Long car ride

[Eurycerus]

I am driving a four and a half hour drive for a visit this weekend and taking Nika. She has been in the car for up to two and a half hours with me before, may have even been three (traffic here is insane, it was supposed to be an hour and twenty minutes). She seems okay when it's day time and sits where she can grasp the perch and side bar. At night she seems pretty stressed or something and climbs all over her cage nonstop. She's pretty silent the entire time at day or night, no yelling or even talking. Just some peeps and the occasional whistle. She seems to like it when she can see me during the day. I feel bad but it's way better than being stuck home alone with a continuous feeder.

For the drive should I do anything or put anything special in her cage for comfort? Also is there anything I can do to make her feel more comfortable when driving at night.

[Michael]

Kili & Truman flew 8+ hours nonstop from Phoenix to St. Louis just fine. I'm sure yours will be just fine. The most important thing is to have a solid (and perfectly sized) perch in the carrier for the parrot to hang on to. At night you can either try covering the cage or turning a light on depending which issue is scaring the parrot. It's possible that lights from cars/buildings keep waking the bird up whereas covering the cage would block them out and let it sleep.

[AlbertaAviary]

When I take Yoshi and Cocoa on long car rides, I put some foot toys in their small travel cage. It usually keeps them entertained. Sometimes I let them ride on my shoulder or look out the window while they're in the car. Maybe that will help?

[JacobBird]

Keep her busy with toys, food, etc. Once in a while, talk to her. Just keep her busy (: she'll do great!

[GreenWing]

Maybe add a new toy and a couple of millet sticks (provided, if she likes millet). Play lots of music; Tiki likes music, especially classical. The most I've driven with Tiki in tow is about a couple of hours. She was fine; we listened to music together and I would talk to her.

Have a safe and fun trip!

[Eurycerus]

Well now she's been in the car for up to 5 and half hours. Again during daytime she seemed fine. Generally sitting on her perch but once dusk fell she started doing upside down circles at the top of her cage until she got tired and then would sleep on top of her food bowl in what appeared to be the most uncomfortable arrangement I have seen. Silly girl. I was going to try and cover her but it was the last hour and a half of the journey and I didn't want to stop.

Also good suggestion regarding the perch. I'm pretty sure the perch the cage came with was waaay too thick so I cut up a smaller dowel perch I had and she liked that much better. She had better grip which I think was much appreciated.

She takes zero interest in toys when in the car or not at home, so anytime we go on a trip for a weekend her toys remain untouched. I find it interesting...

[JacobBird]

Glad pretty much everything went well! (: