# Taking baby Cockatiel on 6 hour car ride.



## edmyloo (Nov 18, 2010)

Well, I'm going on vacation in 2 weeks and the car ride from where I live to Yosemite is about 6 hours. I have to take my baby cockatiel around to handfeed it. It's 34 days old today (looks 21 days because of stunt). Will it be okay? Will any problems arise and how should I be prepared for the ride? And the road to Yosemite is by no means smooth... First time I went, I was throwing up all over the place.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Weaned/adult birds usually do pretty well on car trips, although it's possible for birds to get carsick too. I don't know about an unweaned baby, that sounds scary to me. Maybe srtiels can give you some good advice.


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## edmyloo (Nov 18, 2010)

tielfan said:


> Weaned/adult birds usually do pretty well on car trips, although it's possible for birds to get carsick too. I don't know about an unweaned baby, that sounds scary to me. Maybe srtiels can give you some good advice.


Yea, I've read that some adult birds would throw up on car rides and stuff. I just want to know how I could make it better for the baby. Right now, I'm planning on feeding it before we leave early in the morning, and then covering the cage. I'm not sure whether I should feed it before we go though... Yea, well, just wondering how I could make the trip more comfortable for the baby. I don't really have a choice but to take it. Kinda wish I could just give it a Dramamine. xD


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

For what it's worth, motion sickness is apparently less common in birds than it is in humans.


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

I've never had any problem with my adult birds in the car. I had to bring 10 of them on a 3 hour car trip, then on an almost 6 hour one (we stopped in the middle and fed them and gave them water). I will be bringing 3 unweaned chicks with me on a 4 hour car ride to a relatives next weekend. I plan on putting them in a cat carrier with paper towels and covering it to keep them a little more calm. Luckily, the trip will most likely be during the night when they'll be a little sleepy.

I just advise you to put him in a carrier instead of a cage and stop along the way to offer him some food and water. He should be eating a bit on his own by then with no problem.


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## edmyloo (Nov 18, 2010)

Cheryl said:


> I've never had any problem with my adult birds in the car. I had to bring 10 of them on a 3 hour car trip, then on an almost 6 hour one (we stopped in the middle and fed them and gave them water). I will be bringing 3 unweaned chicks with me on a 4 hour car ride to a relatives next weekend. I plan on putting them in a cat carrier with paper towels and covering it to keep them a little more calm. Luckily, the trip will most likely be during the night when they'll be a little sleepy.
> 
> I just advise you to put him in a carrier instead of a cage and stop along the way to offer him some food and water. He should be eating a bit on his own by then with no problem.


What exactly is a carrier? Could I substitute it with something like a shoebox? And it can eat on it's own by then? o.o'


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Pet carrier http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00063KG5K/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen
or 
http://www.amazon.com/Bergan-Comfor...YC/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1291809837&sr=8-13


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## edmyloo (Nov 18, 2010)

lperry82 said:


> Pet carrier http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B00063KG5K/ref=dp_image_text_0?ie=UTF8&n=284507&s=kitchen
> or
> http://www.amazon.com/Bergan-Comfor...YC/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1291809837&sr=8-13


I was imagining something like that in my mind, but I wasn't sure. 
What's the difference between the carrier than the cage or a shoebox?


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Iv got the plastic one which is quite good


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## Cheryl (Dec 27, 2008)

In a cage the bird can become injured if it gets startled and starts flapping around, hitting into the bars. Since it is so young it may also have horrible balance, which might not work too well in a moving car.
A carrier is a lot more stable. I suppose you can use a shoe box, just make sure you have something in it that the chick can grasp its feet on (paper towel or regular towel) so it isn't sliding everywhere.


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## edmyloo (Nov 18, 2010)

Cheryl said:


> In a cage the bird can become injured if it gets startled and starts flapping around, hitting into the bars. Since it is so young it may also have horrible balance, which might not work too well in a moving car.
> A carrier is a lot more stable. I suppose you can use a shoe box, just make sure you have something in it that the chick can grasp its feet on (paper towel or regular towel) so it isn't sliding everywhere.


Yea my bird can't balance at all. When it's in transit, I guess I'll line the bottom with a nice bath towel. Should I worry about it bumping it's head on the TOP of the shoebox? Also, we'll most likely be on snow chains driving through snow and ice, so it might be rough. Especially up to Yosemite.. So I'll give it one nice handfeeding before we leave, and I'll give it a bit of millet at every rest stop. Then another feeding when we get there I guess. Does that sound okay? Besides some regurgitating and disorientation, no serious problems can occur due to a bumpy car ride right?


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## Chicken Nugget (Oct 22, 2020)

edmyloo said:


> I was imagining something like that in my mind, but I wasn't sure.
> What's the difference between the carrier than the cage or a shoebox?


Umm I have a carry cage for my one month and 2 week cockatiel and he loves it we are going to Arizona to visit my family it is going to be a 6 hour ride but we are going at 10pm and he will be sleeping the whole time 🙂


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