Hi there.
I will be traveling a 22 hour car trip with my budgies in a few weeks. I'm wondering if anybody has any tips or suggestions to make this experience as comfortable as possible for my birds. I have them in two separate cages right now and I'm not sure of the best way for them to ride in the car. Keep them in their cages? Blanket over the cages? Or put them in one of those smaller traveling cage. Should I take out all of the toys? I just don't want this to be traumatic for them. Let me know what you think. Thank you!

why would they have to be subjected to this???? it would be BEST to leave at home and have someone come and LEARN WHAT TO DO for them while your gone...smaller carriers are for shorter trips...larger cages are more dangerous in case there was a accident.

Find a care taker first a family member or friend ...who you can have come a few times and show them a few times THEN even HAVE THEM do it in front of you so they know...thats the BEST solution...for those gorgeous two.

even go so far as to ask a few local vets about boarding till you get back.

Absolutely. It would be best if they didn't have to come with me on this car ride at all. However, I have to move for work and I am not leaving them behind. I know this is not ideal, but it is the situation I'm facing.
So if anybody has any suggestions on how to make this transition easier on them, specifically the car ride itself, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Parrot-Bird-Trav...=item4164429754

first off i would strongly recommend this carrier...in the link above I have had these and most show people also use these to travel to shows with their birds ..its very sturdy and safe...You also never want a soft sided carrier. This one also has a small opening through the bars on top of the carrier that slides and is only a large enough gap to get your hand with a bird in it slipped in or out of the carrier virtually eliminating any chance of escape. It also has slide lock closures eliminating any concern as they also are quite secure and there is not just one but two.

When taking short or long car trips with your bird/birds ALWAYS bring water from home or travel with pure bottle spring water that is a MUST.
Have a COVER that completely encloses the carrier your bird will be in. ONE small favorite toy to let it focus on it during the ride is ok.
NEVER ride with the air conditioner on without having the bird covered. Consider the birds comfort as well as your own please.
Never ride with the window open where the bird will be in the incoming breeze from the windows. Live cigarette butts as well as other debris has been known to fly out one window and right back into another of the car.
NEVER for any reason remove the bird from the carrier unless it becomes injured somehow. Which brings me to DO NOT HAVE A BUNCH OF ANYTHING in the carrier you decide to get or cage you will use, except ONLY FOOD/WATER/PERCHES ...THATS IT ...not even a SWING.
Should a bird become injured look up on your GPS'S for nearest VETERINARIAN services. Remember...DON'T WAIT TILL TOO LATE.
NEVER buy any foods to feed your bird while on the road you can not rinse with ACV, apple cider vinegar, to remove pesticides, so bring your own rinsed fruits/veggies and of course the regular birds food.
DO BRING...kwik stop...and your birds EMERGENCY KIT, the EMERGENCY KIT IS USELESS AT HOME, PUT IT ON YOUR PACK LIST. Should you ever get stuck in traffic, break down, or lost and your bird is in trouble this could make a HUGE difference. Just be sure to work with the bird inside the car with all windows etc. CLOSED.
SECURE your carrier/cage with SEAT BELT, or bungee cords. Again remember to have your NAME, BIRDS NAME, YOUR PHONE NUMBER BOTH CELL AND HOME NUMBER, AND ADDRESS TAPED TO THE CARRIER and or cage when traveling.
LET NO STRANGERS MESS AROUND WITH YOUR BIRD. It will be stressed enough already EVEN THOUGH YOU MAY THINK NOT. IF YOU DONT THINK ITS SHOWING STRESS, IT IS. When you stop...WAIT till you are ready to go back to your car to give your bird some OUT TIME, IN THE CARRIER OF COURSE to get some air and look about for at least a half hour. You do not want to do this BEFORE going in to eat or whatever at a rest stop because, once you leave that car SOMEONE MAY TRY TO STEAL THE BIRD. So WAIT TILL YOUR BACK! No sense advertising you have a stealable pet that can be hidden easily. IF..you can bring it inside with you... covered of course...do..then when seated uncover it a bit to see about.
Of course NEVER LEAVE WINDOWS ALL THE WAY ROLLED UP EITHER. REMEMBER, EVEN BIRDS WILL COOK IN A QUICKLY OVERHEATED CAR.
BRING PEDIALITE for this reason as well for the BIRDS WATER not YOURS. Unless of course you want to have extra for you. THIS IS RECOMMENDED even over and above carrying pure spring water to use. But, BOTH is ideal. Again as I said YOUR BIRD WILL BE STRESSED do not underestimate this.
No air fresheners in the car.
Park where you can see your car from inside the building you are going into.
NEVER RIDE WITH YOUR BIRD LOOSE IN THE CAR THIS IS NOT CUTE

keep any large leaf veggies dampened well in a zip lock bag and store where its cool. if the bird becomes overheated these may help for the bird to maybe eat or roll in to cool down. do NOT let the bird out in the hotel/motel room..and be sure the cleaning people are told to stay away from the bird...leave a note if you have to DO NOT TOUCH BIRDS CARRIER ON THE TABLE ETC...and of course whenever possible take the carrier WITH YOU even to go eat...its best to always have someone with them overseeing everything. in a motel/hotel be sure a small light is left on an some music if possible...or tv on low.

in your case i would buy TWO of these one for each bird so if stressed they wont pick on each other and can still talk and see each other if you put carriers close ...the stimulation of them talking to each other may also help keep them a LOT calmer. This carrier has no way to attach food cups or a water bottle...put the food right on the floor unless u can figure a way to secure cups etc..a SMALL HEAVY crock would work as it wouldnt slide all around...put food it in for part of the day with moistened large leaf veggies on the floor for water intake...bring several large leafs making sure they are very wet when placing in the carrier.

and now MOST IMPORTANT TOO IS THIS...get the carrier well in advance and TRAIN the bird to go into the carrier and stay in it for several hours...eating and drinking playing etc...and do this for several days BEFORE traveling with it...that will remove a LOT of stress later when your actually traveling.

