Cage birds

Cheery

Cheery

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Does anyone have experience of having birds on board? If they were in a cage fixed to a platform I assume it would be uncomfortable as the pitching and rolling would be unsuitable. If the cage were hung would this be the same as a gimbal? As long as you're not in a force 8 of course.
 
We have sailed from UK to Egypt and back to Greece via France, Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus (12000+ miles) with Charlie our African Grey Parrot. He has 2 cages. His main cage (600 long, 400 wide, 600 high) which he uses when we are not actually sailing our motoring. His second cage (340 wide, 270 long, 400 high) which he uses for travelling is tied to the roof of the cabin then bungee'd (all 4 sides). The travel cage is small to restrict his wings and prevent him breaking them. He has been through all sorts of weathers (including force 8 for 36 hours) and is perfectly fine.

We believe he enjoys sailing but although he does talk he's never actually said "This is great" but then he's never actually said "This is S**t".

Those who have met / heard him will certainly agree he appears to love the life.
 
As far as I recall Roof's go on houses ! !

Had many a birdie on RN ships & they never seemed to come to any harm.
 
Oh brilliant - someone who has sailed with a parrot!!
We have an african grey that we would like to take on our boat with us. Two things that I really wanted to know but didn't know who to ask (until now that is)
I think you have pretty much answered my first query which is how do they cope with the sailing. But I am interested to know what size boat you have and where you put the cages???
Secondly, I was worried about pet passports etc - we have taken a cat sailing previously and all was pretty straightforward but I can't seem to find much info on the regulations concerning bird travel.
Please tell me all you know!!!
Thanks
 
Cheery said:
Yes, a good point about the passports. I understand about the smaller cage, non-bird owners probably struggle with what was meant. You could always get a harness and allow free flight so they can protect themselves even more. We have one of these;
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I have not come across one of those before. What happens when the bird reaches the end of the leash? I imagine it can come as quite a shock.

This page http://www.takeyourpet.co.uk/7/infoguides/Taking+Your+Pet+Abroad/ says you don't need a passport for non-poultry birds in the EU.
 
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phantomlady said:
Oh brilliant - someone who has sailed with a parrot!!
We have an african grey that we would like to take on our boat with us. Two things that I really wanted to know but didn't know who to ask (until now that is)
I think you have pretty much answered my first query which is how do they cope with the sailing. But I am interested to know what size boat you have and where you put the cages???
Secondly, I was worried about pet passports etc - we have taken a cat sailing previously and all was pretty straightforward but I can't seem to find much info on the regulations concerning bird travel.
Please tell me all you know!!!
Thanks
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As I understood it, Pet Passports do not apply to animals entering the country on private boats or planes - do you know different?
 
maby said:
As I understood it, Pet Passports do not apply to animals entering the country on private boats or planes - do you know different?
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Animals are not allowed to enter on private transport. There have been several articles in the yachting press about husband bringing the boat back singlehanded while wife brings the pet on the ferry.
 
Vyv. Whilst may be still relevant for birds some of the information on that link is out of date. eg Dogs/cats imported from Turkey/PRNC do not need 6 months quarantine . Up to date info is on the DEFRA site.
 
phantomlady said:
Oh brilliant - someone who has sailed with a parrot!!
We have an african grey that we would like to take on our boat with us. Two things that I really wanted to know but didn't know who to ask (until now that is)
I think you have pretty much answered my first query which is how do they cope with the sailing. But I am interested to know what size boat you have and where you put the cages???
Secondly, I was worried about pet passports etc - we have taken a cat sailing previously and all was pretty straightforward but I can't seem to find much info on the regulations concerning bird travel.
Please tell me all you know!!!
Thanks
Click to expand...

The attached photo's show his two cages. Our boat is a Oyster 435 (43ft).

We left UK with Charlie in April 2008. He was 10 year old at that time. Sheena the better half did all the research in respect to where we can take him and what hoops we would need to jump through. Defra (Bristol) were very helpful. In essence African Grey Parrots come under the Cites Agreement (Endangered Species). Birds are not covered by the "Pet Passport" scheme, that only covers dogs and cats. If he is travelling within the EU he can travel unrestricted and does not need a Cites License, although he needed a health certificate (letter from VET, we have never been asked for it and it's now 5 year old). Outside of the EU say Turkey, he in theory needs a license, has to be exported from the last EU country (export license needed) and imported into Turkey (import license needed).

In reality, if he is on your boat nobody seems to care. In fact the officials were more interested in trying to get Charlie to say "HELLO" than our paperwork, and have never asked or intimated that they want to see Charlie's documentation. Egypt was the same.

Charlie was "Chipped" by the VET before we left UK. This is duel purpose. Firstly, it proves he's from UK (that's where he was born and bred) and secondly he's not illegally obtained from the black market.

One of the big problems is that if you need to rush home, you need to think about how you will deal with your feathered friend. It happened to us twice. Once we managed to get a VET (in Turkey) to look after him and the second time friends were kind enough to take care of him. To get him home from within the EU he can fly (no smart comments please) with certain airlines. Not Cheap. We took him back once by car from Greece via Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France. No problems what so ever. Except when at passport control for the Channel Tunnel. Charlie decided to shout "Oi I'm talking to you".
"Just one passport Sir!,
"It's a Parrot"!!

If you or anyone else wants more info send us a PM and we will do our best to help.


Albert, Sheena & CharlieP1010520.jpgP1010521.jpgP1010523.jpg
 
Thank you so much for all the information! Most helpful. It has really encouraged us to believe that we can take our bird sailing with us :)
'Oi I'm talking to you!' ......hahaha....you've got to love 'em
Can Charlie fly? Do you let him out of his cage much? Our grey hates being in his cage and is an excellent flyer so I just worry that a boat is too small a space for him (ours is 42ft)
Charlie is lovely by the way :)
 
I can thoroughly recommend The Aviator. Watch the videos available on the internet, they are very useful. Larger birds are seemingly easier to get them on and enjoy them.
 
I am rather uncomfortable with a bird that evolved for free flight in a jungle being made to live in a metal cage and entertain human beings. Sorry, but.
 
This might amuse you, in Trinidad there was a motor boat that had a Harley Davidson on the back the owner use to run up occasionally. The owner was a ex CIA pilot who had lost one eye and he had a parrot on board that he kept on deck when on the move. With one eye he wasn't very good at spotting reefs but the parrot was and used to call out 'reef reef' if it saw one.
 
sarabande said:
I am rather uncomfortable with a bird that evolved for free flight in a jungle being made to live in a metal cage and entertain human beings. Sorry, but.
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+1 it seems an uncomfortable juxtaposition with the freedom of the seas enjoyed by their captors. And alllowing them the odd short flight on the end of a bungee seems to be rubbing it in a bit. I can see that the owners on here love their pets but it just doesn't seem right?
 
sarabande said:
I am rather uncomfortable with a bird that evolved for free flight in a jungle being made to live in a metal cage and entertain human beings. Sorry, but.
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Whilst I understand your point you must remember these birds in general, if they are legal, were bred in captivity so are slightly removed from any jungle, and in reality may well have problems surviving in the wild, though there are substantial colonies of parakeets around south London.
 
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