| After Sharon moved to Turkey, she wanted a more compact pouch that can be strapped to her shoulder or waist line like a fanny pack to travel around with her African Grey. She tried on the first prototype and gave us great suggestions for improvement including the "beak railing". Almost three years after the initial request, here it is, the first Birdie Pouch suitable for medium size parrots.
(Picture obove showing the Birdie Pouch with the optional shoulder pad zipped on in an earlier model.)
Dimension: 12" L x 6.5" D x 10" H (+4" / +8")
Weight: 1 lb. 6 oz.
Perch position: 3 positions for birds with different body & tail proportion.
Fabric: 1680 Denier nylon
Lining: Grey color nylon
Mp>Mesh Type: Stainless Steel
Color: Olive or Gold with light grey reflective strip and black color trim
Main Features:
- Fully Open Stainless Steel Mesh on all sides
- A pair of waist Strap loops
- Feeding Hole
Accessories:
- A detachable 4" or 8" tail pouch for easy cleaning (you may want to order one to spare during travel)
- Two dragonwood perches
- Optional: Padded shoulder pad
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Here is Sharon's review:
"As the initial prototype tester who is now using the production model, I have used the Birdie Pouch with my Congo African Grey for a total of about 70 hours so far. Our excursions have ranged from 15 minutes to 3 hours each, and have included buses, taxis, ferries, restaurants, museums, forest hiking trips and urban walks. As a semi-professional animal trainer with a houseful of exotic training gear, I rate the Birdie Pouch as one of my “coolest?pet items.
What I like best about the Birdie Pouch:
?The design is very well-conceived, and it is easy to get the bird in and out of the Pouch. The pouch is sized for parakeets, cockatiels, conures, pionus, timnehs and smaller Congo African greys. I would not recommend the pouch for birds much bigger than our 425 g Congo African grey.
?The quality of materials and craftsmanship is OUTSTANDING! It is about as parrot-proof as anything can be. In 70 hours of use, our parrot only managed to slightly widen two of the tiny screen squares and pick at a thread end. One reason for this is that I decided to cut a bunch of cardboard rectangles to use as false floors / distracters. On each trip, our parrot grabs the “floor?and chews it to shreds, convinced she is getting away with something.
?The Pouch is ideal for protecting a bird in areas with dogs, cats, hawks, etc. Prior to the Pouch, I took my parrot out in harness on my shoulder. The problem was what to do with her when I stopped at an outdoor restaurant. In Istanbul, there are street cats everywhere—they would likely attack the parrot if she were sitting on the back of a chair. Because of this, I could never stop on walks. Celltei’s Parrot Pouch has been an excellent solution to this safety issue. Also, I train my dog in agility, and the parrot can now safely attend practices without danger of being attacked, and also without being a distraction to the dogs there.
?Cleaning is super easy. The Velcro-attached tail compartment neatly collects most of the waste. This compartment can be removed, rinsed out in a sink, and put back on within seconds. Cleaning the bag after each trip takes less than a minute, and mainly consists of shaking out any seed hulls over a trash can.
?The Pouch is set up so that you can give your parrot treats through a port-hole. I regularly feed seeds through the port-hole to ensure that our parrot enjoys her time in the Pouch. In addition, I use the port-hole to let her sample foods at restaurants. Our parrot asks for foods by name, and I can easily pass whatever she wants into the Pouch.
?I like that there are two methods for wearing the pack. The shoulder attachment is easy to use and involves two easily-adjustable straps. When worn on the shoulder, the Pouch (and parrot) attracts a lot of friendly attention and double-takes. We’ve used ours in downtown Istanbul, and it’s a great conversation starter. Our parrot enjoys being right next to me, and I can watch her easily and see if she is frightened of something, interested in seeing something up closer, etc. She talks to me and to strangers when in this position.
?When used with a waist belt, the Pouch is very inconspicuous when going into museums or restaurants. With a light jacket thrown over the pack for disguise, we have never been stopped from entering anywhere. Because the Pouch does not allow poop, feathers or seed hulls to escape, it is a very sanitary way to carry a parrot indoors.
?I have one in each of the color choices. Both are excellent. The yellow is flashier, whereas the green is nice for sneaking the parrot into forbidden places like restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the yellow does not have a single spot on it after a year of use. I’ve set the pack in the dirt and used it in a very polluted city, but with regular rinsing under water, it’s as bright and clean-looking as new!
Special considerations:
?Birds that tend to panic around new things will need time to acclimate to the Pouch. Our parrot (a formerly untame, parent-raised bird) was already accustomed to traveling in a plastic cat carrier. With 10 minutes of treat-based training, she was happily entering the Birdie Pouch and letting me zip it closed. Without the earlier experience of entering carriers, a parrot may need as much as 1-2 weeks of occasional training sessions to happily enter the Pouch. There are training videos online for teaching a parrot to enter a travel carrier.
?Minor adjustments will be needed for smaller humans and smaller birds. The pouch comes standard with a quality 1?natural wood perch to stand on. There is another 1?perch to use as an optional “beak railing.? This gives the parrot something to grab to keep his balance better. I found that our parrot needed a smaller beak railing, so substituted a narrow dowel for the included railing. Similarly, a dowel may need to stand-in for the normal perch if using this Pouch with a small species such as a parakeet or cockatiel. Regarding the straps for the shoulder harness, I found they were almost too generous. I’m a 5?? 150 lb. female. I needed to adjust the straps to their smallest size, and then a bit more (with a fabric loop hanging down) for the straps to fit. If you are smaller than about 170 lb, you may want to request slightly shorter straps.
?From the parrot’s point of view, the pack is most stable when worn on the shoulder. From my point of view, I initially thought otherwise—it felt like the pack was slipping at first. I walked very stiffly and kept pushing the pack ? forward or ? backward to balance it. I finally realized that, because of its height, the pack will always slip slightly backwards and forwards. However, my parrot doesn’t notice the slight movement at all. So now I walk normally and expect a bit of movement. Regarding waist-belt use, this is more comfortable and less conspicuous from the human’s point of view. However, depending on body-type, the fanny-pack position will cause a little or a lot of “bumping?that some parrots may find irritating. Our parrot does not object to it, but I have not subjected her to more than a few blocks of non-stop walking with the pack in that position. I mainly use the Pouch on my shoulder, but to switch to a waist belt when going into restaurants or museums.
?If you use the pack as a fanny pack, the Pouch will gradually distort in shape and “lean?to the right. That’s because stress on the belt loops causes the stainless steel mesh to bend. I found two solutions to this. 1) Between uses, use your hands to bend the mesh back so it is straight. 2) Make a sort of hard plastic “shelf?for the Pouch to sit on. I bought a $1 plastic bookend shaped like a 90 degree angle. I shoved the vertical end under my waist belt, and let the Pouch rest on the horizontal end. Simple, no tools needed, and it keeps the Pouch in a perfect position.
?When used on warm days, precautions must be taken to prevent the steel mesh from over-heating. I deal with this several ways. 1) Walk in the shade, 2) Use the Pouch only when needed—on buses, in museums—then allow the bird out of the pouch (in harness) when I go back outdoors, 3) Use the included solid cover to cover the top mesh, 4) Alternatively, cut a square of reflective “car dashboard protector?material, and tape it to the Pouch to protect it from the sun. By using a combination of these methods and by being VIGILENT about feeling the mesh for overheating, I have successfully used the Parrot Pouch in temperatures up to 85 degrees.
I highly recommend the Celltei Birdie Pouch and would recommend it to anybody who would like to expand their bird’s horizons. Thank-you Celltei for making this amazing product!"
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