Moving with Birds in Victoria, BC

Moving with birds doesn’t have to be stressful for you or your pet. If you are going to be moving from your current abode to a new place with your parrot pal, then there are a few steps you can take to ensure that both of you make it to your new home happy and healthy.

Preparation

Before you move you can help your bird out by getting him ready to move ahead of time.

• Visit Your Vet: Before you move bring your bird to the vet for a check-up, to ensure he is healthy enough to make the trip. This is especially important if you are moving from one city to another or one country to another.
• Carrier Meet and Greet: If you have to get a new carrier for the trip, make sure it is big enough for your bird. About a month before you move, start letting your bird explore his new carrier. This way, when moving day arrives the carrier won’t be one stressful new thing on top of every other stressful thing. As for traveling in the car, birds usually enjoy looking out of cars windows and watching the world go by. However, if you are nervous about how your pet will react, take him on short car rides to help him get used to the vehicle.
• Pack Their Supplies: The day before you move pack a bag of food and snacks for your bird. Everything else, like their perches and toys, will need to be packed up in a different box for safety reasons. It’s also a good idea to pack about a month’s worth of food if you are moving to a new town. That way you won’t have to worry if you can’t find a store that sells the same brand right away.
• Staying Overnight In An Inn: If you are staying in a hotel overnight call ahead (don’t just check online) to make sure they will accept your bird, and to bring some spare newspaper to protect the hotel’s carpet.

Moving Day

If you’ve taken some time to prepare moving day should run much more smoothly. For instance, you should already know how to get your bird into her carrier (especially if she is stubborn) without causing her too much stress, and she should already be comfortable traveling in a vehicle.

If she’s not comfortable in the car here are a few suggestions to help her with the drive:

• Secured her carrier in back seat away from the airbags (this is important even if she isn’t nervous). If the bird carrier doesn’t fit into your backseat,  consider hiring a pet transport company to move your bird.
• Cover the cage with a blanket or lightly pad the inside so your bird can’t hurt herself enroute. If you do this, check on your pet frequently to make sure she hasn’t injured herself on the padding or in the dark.
• Keep the car’s temperature at a comfortable level for your bird, because birds are sensitive to environmental changes.

Settling In

When you get to your new home, set up your bird’s regular cage in its permanent spot as soon as you can and put your bird back into it. It’s best if this is in a quiet location. If that isn’t possible, drape a blanket over the front of the cage to protect them from some of the hubbub.

While they are settling into their cage don’t trade out their toys, perches or other comforting items. And remember to keep your birds routine consistent throughout it all.

Then it’s time to visit your new vet, especially if your bird still seems nervous or agitated after a little while of living in your new place.

Like most Canadian cities, Victoria is a great place to live if you own a bird. Renters in Victoria can attest to a somewhat inconvenient market for finding an acceptable place to keep pets. However, if you look hard enough you’ll find that most homeowners are fine with pets so long as there’s a pet deposit.