Planning A New Birdie Road Trip!

[GreetingCardReligion]

After reading the thread about pet losses on airlines, I am quite anxious about having my baby Jiminy shipped later this month - especially because they will probably be extra busy with the post Christmas, holiday rush.

So I have a few questions if you would all please humor me

His breeders suggested it would probably be less stressful and traumatic for him to travel 1 - 1 1/2 hours on a plane than to travel 7-8 hours driving with me in my car. True? Not true? I've already paid for his plane ticket but would be willing to cut the loss to drive up if it would be better on his mind, and safer for his ... safety

Now, if you answered pro-roadtrip to the first question, I think I might need a little help planning it. I've paid the breeders for a nice carrier for his plane flight, would that be ok to bring him on the trip with? He is not yet harness/flightsuit trained so should I leave him in his carrier the whole time or stop and try to safely contain him in the car (or somewhere?) to clean it out so hes not sitting in his waste? What about food? Should he have food and water in at all times or would that create an unholy mess from the bumps of the road? Should we have pitstops for water/food and how often should they occur along the route?

What if he is carsick? I know some birds can get motion sickness that makes them uncomfortable and even throw up! I don't know if he is one of these sensitive birds but if he has to suffer being sick for 8 hours, I'd be very very worried - especially if he's throwing up, that can't be good for him for so long!

Thanks so much for your time and information - I want to do whats right for the little guy, be it letting him fly or taking the time/energy to go and pick him up.

[kateBird]

what a difficult choice! i would probably opt for letting take the full flight to you. those animal complications that was on that one site seems to be quite rare, considering how many travel each day on planes and how many people travel with animals.

i can understand your anxiousness because of the heavy holiday traffic at airports and things. im anxious for you! but im sure everything will be fine either way you decide to transport you new bird. (how exciting!! finally coming home, huh?)

i would opt for the full flight transportation because i speak from having a bird who does get car sick. the only way i can ease him is if i cover the travel carrier and in a darker area of the car. if your bird gets car sick, that's a 7-hour ordeal for the poor guy.

if you do opt for the driving one, i would recommend stopping once an hour. is this bird clipped? it would be good to get your bird out of the carrier just so that it can stretch, and get all the kinks out. not sure what kind of car you have, but if there is room enough where the bird can stretch and flap without hurting itself, then that should be okay.

please do keep us posted!

[Valo's Moirana]

I can't suggest one option, mainly because I'm lacking experience with both options. None of our fids did fly, and I don't know much about how they are handled etc - so I can't say much about that.

We do, however, drive our fids around - and some are quite long drives (as I mentioned in a previous thread). The sunny went down to NM in a 7hrs drive, and he was fine. BF used the small cage I have for traveling with Valo (ie to in-laws for a 2hr drive or the office or visiting friends) and he was fine in it. So, I'd recommend getting a cage that fits in the passenger side of your car and where he can comfortably travel (doesn't need to be huge). [for the conures we just got a high budgie cage from the store]
This comes with the advantage of a grate on the bottom - so he won't be in his own poop.
Food and water - good question. First, make sure you have it with you - no drinking water fountains in the middle of nowhere. We do pitstops, except if there's 2 of us in the car. Pitstops about every 2 hrs, and we keep some pellets in the cage [if they fly all over the car, not much damage is done]. Let him drink lots of water during the pitstops... and maybe give him a little time-out (ie 10-15min break - go use restroom, hang out in the car etc)

Since non of our birds are carsick, I can't give you advice for that.

Again - to make it clear (and avoid getting torn apart by plane-supporters ): I can't make a suggestion about what's better, but we don't have any problems with the fids in the car....

[Tiki]

Kate, I'll post more when I get home form work, I'm late now. The little Quaker was fine, I only stopped 3 times, once was at Lynjupiter's house. Toolover-Laurie is the Quaker (Nevaeh's) mommy now so she can fill you in meanwhile.

[cfulhage]

I would definitely go with the car ride. The best way to get your baby used to riding in cars, and to prevent car sickness, is to drive with them when they are babies. I didn't even know birds got car sick until a few months ago. I have never had a problem, and I never knew anybody who had a problem with it. When I picked Ollie up at 8.5 weeks, she had already been in a car for 5 hours, and we had another hour and a half to go to get home. She was perfectly fine the whole time.

The thing about the plane trip that scares me, is that for one, you won't be there, and 2, the people that load the planes don't really care about your bird. Being December and all, it may be cold where he travels. At least in a car you can make sure he is safe and warm. To me, that outweighs any bit of carsickness he may have. Although I really don't think you have anything to worry about.

I would say no food or water is probably needed in the crate. Maybe stop half way through and just offer some water, and carefully throw more papers on top of whats already in there. I wouldn't get him out, unless he's contained in the car. 8 hours really isn't that long.

Ollie LOVES to go on car trips- but I started her young! My best advice to everybody is to get your bird used to as many different situations as possible when they are babies, whether they be potentially stressful or not. You're not going to keep your birds environment completely stress free, its just not possible, so you may as well start getting them used to stuff!

[RingneckedPrincess]

I drove from Southern California to Northern California (8 hour trip) with Prin...she was quite fine and happy in the car...

Bodi loved cars rides too

Dani

[kateBird]

Camille, i dont think "car sickness" is something that you can get over just by riding in the car many times. like if a person gets car sick, i dont think that person will become less car sick if s/he rides in a car more often.

but i could be wrong. i never thought about it being something "cureable" by desensitization. i will have to try this.

my poor conure will start to bob its head and splatter vomit after about 15 minutes of driving. he doesn't really get out much (because of this), but i have another conure that tolerates riding in the car quite well.

[pinkparrot]

The plane sounds fine to me that way it will be alot shorter travel time for her.

[bustersbuddy]

You don't get over motion sickness of any type by desensitization. It is usually an inner ear issue that may or may not respond to treatment with drugs. It can also be an inherited condition. My maternal grandmother, mom and all six of her sisters suffered from motion sickness, although my grandfather and the four boys never had a problem. Perhaps it is a
sex-linked trait? I don't know and that's pretty slim evidence but that's how it was. While I agree that the birds should be exposed to some stressful situations, I don't think your conure is going to "get over it" by being taken for rides! Birdie Dramamine, maybe?

[GreetingCardReligion]

I guess it would just be a gamble if he would be carsick or not. I hope not, as I do want to take him out and about with me on shorter rides once he's home.