Hi I read your post and I have traveled with my bird Bob and all went great.

I used his regular cage at the time that was 24x24x32 and took all the dangling toys out of the cage and only left toys clipped to the sides of the cage so he didn't get knocked off perches. I only used rope perches for the trip and took the wood ones out. I emptied most of the water and left a little in it for him and provided his food but didn't put too much in the bowl so it didn't spill.

I put his cage in the back seat and used a seat belt to secure it on the bottom only and packed our pillows and blankets for the trip around the sides of the cage. I put him on the drivers side back seat and we took a dry run around the block a few times and found that Bob truly loved looking out the window and sang and chirped so happy that on the trip we did not cover him. If your bird is scared use a cover. I light weight bed sheet that doesn't just leave them in the dark would be the best, plus it will not get too hot. I took my other bird to his new home an hour away and he also loved looking out the window and playing with the toys on the side of the cage.

My experience is that they just act like it is any day and play and chatter and really are not any different. Bob goes to the vet and so did Tom for a study on parakeets and we go every six weeks, and they love the ride and get very excited to go.

We cracked the windows for some fresh air but I have never gone on a trip where it was severely hot and needed AC. I would say that I think a overheated car is more dangerous than AC. We had decided if we had to use AC we would keep it more temperate and not on the coldest setting and change the vents direction so Bob was never in the draft of the AC.

Just use good common sense and I highly suggest that you do a trial run around town and see how it goes. It is easier to make changes in advance to your system than be on the road and try trouble shooting.

Good luck and all the best.

these birds will be taking a 22hr trip and thats if all goes well with no detours or traffic jams or breakdowns not a hour or two ride which is considerably different...your vet tess you have said is a extremely short distance away...less than or about a half hour i believe you once said anyway not a 22hr drive...which is even very trying for humans.

I realize that it is 22 hours. A bird doesn't know that. As long as they can eat, play and chatter they are happy in a car or anywhere, especially if they have their favorite person and a good song on the radio, they should not be stressed at all. The people are the ones that have to drive and are stressed.

I know my vet is close by but I did take Bob up north on vacation 5 hours last year and 5 hours home and he loved it.

I just think that it is doable and if thought out and a dry run is done it should be fine.

I think they would be happier in a travel cage they could see out of on that long of a trip. Covered or uncovered depending on the bird and how it acts. I would leave the cage(s) at least partially covered and be sure the sun is not shining directly on them.
Maybe get the window shades you use for babies?

AC would depend on how hot it gets in the car too. Just not directed on your birds of course and try not to let the temperature fluctuate too much too fast.

Very good suggestions on the emergency supplies. You just never know what might happen. Be sure to have kwik stop and needle nose pliers in case of a broken blood feather. If you don't have an emergency kit maybe you can make one up between now and then with the essentials.
The wet greens if kept in a baggie in cooler for changing a couple times during the trip would even be sufficient for water if you're afraid of water making a mess.

DEFINITELY NO swinging toys and be sure to buckle up for safety.

If you are using cage(s) they are not familiar with, illusive is right. Set then up near the cages they're in now and let them explore and play in/on the travel ones for as long as possible before your trip. It will be that much less stressful for them if they're used to the cages they'll be in.

Just use your best judgement.
Best of luck with your move. Do you have a place already?

I've only had one of mine out for a car ride to the vet about an hr away. I used a small wire cage, covered it when taking him to and from the car, and uncovered the front portion of cage during the trip. He didn't mind at all, in fact he sang along with the radio after a little while.

even a small fender bender really throws a lil 33 gram bird persay give or take on the weight... FLYING BADLY thru the air then SMACK...the less air space to have that happen and no WIRES that are well figure it out a WIRE to act like a blunt knife into their body the better...

those travel carriers are best ...offer less impact with less body trauma with a jolt...remember its the carrier or the cage that is secured with a seat belt etc NOT the BIRD...and i think that has been overlooked here...just because the carrier or cage wont fly thru the air and hurt a inside passenger as a projectile the BIRD INSIDE...is not secured and will become a projectile.

even when WE are buckled up and KNOW we are about to hit something and brace for that ...we are flung about...a bird doesnt know to brace even and isnt secured...that would be the same as ...if you were four feet even from a wall and flung forcibly into the wall hard yah you would have the wind knocked out of you but not really hurt per say compared to the same scenario as being flung from four feet lets say into a cement guard rail...would be very different...thats just a bad example but i think still good enough to get the idea why CARRIERS are best for a bird to be in instead of a cage.

Oh I agree on the space inside the cage they are traveling in. That's why I said travel cage. But I still think a cage they can see out of would be better for such a loooong haul.
To be cooped up in the other type for 22 plus hrs would be stressful, hot,stuffy, and BORING as all get out. I say let the birds enjoy the trip too. I don't see the wire being any more harmful than hard plastic to get flung in to if, Heaven forbid, there WERE an accident.
Do what you can to make it safe but enjoyable too.