Planning A New Birdie Road Trip!

[bustersbuddy]

Well, if he's going to get carsick, he will probably get airsick as well! Motion sickness is motion sickness. There are a lot of ifs, ands or buts about this but I vote for the plane. It is an hour and a half, which is much shorter than an eight hour car ride. If you're sick, five minutes can seem like 5 days, let alone eight hours. Call the airline and ask some questions. Find out how they handle animals and check their safety records. See if there is anything you can do to make the bird's trip more enjoyable or safe. Just chat them up and gauge their reactions. Be all nice and friendly with the rep and get them talking. You'll find out lots! I'm originally from Southeastern New Mexico and had a thick "Texas/Southern" accent at one time. Anytime I call Southwest Airlines and know I have another "Southerner" on the line, I really let my accent come forward and get all the attention I want! It might really help put your mind at ease.

[catschair]

Where are you going to/from? Good chance you can find someone with friends or kids traveling around the holidays that would be willing to take your baby on the plane or in the car with them if the spots are not too exotic!? Maybe even on the bird board?? I've done both car and plane with my fids and I have never had problems with either (odds are good, but strange things can happen any time).

[cfulhage]

I never said anything about "getting over" carsickness. I said starting them when young would be a good way to prevent any later problems with it. Some animals don't actually get carsick, they just get very stressed out and worked up over being in a new, stressful situation. If you wait until your bird is 5 years old before going on a "longer" car trip (which is bound to happen sometime in the birds life anyways) then they are probably going to be stressed out by it. If you start long trips when young, they get used to and at least know nothing bad is going to happen. Case in point: all of my farm cats hate riding in the car. They will howl, spit, moan, and puke. Because, they only go on trips if necessary and aren't used to it. My cat Peaches who traveled back and forth with us every 6 months from Atlanta, GA to Beloit, KS loved to ride in the car because she started very young. My cat Grissom who lived here in my apartment with me also loves to ride in the car. He had his first long car trip at about 10 weeks, and traveled 3 hours with me every other weekend.

That being said, I really don't think you have nothing to worry about. Actual carsickness is really not that common! Many birds just suffer from anxiety and stress! Which would have been prevented had they started young....

[Tiki]

As promised, here's the full story of my road trip with Nevaeh. It was probably the best example of Birdboard teamwork in action to date. Joel rescued the little baby Quaker, saved her life and handreared her. Last year, I visited the States and rented a car to drive around the southern USA to meet Birdboard members. I flew into Orlando, met Samm (also a mod) and borrowed a small travel cage. I then drove to Southern Florida to meet Joel. He taught me how to handfeed with a crop needle (a skill that later helped me save Tjinimin's life!!!!) and Nevaeh and I took off to northern Florida. Halfway there, we stopped at Lynjupiter's house and I got to meet her sweet little Nandays and Quinn the Quaker. I fed Nevaeh and had lunch with Lynda, then off again. I was still somewhat jet lagged and needed to stop at a rest stop somewhere south of Tallahasee because I was nodding off at the wheel. I gave Nevaeh some millet and water since there was nowhere to heat the formula. Then we hit the road and made it to Pensacola around 9pm-it was a good 10 hour drive I think. We went to Nina's house for BBQ and give Laurie (Toolover-also a mod) her new baby. I then taught Laurie to crop feed Nevaeh. This was just over a year ago and today, the little Quaker baby who was once near death is a beloved member of Laurie's family!

So what is it like to travel with a bird? I couldn't ask for a sweeter companion! She really seemed to want to be near me, everytime I put my fingers in the cage to pet her, she would nuzzle up as close as she could get. I can't imagine how scary it would have been for her to be in a cargo hold, if she could travel in the cabin with me she would be fine. I had the cage on the passenger seat next to me strapped in with a seat belt. Here's some video clips of the actual journey-see this one and the ones just next to it in the album:

http://www.birdboard.com/album/showp...o/3706/cat/528

[Tiki]

PS: If it was possible to import birds from the USA to Australia, I would have totally absconded with that little sweetheart! I really fell in love with her!