question about cage size for travel

[earlc]

We have a large motor coach and are planning a 2 week trip to North Carolina ( about 600 miles from home ) normally we leave our Amazon parrot at home and our son takes care of him morning and evening but after having him at the vet for toenail trimming, the vet remarked that we should take him with us because he cries and picks at his feathers when we leave him, although he is perfectly healthy otherwise.
My question is, how large of a cage must we have for him to be in the motor coach for up to 2 weeks when traveling? We are limited of course to space and a normal cage for a parrot his size will be quite a problem. Could we actually opt for a smaller cage such as maybe 18x24x30 inches high if that would not be a problem for that little lenght of time, also if anyone has experience at this maybe they could give advice on where is a good location in the coach for him to ride? By the way our bird "tommy" is about 15 years old. Thanks for any help

[birdgirl]

I've never gone any where with my bird but if he will only be in the cage when you are moving or at night a smaller sleeping cage is fine you could even get a small play area to go on top of the cage so that he can have some place to play and it wont take up any more room.
hope this helps a little:)

[earlc]

Thanks for your reply. He will be in the cage for some lenght of time during our travel since we have functions to attend while there, however I am not talking about a small transport cage but maybe one then what is reccomended for his size.

[Jenny]

I'd get as large of one as possible, and as long as you let him out a bunch and he has plenty of interesting things to do while he's in his cage, I'd think it'd be fine. Do you have a birdie-harness for him? Those are extremely helpful (if you can get your bird used to one!). I've also seen special bird "car-seats" which are stands which you can seatbelt in, so that'd be something to think about. There's a website which sells a few good bird travel supplies as well as a bunch of other thinsg which is www.birdsupplies.com.

[birdygirl]

Bir car seats cool!!!!

[JSimko]

I am constantly taking my blue and gold places, and I bought a large metal dog crate with a pull out tray for easy cleaning. There is plenty of room for his long tail and at least one toy. Of course I only do short trips with him, because I do not feel that it is suitable for a blue and gold for any more a day. For an amazon it might be a perfect fit.

[Jenny]

Yes, that's a great idea- just be careful about possible metal poisoning from the crate.

[earlc]

:) I want to thank everyone for all of the input and suggestions, I ended up stopping in our local Pet Smart store and was able to find the perfect cage, it fits in the door of the motor coach ( just barely ) and it is actually built for a medium to large Amazon. I think that " Tommy " will be very happy on his first vacation. Thanks to all

[birdygirl]

Good

[Jenny]

I'm glad you found what you were looking for, and have a great trip!