Moluccan Cockatoo

Grace Parrots regularly ships birds to customers all around the World

Shipping birds can be made to be less stressful by following some sensible advice from someone experienced in shipping and adhering to the rules and regulations of the shippers. What follows is an outline of how to avoid undue stress, accidents, loss, and/or injury to the parrots that you want to ship. This is also a useful guide when buying a parrot that needs to be shipped. You can be sure that Maxi Parrots goes all the way in ensuring that shipping is hitch-free and smooth.

How we prepare the parrots

Grace Parrots make sure the condition of your Parrot is optimal before shipping. Babies on formula don’t need any extra supplements, but an older bird may. We fortify them all with a stress reduction preparation such as Avitec’s AviBios or Mardel’s Ornabac™. These are powdered mixes to be administered to their soft foods before shipping and afterward shipping. The lactobacillus, probiotics and low ph. levels will help avert bacterial infections resulting from stress. The B-Complex vitamins will help with the stress level itself. We administer these freely to babies as well as adults. Maxi Parrots only sells weaned parrots and all our babies are fully weaned when shipped.

We take care of all the flight/shipping arrangements. Very Simple and Very Safe!

We coordinate flight times with our customer a few days in advance before the bird is being shipped (weather permitting). The customer is provided with the airline, flight number(s), air waybill/tracking number, and flight arrival time prior to departure. It is recommended that the customer arrives at the airport no later than the expected flight arrival time so that your bird does not wait at the airport for any period of time. We contact our customer once again on the day of shipment before the bird leaves. A return call, text or e-mail to Maxi Parrots letting us know that the bird(s) arrived safely is highly appreciated. All sales are final when the birds are shipped. There are no returning the birds. We have a 24 hour limit, for notification after delivery of the birds, of any problem at the point of delivery, specified on the order. Immediate inspection is necessary to insure damage didn’t occur during shipping and the birds are alive at delivery. We will replace the dead bird or refund the complete cost of the bird, but not the shipping cost. At least a 50% payment must be made  before any bird is shipped.

Shipping Crates, Containers and Boxes

Usually, commercial hard plastic kennel cabs are the standard container for shipping. We only use airline approved kennels that are darkened to help eliminate stress during the flight. But Maxi Parrots goes an extra mile to construct heavy-duty wooden crates with breathing holes on all its four sides for better air circulation since all containers may have other cargo stacked around and on top of it. These provide more stability keeping the parrot from being thrown around during air turbulence. Costs for the crates are included in the initial deposit. Each kennel will have a perch, juicy fruits, vegetables, and parrot kibble.

How we prepare the Shipping Containers

Most airlines now require that a perch be installed (screwed in from the outside of the container) for birds. At Maxi Parrots, the perch is made no higher than an inch from the bottom. This way, the parrot won’t fall hard or get caught under the perch during turbulence. We also line the bottom of the carrier with newspaper or crumpled then tamped down paper toweling so that the bird has a better foothold if it stays on the bottom. We also to tape a thick piece of cardboard halfway up the front door if the weather is inclement or if we are shipping babies. For parrots that are extra-large and can chew through most material (such as hyacinths and Black palm cockatoos), we line the entire crate with hardware cloth. We always ship bonded pairs separately or in a separate compartment within the crate so as to avoid stress wounds. We fill the bottom of the crate with seed (and/or pellets if that is their diet). It works as a good bedding liner and gives the parrots nourishment if they want to eat during the flight. We place cubes of juicy fruit in the container on the floor – grapes, apples, oranges, etc. This will provide the bird(s) with liquids during the flight and any layovers. Just be sure that there is enough food for the bird(s) in case of a 1 or 2 days delay! Finally, we add an extra piece of hardware cloth over the entire door of the crate so that no one is tempted to open the door to take a closer look or to take the parrot. We always make sure the crates have the “LIVE BIRDS” label on it, which is generally provided by the airline.