New Budgie Owner seeking travel advice!

[tupac]

Hi All! 

I've purchased a beautiful, very young budgie, called Tupac. He is my first every budgie and he's been at home for ONE WEEK now. He's settling in well, he's familiarised himself with every corner of his cage and although he wont eat off my hands yet he is comfortable with them resting close to him on the outside of the cage and being reasonably close to him when they are in his cage. 

The trouble is i need to travel 3 hours by train to go to the other end of the country to be with my family for Christmas in a week so he will have only been with me for 2 weeks. 

I have two options:

1) force him into a smaller cage and take him on the train (my mum has another big cage for him at hers) I'm just worried this will really spook him and all the work we've put in will go down the drain and it could be a very stressful experience for little Tupac? 

2) Leave him at home for 3.5 days with plenty of food/water and the heating on low

Before you ask, unfortunately no, there is no one that can come and check up on him if i'm to leave him alone. 

Advice and experience much appreciated! 

[clt80]

I would not leave him alone. This would cause undue stress and forgive me for saying this, I mean it in the nicest way, but it's irresponsible.

Get the smaller travel cage, put food in see if he can get use to it a little with a toy or something he is familiar with. I knows Xmas is soon but any familiarisation with the travel cage will help on the day. Will you be taking something to cover the back, top and sides of the cage up with whilst on the train? A towel or something?

[tupac]

Hey,

No offence taken at all. I hadn't considered leaving him alone until a friend of mine that had a budgie said they used to leave theirs when they went on holiday for up to 2 weeks!

The smaller cage is very small! not much bigger than a shoe box but it does have a perch. I'm collecting it tomorrow so can put it in his cage for him to get used to. I have a towel I put over his cage at night so i'll bring that with me for the train for some familiarity!

You really think the whole trip there and back and new surroundings will be less stressful than a few days alone? I just want him to have the least trauma possible.

[ffiscool]

Hi, welcome

In my opinion, You can’t leave him alone.

Could I ask why you maybe didn’t wait to get him until you were back from your break?

[tweetiepiesmom]

I am by no means an expert but I think he'll be more stressed by you getting him in his travel cage than anything else (except leaving him alone). I imagine since he's not finger trained you'll catch him and put him in the cage? Maybe others here have good ideas on how to get him in with the least amount of stress. I really think you'll want him with you and you'll miss him even if you had someone else to look in on him.

[Hezz]

It would be very irresponsible to leave him alone for that period of time - thank you for not really considering that option. Whatever you do it is going to be stressful simply because you haven't the time to allow him to settle into his new environment before making him move again.

Another option, possibly the least stressful for the bird is to board him with his previous owners, whether that be store or breeder, quite often either are quite happy to do a little pet-sitting for a short time.

[tupac]

Thank you so much for all these responses - it's clear now definitely not to leave him.

He was purchased as a gift for me because for the longest time i have wanted one and watch videos on how to train them almost daily. My boyfriend asked the pet shop if it would be ok to transport him after so little time and they said yes.

Tupac is not yet finger trained but he did let my finger get exceptionally close to his chest yesterday with some spray millet so i'm hopeful in the next week I can build up his trust to get him finger trained. If its too difficult to get him into the small travel cage would it be bad to leave him in his large cage with a towel over the top? I'm a llittle worried about that as when he left the pet shop they wouldn't let him go in a big cage because apparently they can get spooked and fly hard into the sides and hurt themselves but if he's comfortable with the cage after 2 weeks that might not be the case?

[Hezz]

If it is going to be too hard to move him from cage to cage ... although I really don't think it would be a huge problem, he would settle down in the travel cage soon enough ... it would be perfectly okay to leave him in the bigger cage, cover the top and sides, make sure the cage is secure in the car, take out any toys that may swing around and hit him or frighten him. Remove his water as well as it will only slosh around and spill. If a long trip, then stop and give him the opportunity to have a drink a few times. You can leave his seed in, or a millet spray, but don't overfill the seed pot.

[ladybird]

Hezz , the journey is by train not car......... This is just my personal opinion on the subject and I don’t mean to sound harsh.... I could never leave my budgie alone for more than a few hours, and if I couldn’t find someone to look after him , then I would have to just stay home. I think a train journey will be really stressful for a little budgie. It’s a terrible dilemma, but just know what I would do. Sorry just needed to speak my mind...

[Hezz]

Sorry, tupac, my brain didn't register this as a train journey. In that case I would see about having him boarded for the couple of days, rather than risking the possible trauma of a train journey, all depending on how long that journey is, as well, and how crowded and noisy it might be. Much better to have a calm bird back after a few days away rather than a stressed, overwhelmed one who may take some time to settle down again.

[tupac]

The train journey is 3 hours and i have opted for an off peak time so it should be quiet. Why is it that you both think that a train is more stressful/traumatic than a car journey?

[Deleted]

I'm not sure of others' thoughts, but possibly because it's potentially noisier or because the scenery passes by extremely quickly. I haven't tried a budgie on a train, though the pet shop I last visited is near a station so I might have to use that if I couldn't get a lift.

Is it bad that I now want to take Munchy on a train to find out?

[ffiscool]

I’m just thinking out loud, thinking it through, but you’ll presumably have a case/luggage plus negotiating with a cage. Even if the train is off peak, there could be delays etc, people coming and going, getting knocked?

I just know how hard it can be at times, to negotiate, bags, case, umbrella/similar on a train, at a station.

You’d need to then keep the sides of the cage covered, if that’s the plan. Have the cage on your lap?

[Hezz]

As mentioned, a train is much more noisy, much more happening around, announcements over PA, etc etc, plus the hustle and bustle of getting your own stuff together, carrying a cage, you are not going to be able to prevent others from bumping you. If a calm settled bird, it might be fine, but not for a newly purchased one. Very bad idea.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Do you have a reliable friend or neighbor tupac that you can leave him with, someone who will make sure he's cared for and will give him some attention (maybe the friend who gave him to you)? Alternatively, are you traveling with someone who can handle the luggage while you take care of the cage? I hope it works out for you and your budgie.