new family member - bird

debh

Member
we have a new family member. we got a bird.

has anyone ever tried taking a bird camping?
 

2010augusta

Well-known member
my neighbor has a couple small birds (cockatiels maybe) and they stay in their cage most of the time. during the summer I saw them set the cage outside a few times.

The birds did peck/est the headrest of the drivers seat in their class A.
 

dieselsweetheart

Well-known member
Porthole's parrot Cagney sadly passed away...but check with him and iforget, his wife Debbie. They traveled with Cagney all the time!
 

loafer

Well-known member
Met a couple from tennesee that traveled with 2 full size parrots they had a crew cab and pulled out the back seat of the truck to make room for a large cage.
Inside the 5 ver they removed the dining room table out of the slide and had another large cage permently in the 5 ver. They did not want to leave the parrots at home .They birds even squawked at the owner when they were left in the truck while setting up the trailer. They always went out for meals so missing the table was no problems.
What some people will do for their pets LOL
Bill
 

debh

Member
thanks for the help everyone.

we got a little caique. a small parrot. she wont be more than about 9 inches but for her size needs a large cage. she is very energetic. lol, the description of them says "caiques are like a hyperactive child before having its medication".

i dont want to do a full size cage for her. thinking a smaller one for travel would be good as long as she has ample time out to play. of course id have a play gym for her too.

did you have any problems with chewing?

we cant even bring her home for another 3 weeks or so. i wont be looking to take her with us till next year. i want to give her time to be trained to stay on a play gym and bite toys NOT furniture!!
figured id see how she is by spring, then decide.

whats the biggest downfalls of trying to take her with us?
 

goldenbetty

goldenbetty
Congrats on purchasing an AWESOME breed as your new pet! Our son had a caique, Curly, and he was the clown of the family. Extremely intelligent and easily trained. My suggestion, get a plexiglass cage which will contain the seed and dander, and you can have a "play spot/pen" built into it on top. I'll find the website for you and send it then.

We have an African Grey Parrot (Wimpy), Indian Ring neck (Marty), and a peach-faced love bird (Puddin'). We take turns with who goes on the next trip. HA! HA!

Good Luck with your feathered friend. We enjoy ours.
 

porthole

Retired
We used a dog carrier with a perch mounted inside for our parrot for transporting.
In the camper we had a custom made carrier that he would spend the night in. We used a ""made by me" perch for the top so he could be out with us during the day. Having a toy hauler helped a lot, as the garage was the bird and dog play room once the bike and golf cart were out.

Something new we did this year that was a big help. I got one of those plastic pans that you put under a washing machine for his bird stand. Made clean up way easier and when he "missed" his paper it was simple to clean up.
Inside the over night pen I started using the scoop able litter instead of newspaper. This was a real big change for the positive.

I strongly suggest that yo carefully consider how you will transport the bird.

One of our forum members sadly lost their bird when a gust of wind caught everyone by surprise. The bird took off and was not seen again.
 

porthole

Retired
1st picture shows the large dog carrier we used with a dowel mounted to the inside. As destructive as he could be this carrier has held up well.

2nd picture shows part of the pen we used. The perch on the top I made so it would also store inside along with his toys. I also added additional food and water bowls. Although this was not exactly the right size cage for him, it worked well for trailer purposes and he was only in it when we were out or at night.

3rd picture shows our buddy going for a golf cart ride. He loved being the center of attention and would frequently make the rounds of the campsite in his carrier.
 

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debh

Member
thank you so much for the info and the pics. BIG HELP!!

now, how well do birds travel?? i hate the thought of her cooped up for so long on a travel day. she is very active and loves to play, yet i feel a bigger car carrier is unsafe. im afraid id hit a bump and make her fall if she trys to play while riding. she likes to rough house.
we actually dont even have her home yet. she wont be ready to come home till after our october trip. she is still young and very uncoordinated. forgets she is on a perch and takes a step and falls off! lol. so right now i just cant imagine her being in anything large while transporting her.
however, we arent planning on attempting taking her with us until next year. after this oct trip we will be putting the camper to sleep for the winter. (the halloween trip has traditionally been our last trip of the season with our kids and now we are passing the tradition on with the grandkids).

hmmm, ive never seen pans that go under a washer. i take it i can find them at home depot or lowes? that is a great idea!!

my son love our caique so much he bought one too! his is only 7 weeks old and wont be ready to come home till around christmas some time. so.......... looks like we may be taking 2 birds with us now!
 

porthole

Retired
Your bird will have no problem sitting on a perch in the car. In the wild they can sit on branches that are swaying in the wind.

He will quickly acquaint going in the carrier and then the car with going to new scenery and getting out of the house.

One of my fond memories of traveling with our parrot - on the way back from Nashville, somewhere in Ohio, we passed a landfill. Boy was Cagney talking up some trash to all those birds that were flying around the dump.
I wish I could have video taped it.
 

debh

Member
i sure hope she can!! lol. right now she gets to playing so hard she forgets what she is doing and lets go of anything holding her up! im so afraid she is going to get hurt falling. makes me wonder how ANY of them survive in the wild watching her!

i have the 3300rlb and have a "spare" room in the back as long as noone else is with us. works perfect for setting up a cage for her. little did i know when we bought the camper in this size that it would turn into a birdhouse!
 
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