Travel cages/carriers

[miajag]

What do you use to transport and/or house your parrot in when it's away from your home for a few days?

For a while I was using the crappy little cage that Winnie was in when I got her (barely suitable for a budgie) but after doing some research and considering a bunch of different choices I ended up picking the Avian Adventures Poquito Hotel (http://www.amazon.com/Midwest-Avian-Adventures-Poquito-Platinum/dp/B0018CDYVG) , which I've been very pleased with.

To me, the major advantages are that it is "open" so the bird can see out of it, unlike some pet carriers, and that it's large enough that I don't feel bad keeping my Quaker in it for a couple days when I have her at my parents' or at the beach for the weekend. It also has built-in food dishes, a slide-out cleaning tray, and a perch built into the handle. Disadvantages are weight (it's like 25 pounds, so it's not really practical to carry around for long periods) and the door latches are kind of weird and get stuck sometimes. Other than that I'm very impressed with the quality.

[pchela]

I have Avian Adventures cages for my birds which I'm fairly pleased with and I am going to get a couple of the Poquitos soon. I love them! Certainly the best travel cage on the market I think. I currently have an A&E collapsible travel cage that is a real pain in the ass to mess with. I'm not real pleased with it.

[Natacha]

I haven't (yet) gone away for a few days with one of my birds. Normally, when I go on "vacation", I have them looked after, since it's more convenient.

However, I did start looking a while ago for a travel cage, by which I mean a cage to use for a few days versus the "normal" travel cages I use to go to the vet or on outings (which I use a cat carrier for most of my birds), since I might be getting a bird from a breeder who lives near my in-laws, which is a few hours drive from here. And if we go down to get a bird, we would spend a few days with the in-laws while in the area, hence I would need a travel cage that acts as a temporary cage for a few days.

I bought a King's Cage small travel cage and I love it. I had actually, before purchasing it, had a look at the Avian Adventure Poquito travel cage..didn't like it as much. I found the Poquito to be flimsy and poorly constructed, specially next to the King's Cage. However, compared to a whole lot of travel cages out there, the Poquito is better, just not at par with the aluminum travel cage in my opinion.

I actually wrote a blog post about it a few weeks ago.

[miajag]

That does look like a nice cage, and I like that it's a good bit lighter than the Poquito. That said, I wouldn't call the Poquito flimsy at all. It's extremely sturdy in my opinion (which I would certainly hope it would be given how heavy it is) and should last a very long time.

[Natacha]

That does look like a nice cage, and I like that it's a good bit lighter than the Poquito. That said, I wouldn't call the Poquito flimsy at all. It's extremely sturdy in my opinion (which I would certainly hope it would be given how heavy it is) and should last a very long time.

When I said flimsy, it is mostly in comparison to the King's Cage one.

But, having seen and touched the Poquito in person, I have found the bars to be somewhat flimsy and moved with not that much pressure applied to it (which, I guess unless you have a big bird with a big beak, doesn't matter much) and the handle/perch on top really didn't seem all that solid.
The bowl system can also move in transport (as much as I hated putting those plastic bowls in the King's Cage one, they aren't going anywhere if I move it).

[HyperD]

I am using the Pak-O-Bird...

I like it because it's light, easily carried, comes with two bowls, has rings to hang toys, has covers for the windows so you can block their view if they are getting scared....

[miajag]

The bowl system can also move in transport (as much as I hated putting those plastic bowls in the King's Cage one, they aren't going anywhere if I move it).

I don't know if you looked at a different model than the one I have or what, but I'm not sure what you mean by "move in transport." The rings and doors hold the bowls in place quite tightly, and I'm not sure how they could come out of the holders unless you literally turned the entire cage upside down and shook it.

[issy]

I usually take Sheldon to my moms house one a week and every 3 months on a 5 hour road trip up the coast for holidays, so he is well accustomed to the car.

When I leave him in his travel cage he gets stressed, so I just leave him out on a perch attached to the back-side window. He has never had any problems with being out of the cage and really enjoys being in the car. =D

[Kekoo]

Hello I am new too this forum. I just wanted to add that I just bought a Kings Cage Small Travel Carrier and I think it's better made then any cage that size for that use. It's very well finished and unlike other cages it will not rust.

I actually went to Kings Cages, to pick a color. I ended up with the silver and am really happy.

As far as the plastic bowls go, Mr King talked me out of getting the Stainless ones, as he said that he
had never hand any compliant about the plastic ones, and if they ever break or get chewed, he told me I could buy the silver ones for $10 or $11 each. He didn't think it was worth wasting my money when I just bought the cage.

[Zooey]

I am using the Pak-O-Bird...

I like it because it's light, easily carried, comes with two bowls, has rings to hang toys, has covers for the windows so you can block their view if they are getting scared....

Is it sturdy enough to not get squished? I'm seeing if I can get a carrier for my budgies in the future and just seeing if I can put it on my Xmas wishlist. Travel cages look too hard to carry, so I'm thinking about one of those?