Budgie travelling

[kiwithebudgie10]

I just adopted a budgie from my aunt. He's probably around 1 year old and was purchased from Petco with 5 other budgies. He stayed in her house before him and his friends being kicked out and living in a hotel before staying at a friend's house. 3 of them died there suddenly. He's been moved when she was on vacation at my grandparents' house and has been there over a month. He is still nervous with my hands.

To get home, I have to take a 2 day drive across the country. I'm concerned that it may be very stressful to him and affect his health since he's already been through so much. I purchased a decently sized travel cage that I will move him into to early so he can adjust to it. Does anyone have any tips for his voyage?

[tweetiepiesmom]

I drove with Buddy from the person who raised him to my house, about a 6-7 hour trip. I read up on travelling distances with pet birds. The suggestions that I used were to cover the cage on three sides with the open side pointed to you. It said sometimes birds get disoriented and dizzy looking at the scenery speeding by. Make sure they have water and food and a treat to munch on. The water may spill out so refill it when you stop. Have their favorite toy to play with. Keep the perches low because they may fall with the sudden stops or bumps on the road. Make sure the car heater/air conditioner/vents are not blowing on them. Play music on the radio the entire time. Buddy was perfectly happy and chirped and sang the whole way home.

[Hezz]

Take out anything that swings around, leave a little seed but not water (it will only spill), stop frequently to put water into his cage and leave him alone if he does need a drink, but may be afraid to drink in front of you.

Depending on how he is with the journey you can adjust how he travels. If he is a nervous nelly, cover the cage, leave a peep out and make sure there is plenty of fresh air coming into his space. A lot of budgies actually love a car ride, love to sit up in the passenger seat and look out at the passing scenery in which case you don't need to cover him over. If you are travelling through very noisy congested traffic it might be kinder to cover him over and keep the windows up to lessen any noise. If travelling through countryside, this might be when he will be more calm and enjoy the scenery. You will just have to play it by ear.

Don't be surprised if you don't see him have a drink, but make sure he has water available at each stop to give him the opportunity to drink if he wants.

[tweetiepiesmom]

I put a toy in Buddy's cage when we traveled. I hung it from the top but clipped it also on the side of his cage so it couldn't swing around. Thanks Hezz I forgot about that.