Moving home

Moderator: Mods

Post Reply
Gabi25
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:03 pm
Location: London

Moving home

Post by Gabi25 »

Hi there!

A few weeks ago I became the proud owner of my IRN Harry (although not sure yet if it's a he or a she :lol: )
He's got a lovely cage and seems to be getting used to his place.

At the end of next month, however, we need to move home.
Have any of you tips on how to make moving home the least stressful for Harry?
Do I have to adjust his diet beforehand or afterwards? do I keep him in the cage or transfer him to a box (which is stressful for both him and me regardless)

Hopefully you can help!
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Moving home

Post by InTheAir »

Hi Gabi,

congratulations on your new bird.

Is Harry very comfortable with people? If he is you could start teaching him to go into a a travel cage or crate using positive reinforcement. To take my girl to the vet the first time, before she was friendly, I put some nice stuff in a travel cage and lined up the door to her cage door. She didn't climb straight in and I ended up having to walk behind the big cage so she went into the little one to get away from me. Now she is friendly so I have taught her to enter the cage on her own for treats. I'll post a video link that explains it really well soon, I'm on my phone and it isn't cooperating right now.

I'm not great on diet, but offering him healthy food as well as his normal diet seems sensible to me for now. I'm sure someone more informed will chip in.

Regards,

Claire
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Moving home

Post by InTheAir »

MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Moving home

Post by MissK »

in addition to making the actual trip least bothersome, as Claire helped with that, I have some input on your arrival.

You didn't say how long a trip, what transport, etc. If it's not too far I suggest you make a solo venture to sure up new cage placement, etc. Otherwise, consider the layout as you recall it and choose him a place at once shielded from tumult and yet not boxed in like a trap. I would let the setup of his cage be your first priority upon getting there and consider a drape over part of the cage for his comfort *IF* he finds that comforting. (He might not!) Ask the family not to hover over him, and let the bird dictate how close they are allowed to come. Maybe you can set a chair at an appropriate distance for relatives to view the new guy, and maybe a wee table so they can snack at the same time and show off how unthreatening they are....

Have a drape available during travel in case he finds it troubling.

My first Ringneck came from a home a few hours away. I just put him in a travel size cage and strapped him in the car seat next to me. When we got to my house I put the travel cage on a table in the living room and went to bed for hours, then off to work. He had a good bit of alone time to assess the situation. The next day I carted him off to the vet. Then he came home again and went into the big, big cage I'd had waiting for him and I let him begin his new life. He did FINE.
-MissK
Gabi25
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:03 pm
Location: London

Re: Moving home

Post by Gabi25 »

Thank you both so much for your time in replying!

Claire, the link is very helpful! Harry at the moment is not very friendly with humans and he (read: we) had a very traumatic first trip to the vet.. but we're working on it and hopefully he trusts me enough to go voluntarily into his travel cage when the moving date comes near!

Miss K the trip is not very far. It will either be a 15 min car journey or a public transport journey (which i will try to avoid) of the same length.
Would I have to provide him with food and water during the journey or would it be better to just give it to him on arrival and let him settle?

Thank you for the tips, they are very useful and I will certainly use them!
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Moving home

Post by MissK »

It's unlikely you will be delayed by hours during your travel, so food is not needed. Really, unless it's going to be warm, I would carry water in a plastic bottle in case of need, but not have it in the cage. It will just be spilling anyway, and a trip of 15 minutes, even with an extra 15 minutes of loading and unloading the vehicle, should be fine without water, again, unless it's too warm. He'll likely be too distracted to drink anything anyway. Maybe you can give him a slice of apple to satisfy both appetites and your concern.

Upon arrival set him up in grand style with haste, and furnish him all the wonderful goodies so he can see the benefit of the new place. And don't let people pester him during the trip or at the new house. And don't set him on the floor because it's a very vulnerable location.
-MissK
Blue Pako
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue May 20, 2014 10:52 am

Re: Moving home

Post by Blue Pako »

My travel experience:
I took mine on a three hour flight (+1 hour drive to airport, +1 hour wait time in airport, and 1.5 hour drive away from airport)

In the airport, had to keep him in his airline approved carrier - basically a gym back with a mesh window.
Had to take him out of the carrier at security, and walk through the scanner with him in my hands.

On the flight, he started biting a hole in the mesh and we thought he was going to escape. Luckily we had a towel with us, and kept tucking it into the hole.

As soon as we got our luggage and sat in the car, we took him out and let him sit on our shoulder for the entire 1.5hr drive.

He didn't eat or drink until we got home. We routinely visit my mom's about 1.5 hours away, and he is happt to sit on top of his cage in the back seat, or sit on our shoulder. He loves being in the car.

I think yours will be okay ;)
Gabi25
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:03 pm
Location: London

Re: Moving home

Post by Gabi25 »

Well, Next week is the big day!
its time to move!

Thank you all so much for your kind advice, you've been a great help, and if I just do what you guys mentioned I'm sure he'll be ok!

I will keep you updated!
InTheAir
Posts: 2040
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2013 4:24 pm

Re: Moving home

Post by InTheAir »

Best of luck.
Donovan
Posts: 833
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:18 pm
Location: North Carolina

Re: Moving home

Post by Donovan »

how old is the bird and has he been handled already?

