Traveling with a bird across country

[John]

I received an email message the other day from someone that is moving from Oregon to Michigan in August.  They have one pet Ameraucana that will make the 5 day trip with them and wanted advise and pointers.
When I was going to reply I somehow deleted the message and it is also gone from the Delete file.  I\'m hoping they will read the message here and any comments that you may have for them.
I do know that the bird will need to be in a cool or well ventilated area, but without wind blowing right on the bird.  I know from experience if the bird is inside a van, in a pet carrier with wood shavings, it can get smelly and irritate your throat after about 8 to 10 hours.  
What can you add? :rolleyes:

[Mike Gilbert]

Best bet is to pull a ventilated, enclosed trailer.   Make sure the bird(s) has food & water enroute on trips lasting more than a day.   Stop every couple of hours (depending on heat & humidity) to open the door for fresh air.   Avoid car trunks, especially in hot weather.   If there is no other choice than to carry the bird(s) in the van or car with you, try using a shipping container with the membranes over the air holes, and maybe use a bit of barn lime under the wood shavings to cut down on odor.

[Guest]

When going through hot areas that are dry, dampening the sawdust by pouring in some water can help keep the bird cool (though smell may not be lovely!). Some days when it is way too hot in coops at home, I pour water in a section of the coops\' sawdust--wetting it enough for the chickens to burrow in damp sawdust and fluff it over themselves, but not so much that it stays wet through the next day and breeds more bacteria.

[faith valley]

Another thing you an try is to freeze a water bottle and pop that in the transport coop.  It will keep the birds cool while they travel and yet wont leave a wet smelly mess.

Patty

[Guest]

I passed on my idea about pouring water too soon! I\'d started doing it the past month as it\'s been unusually hot here. Just cleaned the floor in one area this weekend and found it was not drying enough and probably was breeding bacteria. Oops! I may try dishes of water for wading. Patty, your idea sounds good, too.