Traveling with finches??

[sharlac]

Hi everyone. I'm new to zebra finches but am familiar with keeping other birds. I know some birds are good travelers and am wondering how zebra finches travel? If I'm going away for a week is it ok to bring them with me or best to leave them at home. With that, I've noticed some conflicting info about how long zebra finches can be left alone. How long if there is nobody coming to check on them? How long if someone is stopping by the house to look in on them? I have no intention of going away and abandoning my babies, I just need some general parameters so I can make the best decisions possible. Thank you!

[Sally]

As far as taking the birds with you, that would be my personal second choice. I'm assuming you are going by car, but the birds still are going to be aware that their environment is changing and that can be stressful on them. If you decide to go with this option, I would try to take them in as large a cage as practical, and either take bottled water or a jug of water from home, since many water supplies are very different than what your birds would be used to. I would also take a supplement like NV powder, which is an electrolyte/glucose powder that you add to their water supply to help them get through stress.

Would you be traveling the whole week, or just going to one place and staying the whole time? If the latter, that would be easier on them than a week-long road trip. Zebras are pretty hardy and can take change/stress a bit more than some other species.

My preference would be to leave them home, but then you need someone to check on them. I routinely have left my birds for three days at a time, but any longer, then I need a pet sitter. If you have someone who is VERY dependable and could be relied upon to follow your instructions exactly, you could have them stop by once each day to replenish water/food. A friend who also keeps finches would be a good choice.

I found my pet sitter when she left flyers at my local feed store, and the employees there told me that she was very reliable. She has turned out to be a godsend, as I can leave and not worry about my pets at all. Her insurance requires that she comes at least once each day, and she texts me each day after her visit to let me know how everyone is doing.

Whatever you decide to do, please keep us posted and let us know how it worked out. Also, we love to see photos of member's birds and setups.

Welcome to the forum! There's lots of good reading at http://www.finchinfo.com, where you will find many articles on finch care. If you put your general location in your profile, it makes it easier for other members to answer locale-specific questions later on.

[debbie276]

Sally have great advise, just wanted to pop in and welcome you to the forum

[sharlac]

Thank you for the warm welcome! And thank you for the advice. I will only be in one place and the car ride is about an hour and a half. I'm really torn...I don't want to stress them, but I don't want to isolate them either. I will definitely let you know what way I go and how it works out. Thanks!

[Sally]

How many birds do you have? If only a pair, and you could take them in a large cage, you might be able to do this. Or take a folded-down large cage for your stay, but have them in a smaller travel cage for the trip, that is not a very long car ride. I live about that distance from one of my best finch friends, and I carry birds back and forth a lot, never a problem.

I once picked up some birds at a mart in Atlanta while visiting my sister. I picked them up in a small travel cage, then transferred them at my sister's house to a larger cage I had packed folded-down in a suitcase. They stayed 3 days, then I had to move them to a very small travel cage because I was taking them on board my flight. Once home, they went into a quarantine cage. This was a young pair of Owl finches, and they did just fine with all that traveling and moving around.

[Sally]

I forgot to add, if you decide to take the birds, make certain that if your hosts have cats or dogs, the cage is kept in a closed-off room away from them. If your hosts have children, I would also make certain the doors of the cage are secured well and caution the children that the doors should never be opened, so you don't have loose birds.

[sharlac]

I have two females. They are pretty young and we have two dogs that they are used to. I'm going to my sister's house and we will have a room for them that they can be free from noise and disturbances. I have a flight cage that they live in and can transport them in it or can get a smaller cage to put them in for travel in the car. Do you think I should put them in a smaller cage for the car ride? My only concern is stressing them out when I have to catch them to put them in a smaller cage.

[Sally]

With only 2 birds, I would probably take them with me on the trip. I have lots of birds, so I need the pet sitter, but it is $20 for a half-hour visit. Times 7 days, that would be $140 I would have to pay a pet sitter, not economical for 2 birds.

You can do whatever works best for you and your birds and/or is the easiest. If you can easily take the large flight cage in the car, then I'd leave them in the cage for the whole trip. If it would be a hassle to get the flight cage into/out of the car, then I'd transfer the 2 birds into a smaller travel cage and take the flight cage along for them to stay in during the week-long visit.

If your sister is good with it, the most economical option is to take the birds with you. Since you are only traveling a short distance by car, they shouldn't stress that much. I was thinking of a much longer car trip.

[sharlac]

Thank you all so much. Every bit of advice is so appreciated. I'm going to take then with me. I leave today and will let you know how it all works out.

Again, thank you. I wouldn't have been comfortable leaving them home or taking then with if I hadn't heard from you all. I'm so glad I signed up for this forum.

Until next time!