Parrots and Travel

[Michael]

Do your birds get mad at you when you leave them?

I wouldn't be there so I wouldn't know

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I wouldn't be there so I wouldn't know

Let me rephrase that.... when you return, do they act as if your absence had put them out?

[Michael]

If I leave my bird alone for more than 12 hours she gets SOOOO happy to see me again. When I came back from 2 week vacations she'd come running toward me and just be so cuddly and happy that I'm back. She can get moody and annoying when I give her more attention on regular days but whenever I come back from some length of absence she is wonderfully behaved. She'll even do tricks and train on a full stomach when I haven't been around but almost never if she gets attention during the day.

[MandyG]

Last time I was away I was gone for just less than a week. Mojo was very cuddly and sweet and asked to step up every time I put him down. He's not usually very cuddly but he definitely wanted to be as close as possible to me when we got back!

I'm a little more concerned for this time though, we'll be away two weeks. I'm hoping for the same loving greeting when I return though

[miajag]

I left my Quaker with my parents for 10 days recently when I went on vacation. She did fine, but was a bit cage-territorial and aggressive when I first got back because my parents were afraid to let her out while I was away. Once I brought her back to my house, she was just fine.

[windharper]

I'm glad this thread was re-visited, but my post deals with something earlier in the thread. My issue is leaving your bird free to roam in your vehicle while you are driving.

Even if you are the safest driver on the road and your bird is the most passive, peaceful, well, trained, obedient, non-skittish, never-startled bird there ever was, this can be a disaster waiting to happen.

Think about how many times on the road you curse idiot's driving. Each one of these instances is an accident that could happen.

My husband is a firefighter and we used to live at a busy country intersection that often had motor vehicle accidents. We were so close to the corner that oftentimes, we heard the accident first and called it in to Dispatch.

One time a younger lady was pinned in her car. She had been traveling with her small dog. An SUV ran the stop sign and hit the side of her car. The side door was crushed and the window broken. The dog was in a panic, jumped out and ran away. The girl was conscious and while being loaded into a rescue squad begged the responding team to look for her dog. They tried for more than 8 hours and never did find the dog.

I repeat, the accident was ~not~ her fault. If it were your well-behaved bird, would he/she stay with you and not panic in such a circumstance? You might have a chance if you kept it in a traveling cage.

I don't mean to pick on you, Michael, I respect what you do for the most part. But in this issue, I highly disagree.

[Michael]

Yes, if you get in a car wreck, the consequences on the pet could be severe. However, if you get in such a car accident, you are going to have more to worry about/deal with than just that one issue. Even a crated animal could get hurt or injured. Personally, I believe the socialization benefits on the animal outweigh the risk of accident. And I only do this when there is a second person around and the road is not difficult. I don't think this is a major risk meriting so much concern.

[MissLady9902]

I kind of agree with Michael on this. Noodle is very well socialized and if she's in the car with me and I'm not driving I'll let her out. She seems to enjoy it.

[windharper]

Yes, if you get in a car wreck, the consequences on the pet could be severe. However, if you get in such a car accident, you are going to have more to worry about/deal with than just that one issue. Even a crated animal could get hurt or injured. Personally, I believe the socialization benefits on the animal outweigh the risk of accident. And I only do this when there is a second person around and the road is not difficult. I don't think this is a major risk meriting so much concern.

I remember when seatbelts were added to cars, the initial reaction of how much they could save lives was downplayed by those who didn't want to conform for whatever the reason. Yes, the consequences could be severe and you may have more than just that one issue to face. If a crated animal could get hurt or injured, it's probably likely that the animal would be killed by not being crated. Consider babies in safety seats as opposed to not putting them in a safety seat and how much people now realize that this saves lives.

For you, who are very rigid in your beliefs about not mixing a bird home with cats or dogs, I just find it astounding that you aren't more careful with the feathered love of your life in the car. Consider that in the case of a multi-species of animal family, you are very aware of the uncontrolled aspect of the dog or cat around a bird, despite the fact the dog or cat is supposedly trained or that it is monitored. (I do happen to agree with you here, but, my family lost a bird when I was young because of are well-trained dog.) The bottom line is that we cannot control every action our dogs or cats or birds do or don't do...despite the fact they are well trained.

Let's take this to the road "when the road is not difficult". As you are in New York and have a car, I'm assuming you're not in NYC. You have as much rain, snow, black ice, etc. as we have in Ohio. Even if you only go out on Sunday afternoon in the summertime, what's to stop the neighborhood child from chasing a ball in your path, or a panicked deer to run by, or a dog chasing a cat in the road? You can't control ~all~ of the environment around you. Do you wish to kill the bird on your shoulder when you come to a sudden stop and she's smashed into the windshield?

Socialization might be an answer if you are trying to find your bird after she's flown away. However, by your own admission, your baby doesn't do so well around your wife. How well will she do with a complete stranger trying to help you find her should you and your wife have to go to the hospital? Add to this that she is fully flighted, she will be able to fly a very good distance. You risk losing her if she survives a crash but escapes in fear from your vehicle.

Safety first. Trying to look cool by driving around with a parrot on your shoulder should never be done under ~any~ circumstances, IMNSHO.

You are actually reminding me of my sister-in-law who owns Teyla's parents. Nobody told her in the first few months she had rescued the 2 tiels that cooking on Teflon was an absolute no no. So since she never stopped using Teflon, she thinks she's safe and doesn't have to learn from other people's advice or mistakes. I expect someday to get a very tearful call from her when she burns food in Teflon pot and kills her birds.

BTW, she also thinks I am maintaining much ado about nothing.

[Michael]

You really are over dramatizing the risk. In all the time I've been driving cars, boats, and flying airplanes, I have (luckily) never gotten into an accident. The parrot is rarely out for more than 10 minutes on the occasional car ride under easy driving conditions. There is a risk and I understand this. However, I personally find the risk worthwhile. I also take a risk by having a flighted parrot. I don't think it is worth living life in a box. Some risks have to be taken like getting up in the morning. I personally consider that letting the parrot fly in my home is a risk well worth taking for the quality of life for my pet as well as my own enjoyment. Letting her out for a little bit in the car, to me, outweighs the very unlikely even of a car accident and the unlikelier even that it would affect the bird. I think the risk is outweighed by the socialization component of it and by the parrot getting some enjoyment of coming on a trip. I think having a few minutes of out time beats being cooped up in a carrier for several hours and helps make her less resistant to going into it. I am fully aware of the risks but I feel that it is one worth taking. That is a personal choice. She willingly and gratefully comes out of the carrier to be out in the car. I am not defending it or saying this is something everyone should do. However, I think it is a risk I find worth taking and my parrot isn't complaining.

Now introducing a carnivorous predatory animal is a completely different story. The parrot gets absolutely NOTHING out of the addition. That is strictly for the human's enjoyment. Letting my parrot fly or be out in the car are risks but the parrot gets something out of it and seems eager to have those opportunities. However, people who keep carnivorous pets in conjunction with parrots are signing the parrot up for a risk that serves no value at all to the parrot. Now that is just selfish...

The same hold true for teflon pans. That is purely for the owner's convenience and serves no benefit to the parrot.