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Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

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Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Michael » Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:32 pm

Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

I talk about my experience getting Truman shipped to me by airline and provide some suggestions for anyone considering getting a parrot sent to them from a breeder. I explain why air shipment isn't too stressful and can be better than a long car ride. I try to weigh the pros/cons of both and provide some time estimates of how long the parrot can end up in a carrier.

Lots more things to blog about soon: converting to water bottle, playing with parrot, and review of breeder. I'm still not doing any training because the parrot is really young relative to its abilities. He can fly but can hardly control where he goes. His attention span is short and he's still not used to eating on his own in new cage let alone working for food. So it may be a week or more before I even begin any real training. I'm just going to stick to bonding/taming for now but will still post my results nonetheless.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby bmsweb » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:09 am

Nice article Michael. I think it will be very helpful!

Cheers
Paul
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Michael » Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:27 am

Let me add that the shipping was just $114 and payable collect on receiving the bird. This added to my decision of getting the bird shipped to me. Driving or flying down there would have cost significantly more. And if I flew down by airline to pick up the bird, they would have made me check it in as baggage anyway!
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Rue » Fri Jun 25, 2010 2:47 pm

I have no issue with shipping either. I had two shipped, the Pi was a baby, the Amazon was at least 10 years old at the time. Both did fine.

I also agree that a shorter air trip might just be less stressful than a longer car ride...
Every parrot has a duty: To reduce the world to toothpicks.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby notscaredtodance » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:54 pm

It's great that your experience went well, but I've heard from a breeder that one of her bird carriers got flipped upside down. She puts a cup of seed in with the birds, along with some fruits, but when it arrived at the destination the entire cup was empty.

I'm just really not comfortable with letting animals be handled by people that don't care. Because the majority of cargo loaders don't. It's just a job that they hate that they have to do.

I'll relate it again to the petstore, but just because you have a job where you come into contact with animals, doesn't mean you have to have respect or compassion for them. Just make sure they don't die in the process of getting them from point A to point B.

In the rat world, meaning rat owners who are rescues, breeders and part of fancy rat associations, shipping is a huge no-no. Many breeders make it a positive point that they refuse to ship, because they find it unnecessary. Granted, rats are more readily available than a cape parrot.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Michael » Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:59 pm

Actually Jean didn't put a food cup in the carrier. Even if the parrot didn't take a single bite for the 8 hours it spend in the carrier, it really wouldn't matter. He probably didn't eat during the whole deal despite food being available. Jean lined the entire cage bottom with pellets and fruits. This is more like emergency backup food if the flights are delayed rather than a snack to go. Also it serves as litter and holds down some of the poop. Once again, not a good long term travel arrangement but in the short term it's great.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby notscaredtodance » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:12 pm

I meant more that the carrier was flipped completely upside down, or at least 90 degrees on its side, the only way the cup could have been completely empty. I'd really not like my parrot to be flipped upside down during handling.

Also, no one's mentioned the air pressure changing, and how that affects the birds. I'd imagine they're even more sensitive to it than humans, who can get headaches from altitude changes.


I think there are pros and cons to both, as with every single argument, ever. lol.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Michael » Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:21 pm

notscaredtodance wrote:Also, no one's mentioned the air pressure changing, and how that affects the birds. I'd imagine they're even more sensitive to it than humans, who can get headaches from altitude changes.


Are you kidding me? They're birds! They fly through pressure changes all the time. I've taken Kili flying lots of times and it doesn't bother her one bit.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby bmsweb » Sat Jun 26, 2010 12:22 am

The cargo area of an aircraft is pressurized, so it shouldn't be an issue. The only problem I can see is the fact that the cargo area isn't heated but even then it's not going to be as cold as it is outside.
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Re: Thoughts About Air Carrier Delivery of Parrot

Postby Michael » Sat Jun 26, 2010 6:33 am

Even in a "pressurized" cabin, the pressure is reduced to a density altitude of approximately 5,000-7,000ft. This is why despite pressurization you feel your ears pop on landing. However, there's a big difference between this kind of air pressure and the altitude at which it is flying so of course this doesn't bother the humans or bird very much. If anything, the lower pressure makes the bird hypoxic and just makes it sleepy.

As for heating. I'm not certain about the specifics of the cargo area but assuming it gets its pressurization and air from the same source as the cabin, the air is actually cooled down rather than heated. The way a modern jet airliner pressurizes the cabin is by using bleed air off the jet engines. The air is already highly pressurized but very hot so in fact it must be run through strong air conditioners to be cooled down to normal temperature before it can enter the cabin. Considering the cargo hold is pressurized means that it is probably receiving the same temperature air as the cabin itself.
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