My newest bird came home from about an hour drive or so... he was very young.. barely weened. (probably a tad too early i realized later)

I didn't want to handle him.. i had his cage ready... and set the pet carrier up and opened the cage door to door... after a couple of minutes he didn't move so i decided to just make him go out of the carrier and into the cage... when i put my hand in there he didn't budge and just -let- me pick him up and transfer him like it was nothing. I knew then i'd scored a cool bird.

my other bird...my first one... i bought him as an impulse buy and wasn't ready.... so i had to buy the cage he was in at the pet store where I found him.. kinda funny because the guy wasn't expecting to sell the cage too.. I don't think the cage was for sale but I didn't want to have to handle the bird and I wanted him to just stay in the cage he was already familiar with being in.
Gabi25
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:03 pm
Location: London

Re: Moving home

Post by Gabi25 »

Not sure how old he is exactly, but I believe he's around a year old now. We got him from friends who couldn't look after him.
He has not been handled before I think as he's petrified when i put my hands in the cage and gets very angry.. Not when I've got food though..

We've decided to keep him in his normal cage and transport him in there with a towel over it to keep him warm.. My efforts to get him used to a travel cage have been in vain, and I don't really want to stress him more after the past 2 months (friends only had him for 3 weeks, before that he came from Manchester.. So he's travelled a bit, always in boxes and very stressed afterwards)
clawnz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:59 pm
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Moving home

Post by clawnz »

If you use his cage take out all toys. And remove any branches that are not at ground level.
If he is on a branch and you brake hard he will get thrown off. This will cause him to flap and he may catch a wing in the bars of the cage. Not Good. Or get hurt crashing around in the cage.
Most rescues will use boxes with good reason.
Pet carriers do work. there are only bars at the front so not so much chance of a bird getting hurt.

The most important thing about moving him will be that you remain calm and ooze this as he will pick up on you.

Pet Box
Image

Pet carrier
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/SearchR ... dCategory=

My own Pet Box. This I use all the time for moving birds around. If they seem to be over active I cover. If not leave it so they can see out.
It is made from a vege box out of a fridge.
Image

Image

Travel box This is how at least some breeders ship birds. And Snowy did 3.5hr in this and was flown to me.
Image

If it is cold place a hot water bottle under a towel.
Make sure whatever you use is tied down well.

Or you can travel with him like I do with some of the birds.
Angel when I bought her home.
Image

Dexter rides the car and work truck all the time.
http://vid815.photobucket.com/albums/zz ... 7117a7.mp4
This was a round trip of from Auckland down to Rotorua and back in the same day.

Caution: It may not be legal.
Gabi25
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 12:03 pm
Location: London

Re: Moving home

Post by Gabi25 »

Ooooh I love the last pic! That's soo awesome!

I cant wait for harry to be a little more loving towards me!
Thank you so much for all the advise! I really appreciate it!!

Few more nights and all will be over! Can't wait :D
clawnz
Posts: 148
Joined: Sun Dec 23, 2012 9:59 pm
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Moving home

Post by clawnz »

Thank you.
Angel was a parent raised aviary bird and breeder would not sell her to start with because she was so frantic. A very nervous girl. I managed to convince her I could deal with that as she was going to be cage free in my home.
I had her in the hospital box for the first part of the trip. When I stopped to fuel up I let her out in the car and she first flew up into the front screen. I did not panic as this was a low speed bash. She went down the back of the Terrano for most of the trip and only flew up to the dash when I turned into my street. It was as if she could sense my feelings that I was glad to be home after being on the road four and a half hour drive back up country. i would of been as it was a nine hour round trip to get her.
And to me it does show how relaxed even birds that seem to be stress merchants can be relaxed given the right travel conditions.

Another time I was transporting a wild Black Swan back from the vets. It was boxed (large box) for the trip. Well it decided it did not want to stay in the box and managed to get out. I could not pull over to sort this out, as I was in heavy traffic. So tried to keep calm and kept driving. To my delight it just sat there and watched the world go by right back to the rescue.
MissK
Posts: 3011
Joined: Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:46 pm
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Re: Moving home

Post by MissK »

I really think your primary concern, about the transport confinement, should be physical safety.

1) Strong enough to maintain integrity even if it gets dropped, banged around, or attacked by another animal - I may be paranoid, but I use cable ties to lock any non-locking cage doors during transit
2) Offers a secure perch or bars for your bird to hang on tight while in motion
3) Nothing swinging around to bang Birdie in the head
4) Protected from drafts and, since you're taking public transport, consider how you would protect Birdie from fumes, like exhaust, cigarettes, artificial scents in the air, especially if you wind up on an underground tube

and, possibly,
5) Visual barrier to protect against covetous eyes (can't be too safe)

I don't know how your weather is just now, but here it's below freezing. If I were to take a bird out today I would be wrapping the cage in a towel, wrapping that in Bubble wrap, and dropping the whole thing into a trash bag. Mind, I would LEAVE THE TOP only covered by a towel so as not to cut off ventilation...... I have heard suggestions about hot water bottles, but I personally would be afraid it could be hot enough to burn and it would lose heat so quickly as to lose effectiveness as well. A water bottle cooler than body temperature will have the reverse effect, taking body heat instead of supplementing it. Not only that, but all the water bottles I've experienced are no match for a Ringneck's nibble.

Let us know how it went!
-MissK
Post Reply