Shipping?

[cant_have_just_one]

What is involved in shipping a bird. How do go about it? What requirements need to be met?
Thanks

[Rue]

...are you shipping a bird, or having it shipped to you???...

[cant_have_just_one]

I will be shipping two Parrotlets. What kind of crate do I buy? I know the restrictions the airlines have but kind what be good for that kind of bird?
Do I have to get separate crates? Or can I put two smaller crates in a larger one? Do I get the dog/cat type?

[cant_have_just_one]

I searched on the internet and found all these horror stories and now I am afraid something will happen to them :(

[Rue]

I had two birds shipped to me this year. Both arrived without incident.

If I were you, I'd buy a small hard-sided cat carrier and make sure the front latch can be secured so it doesn't open accidentally or if someone is fiddling with it. Put wood chips in the bottom. Provide seed or something easy to eat and something filled with water such as apple and/or orange. You might have to find some way to secure a plastic container for the food onto the inside. Even duct tape might do for the flight. The birds likely won't be interested in chewing it off.

Arrange to fly the birds out on a day with good weather and make certain the recipient will pick them up promptly at the other end.

A short flight is likely less stressful, all told, than a very long drive.

I had one bird shipped to me in a large Rubbermaid tub with air holes drilled into it. The other bird came in a very nice, handmade, plywood carrier - which I can use as a carrier. However, I think the cat carrier is the easiest and best alternative - and we use a modified one for car travel, so I know how handy it is.

[samn]

I just shipped a bird back east from CA. I had not shipped in 5 or 6 years. Delta's rules about carriers had changed greatly. You can call your carriers freight shipping number and find out what they require for shipping containers.
Delta required the inside of the carrier to be wired so that the bird could not chew through to the outside. Also the container must be covered.
It was a lot of work and in my opinion was terribly unsafe for the bird with the home made addition of cage wire to the inside of the carrier. After all that work when I took the bird to the freight depot they did not even check the carrier. But, they do have these regulations and they could have declined to ship the bird if not met. The severe macaw baby arrived in NJ after a 12 hour flight with layovers safe and sound though.

[cant_have_just_one]

Do you mean a bird cage inside a hard plastic kennel? What do you mean by covered exactly? This is for to P'lets so I would probably have to put two cages inside a larger carrier?

[Monica]

I think what Sam meant was that the inside of the carrier had to have wire put inside so that the birds could not chew out (that is, if they could even do that in the first place). It would be like taking a box and covering the inside with cloth, except the box is a carrier, and the cloth is wire mesh of some sort.

Check out this website http://www.shadypines.com/shipping.htm and click on "Info". There is information there regarding the shipment of animals via airlines, with Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, and US Air.

There is more information at this site here http://www.plannedparrothood.com/shipping/shipping.html

[samn]

I just used duct tape to attach chicken wire over the vent/windows in the carrier. I always add a perch for the bird by drilling holes low in the carrier and shoving a dowel through, then wiring it on the outside so that it cannot slip. I just slit an old towel so that the carriers handle would slip through the slit for a cover. They also required food and water dishes I believe but that was just beyond reason (account bird safety), so I just ignored them and put plenty of fruit and veggies on the floor of the carrier.

[Rue]

...I was told no perches because should the plane experience turbulance or the carrier take a tumble, the perch is more of a hazard in the short term than anything else...