store which I LOVE visiting because of all the reptiles, the adorable little budgies, the magnificent fish, the fascinating tarantulas, and the sweet looking rodents and rabbits, never has dogs in it but pets are allowed in. I particularly like the betta setups (7 gallons which is perfect for bettas!), the sweet little budgies, and the heart melting ball pythons! I also once saw a Chinese water dragon and a stunning Common Basilisk! there is so much I want to show him!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Our Julio is a true traveler and loves to ride in the SUV as it gets him up above cars. He has to be able to see what is happening around him. Huge, multi-wheeled trucks, he will display his vast dislike for the noise and is happy once they are passed and now behind us.
His self-assigned responsibility is to watch the sky for creatures of danger, which include aircraft! If we spot a Red Tailed Hawk in a tree watching for its next meal, he become a bit touchy that one of his Humans saw the Hawk before him!
His biggest dislike are those other vehicles that notice him and match speed pointing at him. If they stick around to long, he simply turns his back to them, which in the Amazon World is a really put-down!
He commonly rides for several thousand miles each year between family members, trips to the cabin and numerous other places.
He is a true Road Warrior!!

that sounds magnificent! Rico would be angry at the mere existence of ravens and eagles. he is used to seeing cars but idk how he would react to trucks. doesn't your bird ever get stressed from these trips? if so, do you have any tips? also, have you ever dealt with car sickness with Julio?

 

[SailBoat]

Julio loves to travel and has never had an issue with car sickness.
Car sickness with Parrots tends to be tied to not being able to connect the movement felt with what is happening. Most issues regarding car sickness vastly reduce when the Parrot is lifted and they can see what is happening, outside the window, during the full trip!
Also, it truly helps to get them out for short trips so that they can get use to traveling.
FYI: Do Not Make Your Only Trip Out and About to Only the Vet's Clinic!
No, Julio does not get stress while riding. Lots of experience traveling and on smooth roads with little traffic, he will even nap!

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Julio loves to travel and has never had an issue with car sickness.
Car sickness with Parrots tends to be tied to not being able to connect the movement felt with what is happening. Most issues regarding car sickness vastly reduce when the Parrot is lifted and they can see what is happening, outside the window, during the full trip!
Also, it truly helps to get them out for short trips so that they can get use to traveling.
FYI: Do Not Make Your Only Trip Out and About to Only the Vet's Clinic!
No, Julio does not get stress while riding. Lots of experience traveling and on smooth roads with little traffic, he will even nap!

utterly fascinating, i never knew that! is there anything i could do to keep him comfortable and prevent stress?

also, that sounds amazing! julio sounds like he enjoys car rides!

 

[clark_conure]

Because winter not so much......but yes I take my birds to pet stores at times.

 

[SailBoat]

Prevention begins with exposure and that involves short trips and making adjustments.
What has you believing that your Parrot will stress?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Because winter not so much......but yes I take my birds to pet stores at times.

yeah, as someone who lives in Satan's cooler, I would never bring my bird outside until it is at the bare minimum 55F outside and even then, it's short baby trips. the avg range throughout the winter is 10 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, and windstorms are frequent. winds that can reach 75MPH that throw icy snow around like sand in a sandstorm. it can really hurt and/or scratch your glasses. so i would never take my bird outside during that snowy hell... also, thats awesome! whats their favorite thing during the trip?

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Prevention begins with exposure and that involves short trips and making adjustments.
What has you believing that your Parrot will stress?

interesting... so should I start taking him in my mom's car and sit there for a few mins to begin it?

my bird can become distraught easily by new environments or seeing other birds like ravens and jays. he also gets really emotional from the color red, but I don't think I'd bring anything red near him

 

[SailBoat]

Wherever you want to start.
FYI: Remember that our Parrots quickly pick-up on our emotions and duplicate them. Dialing-back your concerns and dialing-up your smiles will help.

 

[Rico_Tiel]

Wherever you want to start.
FYI: Remember that our Parrots quickly pick-up on our emotions and duplicate them. Dialing-back your concerns and dialing-up your smiles will help.

intriguing! alright... ill start car training in January. I'll take him in there on a harness and leave the door open and chill in there for a few minutes then get out and repeat every few days, increasing time each week. then in 3-4 months my mom and I could take him places.

though, I'd have to do a little convincing. she's concerned he would slip out when it physically isn't possible. I'll make sure to stay all smiles with Rico rather than having my neutral face, which looks like I couldn't be less interested and would rather be anywhere else.

 

[HeatherG]

intriguing! alright... ill start car training in January. I'll take him in there on a harness and leave the door open and chill in there for a few minutes then get out and repeat every few days, increasing time each week. then in 3-4 months my mom and I could take him places.

though, I'd have to do a little convincing. she's concerned he would slip out when it physically isn't possible. I'll make sure to stay all smiles with Rico rather than having my neutral face, which looks like I couldn't be less interested and would rather be anywhere else.

Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring your bird outside in Alaska in January? Won’t it be incredibly cold?

Maybe I’m confused but I live in the upper Midwest and I wouldn’t take my bird outside unless I had to.