long car trip with a parakeet

Question
I have to take my parakeet on a 2-day car trip.  What is the best way to do this?  I have a small travel cage I can use, but am concerned about having him in this for so long.  

thanks.

Answer
Hello Jan.  Thank you for your post.
If you're going to be gone for a few days, you might want to consider taking a bigger cage with you also, and put your bird in it when you get to your destination so that he'll have some room to exercise in until you get back home.
As for the trip itself, make sure to have some fresh food and water, preferably in "Fountain Feeders".  This will help reduce spillage of the food and water, and still allow him to eat and drink when he wants to.
Make sure that there is no grate at the bottom of the cage and all of the perches are taken out for the trip.  A bird's foot or toe can get caught in the grate and he could end up with a broken foot or toe.  A perch in a cage that is in a moving car is asking for a broken wing.  A parakeet will probably move around and flap it's wings, and it can hit the perch and break the wing.
Also, make sure that you have a cover for the cage.  Some birds will actually "freak out" in a car, and that'll make them too stressed, which can kill them.  If you have a cover for the cage, if your bird gets too excited or stressed, you can cover the cage and the bird should calm down.
No matter what you do, make sure to not take any turns too sharp, this could knock a bird off of the side of it's cage and could result in broken bones or worse.
I hope that I was able to answer your question.  The farthest that I have ever traveled with any of my birds was a 5 1/2 hour drive.

Please drive safely.

Good luck and God Bless.
Dianna