travelling with a parrot

[tbag420]

I have been taking my grey to a park by car once in a while. I put her into a smaller cage that fits on the back seat, attach the belt, and off we go.
However, I realise that if I had an accident, there is nothing in the world I could do to save the parrot as she would be thrown against the cage bars and no way would her little body survive.
The parks are only a few blocks away, so now we try to walk....and by car we go slowly and never take the bigger streets.
But how does one do for traveling with the parrot in the car for longer distances?
I was planning to go see my relatives that live about 300 kilometers from my place, and it would be fun to bring my parrot with me as there would be no one to baby sit her at home?
Can anyone provide any tips on traveling with a parrot. Tips on how to avoid hurting the parrot in case of an accident.
And I do not mean to say a turn over car accident, just a small hit from the back would probably be enough to throw her off the perch against the cage bars.....

[Deadlyarrow]

looking too much on the dark side. I mean if we were worried so much about getting a little bump, we wouldn,t travel at all, and never with pets or children. I have travelled with a parrot, and i put him in the largest cage I can get in the car, and fasten it in. I make sure that he will not be in a breeze from open windows, nor in the sun. I remove the water and place juicy fruit in the cage, and a branch just right so he can get a good grip onto. Even in the event of a small rear bump, the bird should be able to hold fast, either onto the perch, or the cage bars.

[T-Sea]

accident, especially when travelling at highway speeds. The main things to remember are to have your bird in a travel cage, with no swinging toys or perches. The cage should be seat belted in the back seat away from air bags. Just being knocked off a perch & against the cage bars will not be enough to kill a bird as they are tougher than that.
My CAG loves car rides. http://bellaonline.com/site/birds

[Susano-o]

almost into Canada. We were gone two weeks. We had a marvelous time, Tutsi included. He loves to ride in the car and is a much better traveller than most humans.
He owned the back seat of the car. His `riding home` was a larger cage, it fit snugly from the back seat to the the back of the front seat and was securely belted in of course.
His perch was a 4-way Booda perch, the ones made with strong cotton rope. This is his preferred type of perch at home since he can grasp it so well and works very well in a moving car.
Since we leveled the cage we were able to use screw on dishes, one with a low level of water (changed VERY often), and others with a seed/pellet mix and a fresh veggie/fruit mix. We took his favorite dinner dish as well. He was fed from it in our room in the evening. We also took his normal travel/sleep cage and his Boingg. These were used to make him feel at home once we got to the motel/hotel in the evening.
He was a VERY happy bird during our trip and had no problems at all. He ate, played, talked and even bathed well the entire time. He thoroughly seemed to enjoy watching "Old Faithful" erupt in Yellowstone National Park!
Please, don`t let your fears stop you from enjoying a fun adventure with your feathered friend.

[habakuk]

Most of my pet birds have travelled with me and they all love riding in the car. They have smaller travel cages in which they have also stayed at our destinations although they have lots of out of the cage time as well. I`ve known people who lived in large RVs (caravans for you Brits <G>) for weeks at a time with their birds, travelling the roads in their specially fitted cages and that seems like a wonderful thing to me that I would absolutely love to do sometime. Of course...the chances I`d ever be able to afford a large RV let alone one outfitted for my birds is pretty darned slim - lol...
Anyway, mine travel in smaller cages, buckled onto the middle seat of my minivan. I don`t know how far 300 km is in miles, the farthest I`ve gone with mine is a 5-hour drive and he did fine without food or water for that length of time although I wouldn`t go any longer than that. One thing I always do is take a big bottle of the water that they are used to drinking, as the water does vary a bit from place to place and I`d be very upset if one of my birds got sick far from home and our own vet.
As for accidents, they can happen but I could enclose all my birds (and my family) in a nice glass bubble and we`d all be safe but not very happy - that`s how I see things. They love going out with us and to various places and I don`t let the slight chance of a crash keep them - or us - home. owly GO NUTS!! http://www.lansinglugnuts.com Dull women have immaculate houses.

[Deadlyarrow]

perches?? I use a small travel cage complete with perches and bars and find they hang on ok.

[tbag420]

I guess i was not clear at some point, but the little cage does have a perch that goes all the way from one side to the other. And of course the two dishes for food and water.
Why do you prefer to give it juice fruit instead of water?

[Susano-o]

Have you ever considered using a bird shish-ka-bob (sp?) for short trips? That`s what we do when we take Tuts for short trips. We put a grape, an apple slice and pieces of melon, broccoli, carrot, etc., on it. That way he has moisture as well as a bit of sustenance. It can easily be secured to the side of his travel cage with C clamps so it won`t swing around and hurt him.
On long trips we also carry several bottles of reverse osmosis water from home, not only for him to drink but for bathing as well.
On our two week trip the only food we bought for him along the way was fresh fruit and veggies. For everything else, birdie bread, etc., I kept enough in a cooler for the entire trip. It was easier traveling with a human baby!! <G>

[habakuk]

I have the kabobs, but remove everything except a single perch - attached low - from the cages. I take along a bottle of water from home so they don`t have to get used to different water while we`re away, whenever I stop for a break for myself I offer it but it`s yet to be accepted. 5 hours isn`t a big deal for a healthy bird, I don`t worry about it. owly

[Susano-o]

traffic jams or car breakdowns. Been there, done that ... more than once!