If you want to be a pet bird owner but is frequently traveling because of your job or because of your lifestyle choices, then you might have a problem with taking care of your bird whenever you are traveling around because you simply just cannot leave it alone at home whenever there is no one there to take care of it. The bird needs you to take care of its basic needs and will probably end up sick or even dead if you leave it alone for far too long when you are traveling.
In that case, what you should keep in handy is a Macaw travel carrier that will allow you to travel around while making sure that you have your pet bird with you so that you can take care of it properly. While there are plenty of bird travel carriers available on the market, you might want to consider building your own so that you will have a travel carrier that actually fits the needs of your Macaw. As such, we are here to help in making it easier for you to travel around with your pet bird.
Preliminaries
Before we get to the meat of this article, we must first discuss some preliminary questions about your Macaw and how it might or might not be fit for travel. That is because everything goes to waste if your pet bird does not even like traveling or is not used to traveling. In that regard, here are some of the questions you might want to answer first:
Is your bird already used to a certain routine?
Birds that are already used to a certain type of routine might not be able to adjust well to traveling. This is true for Macaws, especially when they are still young because they are only used to a life of eating, playing, and sleeping. In that case, it might be difficult for your bird to handle the stress of adjusting to a travel schedule. But the good thing here is that older and more mature Macaws are able to adjust better to such a schedule.
Is your bird comfortable in a confined cage, and for how long can it stay comfortable?
If you have a Macaw, you would know that such pet birds are bigger than most parrots and will need cages that fit its large size. However, what you should think about here is that travel carriers tend to be smaller than your conventional cage and will keep your Macaw in a compact space for a very long time. As such, you have to determine whether or not your Macaw is well-suited in a small and confined cage for several hours because you can never tell how long your travels will be.
Is your Macaw prone to motion sickness?
Different Macaws have different personalities and health concerns. There are some that are prone to motion sickness, while others simply brush it off like it is nothing. In that regard, you have to determine how susceptible your Macaw is to motion sickness before you even decide whether or not you want to bring it to your next travels. If your Macaw is quite prone to motion sickness, the constant traveling might be too stressful for it to handle.
Does your Macaw show the signs of a healthy bird?
You would not want to carry an unhealthy Macaw with you on your next travel. Regardless of how strong the bird is, traveling tends to be quite stressful for any Macaw and will take a toll on its health. That is why you should check the signs of what constitutes a healthy bird and see to it that your Macaw fits the bill. If your Macaw isn’t healthy, you have a choice of either improving its health leading up to the day of your travel or leaving it with someone who can take good care of it while you are traveling.
Can you carry the bird in your next destination?
It is understandable that there are some countries or destinations that do not allow you to carry birds into such places for various reasons. After all, birds can be carriers of deadly diseases and may also have a direct impact on its ecology in case it gets introduced into the region. That is why it is important for you to always check if you are legally allowed to carry your pet Macaw with you in your next destination so that you do not have to worry about the problems you will potentially face when you are already there.
Can you look after your bird at your destination?
While it is understandable that you might want to carry your pet Macaw with you in your next travel because of how there probably won’t be anyone at home to take care of it, you also have to consider the possibility that you might not have any time for it when you are traveling. If that is the case, the bird won’t be better off with you. You might want to leave it with a trusted friend instead if you cannot commit to giving it time in your next travel.
Building a travel carrier for your Macaw
When you are building a travel carrier for your Macaw, the one thing that you should consider is that these pet parrots are larger than some other domesticated birds and are probably too large for most commercially sold travel carriers. That is why there is a need for you to build a travel carrier that actually fits the size of your pet Macaw.
Think of what materials are best for your travel carrier because plastic and metal pet carriers can be toxic for your Macaw when it is trying to use its beak to break its way out of the carrier.
You also won’t be able to provide toys for your Macaw because airplanes do not allow pet toys to be stored together with your bird. In that case, the bird will certainly try to bite through the cage when it is boring. That is why it is essential to use a material that is safe for your bird. Stainless steel might be safe, but strong wood can also be a good option for you because you probably won’t be able to build an entire carrier out of stainless steel. Plexiglass might also be good because of its see-through feature. Try not to use bamboo or weaker materials because the Macaw is certainly strong enough to be able to bite its way through.
The size of the travel carrier should be about three times the size of your Macaw. You may go for a bigger carrier, but doing so might be problematic as it will take up more space in your vehicle, or it might be too big for some airline carriers to handle. Just make sure that the travel carrier is not too cramped, or else your bird might suffer from the lack of space inside.
Never forget to put in holes for air to freely flow through as this is what will allow your Macaw to breathe normally inside its travel carrier. The cage door should also have holes in it, but they must be smaller to prevent the Macaw from trying to open the cage door from the inside. You might want to use a cage door with a mesh-like screen that has holes that are too small for your bird’s beak and claws to pass through. In terms of the carrier’s overall design, it might be best for you to mimic the design of the ones you see in most travel carriers. A standard box type carrier might already be good enough for you and your Macaw.
