Preparing for a move

[Vega]

I need some insight on how to make moving as painless as possible. I'm planning on moving about 6 hours from where I am now. This will be the 4th house for both of my birds (one moved while with her breeder, the other is a second-hand bird) and I need to get some tips on making it as easy as possible on them, especially because the one seems to have just settled in. Right now we're all confined to my 2nd floor bedroom, so they are both flighted. Once I get my own place I'm thinking of clipping them for safety reasons...the open doors, hot stove, etc. Would it be better to clip them now and get them adjusted to this change or wait until I HAVE to clip them? We won't be moving for at *least* 6 weeks, possibly up to 3 months from now.

Also, it's a long drive. They've both gone on long trips like this before, but it's been over a year for the one. Anything I can do to help ease the stress of that? Or would they be best just kept covered throughout the drive?

What about setting their cages up. I don't want to leave the poor things in shock, would it be better to allow them to watch me set their cages up (while still in their carriers) or should I have everything ready and waiting for when they come out?

Oh, and where can I find "safe" pots and pans? I doubt my mom will allow me to take her old set with me when I go!

[Franciscus]

To make the transition easier I would suggest moving the birds' cages around into another room so they are used to making small changes. I would clip their feathers before moving, now would probably be a good time to start. I prefer to clip gradually so they aren't too stressed over being clipped, perhaps do two feathers on each wing, after a couple of days two more and the last one a day or so later. I would take them for little car trips a few times too before moving. It's stressful to move and your birds may pick up on your stress. Try to relax and think of it as an adventure. It's not as hard on the birds as you may think.

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Vega

I need some insight on how to make moving as painless as possible. I'm planning on moving about 6 hours from where I am now. This will be the 4th house for both of my birds (one moved while with her breeder, the other is a second-hand bird) and I need to get some tips on making it as easy as possible on them, especially because the one seems to have just settled in. Right now we're all confined to my 2nd floor bedroom, so they are both flighted. Once I get my own place I'm thinking of clipping them for safety reasons...the open doors, hot stove, etc. Would it be better to clip them now and get them adjusted to this change or wait until I HAVE to clip them? We won't be moving for at *least* 6 weeks, possibly up to 3 months from now.

Also, it's a long drive. They've both gone on long trips like this before, but it's been over a year for the one. Anything I can do to help ease the stress of that? Or would they be best just kept covered throughout the drive?

What about setting their cages up. I don't want to leave the poor things in shock, would it be better to allow them to watch me set their cages up (while still in their carriers) or should I have everything ready and waiting for when they come out?

Oh, and where can I find "safe" pots and pans? I doubt my mom will allow me to take her old set with me when I go!

First, don't think I am crazy, this really works! TELL your birds what is about to happen. And tell them as soon as you can so they can get used to the idea. Someone told me to do this when I was rehoming some of my birds, I did, and it made the transition much easier for them. And two of them were going to New Mexico from North Carolina!! The other two went to Alabama and were en route for a week before getting there. Those 2 were Quakers, and they were very bonded, so were lucky to have each other during the trip and stays in hotels(which were in a state where Quakers are illegal! Yikes!). But birds are smarter than you think and understand much more than are given credit for. So do tell them. Explain it all.
Next, about cookware. You want all stainless steel. I see where a set of good stainless can be purchased at KMart. It's a Martha Stewart line of pans and I think they are about $59-$69 for a basic set. You can't beat that with a stick!!!
Good luck, sorry I don't have any other advice, but I hope you take to heart what I have told you. It makes such a big difference to the birds when they 'know' what is going on.
Linda & HRC~

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Skyebirdsmom

First, don't think I am crazy, this really works! TELL your birds what is about to happen. And tell them as soon as you can so they can get used to the idea. Someone told me to do this when I was rehoming some of my birds, I did, and it made the transition much easier for them. And two of them were going to New Mexico from North Carolina!! The other two went to Alabama and were en route for a week before getting there. Those 2 were Quakers, and they were very bonded, so were lucky to have each other during the trip and stays in hotels(which were in a state where Quakers are illegal! Yikes!). But birds are smarter than you think and understand much more than are given credit for. So do tell them. Explain it all.
Next, about cookware. You want all stainless steel. I see where a set of good stainless can be purchased at KMart. It's a Martha Stewart line of pans and I think they are about $59-$69 for a basic set. You can't beat that with a stick!!!
Good luck, sorry I don't have any other advice, but I hope you take to heart what I have told you. It makes such a big difference to the birds when they 'know' what is going on.
Linda & HRC~

Oh yes, I think you should let the birds gradually see things become like home again. Let them watch you setting things up. I wouldn't keep them covered during the trip unless you can SEE that they are stressed out. Usually a bird likes to see what's going on. Maybe you can cover one part of their carrier so they can feel secure but not in the dark. That's been my experience anyway. A six hour trip is not that bad, really. We drove longer than that the day I went to get my Parrotlet to bring him home, we were on the road for 13 hrs. It was a fun trip and the bird loved it. So don't stress about it, believe me, the birds will feel it too from you and make it harder on them. They are very sensitive about things like that.
Good luck!
Linda & Skye~

[Skyebirdsmom]

Originally Posted by Vega

I need some insight on how to make moving as painless as possible. I'm planning on moving about 6 hours from where I am now. This will be the 4th house for both of my birds (one moved while with her breeder, the other is a second-hand bird) and I need to get some tips on making it as easy as possible on them, especially because the one seems to have just settled in. Right now we're all confined to my 2nd floor bedroom, so they are both flighted. Once I get my own place I'm thinking of clipping them for safety reasons...the open doors, hot stove, etc. Would it be better to clip them now and get them adjusted to this change or wait until I HAVE to clip them? We won't be moving for at *least* 6 weeks, possibly up to 3 months from now.

Also, it's a long drive. They've both gone on long trips like this before, but it's been over a year for the one. Anything I can do to help ease the stress of that? Or would they be best just kept covered throughout the drive?

What about setting their cages up. I don't want to leave the poor things in shock, would it be better to allow them to watch me set their cages up (while still in their carriers) or should I have everything ready and waiting for when they come out?

Oh, and where can I find "safe" pots and pans? I doubt my mom will allow me to take her old set with me when I go!

I would suggest you clip them before the move. Maybe about a week before. You don't need any accidents of flying when they do not know where they are and since they will be on 'alert' anyway, fly-offs would not be out of the question in a strange situation. To be safe, I'd clip. Just my opinion though.
Linda & Skye~

[Skyebirdsmom]

.I found this article on moving with birds while reading something else today...hope it helps.
http://www.yourparrotplace.com/parro...experience.htm
Linda & HRC~

[smallonion]

We moved about a year after Humphrey came to live with us. It was the breakthrough we needed in terms of her starting to bond with us and get tamer. Because her whole environment was different, she seemed to try to cling onto the things that were most familiar - us.
I think they'll do fine.