| Hi, my name is Largo, I'm a Blue and Gold Macaw. I love to travel, especially between my home in Virginia, and my parent's vacation trailer in Key Largo, FL (yes, that is where my name comes from). Mom wants me to be able to ride in the back seat, with the seat up so that I can see out and yell at the red cars when they go by. My current huge dog crate takes up too much space and isn't very cool looking. Mom says to tell you that she would love to work on a macaw design with me and you and can provide measurements needed to produce a carrier for me. She says her only other option would be to buy an acrylic carrier, but she can't find one she likes with enough ventilation for me. She is also worried that a vertical carrier won't fit through the car door if it is 3 feet tall, which is about how long I am from my tail to the top of my head. Your carrier looks cool, and I think it would squish to fit through her door and be safer for me than riding on Dad's hand in the back seat. Please make sure it has a "Peanut Pocket" somewhere to stash my treats in!
Hello, I'm Laura, Largo's Mom. Yes, it may be silly to type a note to you from my bird, but as you can see by his photo, he is a very silly bird, so it is appropriate. Largo is a largish male Macaw, as Blue and Golds go, and I think would be able to provide the larger end of measurements needed to build a carrier for birds his size and that of Scarlet Macaws which are similarly sized. I noted on your web site that you have succeeded in doing one for a larger breed, the Green Wing Macaw. I am interested in a carrier that would work for Largo for trips to the vet, riding in the car, and a couple of days ride to the Keys where he already has a cage to stay in. It would potentially double as a "sleeping cage" since it can be made dark and secured in a room/recreational vehicle at night to keep the bird safe. Some information you were looking for on your web site that I could not tell if was answered. Yes, birds do get car sick and as they "bob" their heads when it happens, it can "project" (sorry for the graphic details). A "hoseable" inside finish would be helpful and prevent me from having to buy the several plastic table cloths I currently use to cover the inside of the car under his wire dog carrier when we travel. The current carrier takes up about half my cargo space, way too much! Birds can be poisoned from zinc, therefore any metal within beak range should be stainless steel. Smaller birds might not be able to pick off paint, but macaws can. Since you use the stainless mesh, I hope you already know this. You don't say, but do the tie-down straps on your bird and pet carriers use the "Latch" system in newer cars to tie them down? This is the attachment points for children's car seats. See this link for more info if needed: http://www.car-safety.org/latch.html. With a taller bird carrier, I think this would be ideal for strapping down the carrier, especially the top portion. Since a large macaw won't fit under an airline seat anyway, I would not worry as much about the need to make it that small. It could go into the pet cargo area, but I would worry about it being knocked around by hard side carriers. I can provide measurements of Largo's proportions, but roughly, on Large Macaws, their tails are about 1/2 their total height, and they must "squat" to go potty, so that can drop the tail down a bit further.. I will have to see how much that is in relation to the height of the bird. I am hoping to get something sized appropriately to fit on one passenger seat in our station wagen so that I can fold down the remaining 2/3 of the rear seat for cargo when traveling. With a long-tailed bird, you may have to "lower" him in from the top/front of the carrier if he can't turn around in it. Not sure from the pics on the web site if this is an issue or not, but they can sort of "fold up" their tails up behind them to turn around in a tight space. Would you consider offering another perch option such as the "Booda" perch in the "Wingabago" and other carriers? Below is a link to a web site that shows this carrier. This is one of the options I hoped I would have other than an acrylic carrier, some of which are very expensive. Wingabago does not seem interested in putting one together as I've been watching for several years for one. http://www.birdsupplies.com/parrot-carrier.html Below are other carriers I have considered, but there is no way to strap them down and my bird doesn't like the "horizontal" arrangement that well and often rides on the cage frame where he can grip with both feet and beak for stability. Although most people would likely want to carry their bird in front, this is not an option for a large Macaw like Largo--he is 2/3 my height! I might put the carrier on my back while he is out on my wrist, however, wearing his harness and leash. I am not sure why a firm tray in the bottom is frowned on by the ASPCA--in my mind, this is a necessity to provide a firm base for a large carrier like the one I need, and most people line a bird carrier with some sort of paper "diaper", and this would prevent the droppings from soaking through to the carrier bottom. Bird droppings are like cement and can be tough to get off. Stainless steel mesh would be a necessity with a Macaw...any macaw. Anything that can be picked at or taken apart will be picked at--it is a rule with Macaws, they are like little mechanically-inclined boys that way. On a long trip, they get bored and will try for anything they can get at. They LOVE to destroy things. Sorry about the lengthy email, but I was so excited to see your carriers, I had to correspond. I would be very interested in purchasing a carrier this winter. Can you give me an idea of how much the green wing carrier cost, and if you would be willing to make one for Largo? Also, I am curious why you don't offer primary color carriers for birds (blue, red, yellow, maybe green). They love bright colors. Regards, Laura S. & Largo |
Celltei: Yeah, we have to change the size and perch position for the toucan. We shall add the picture to the site this weekend. The challenge for a macaw carrier is about the tail. Pls see my comments in paragraphs that correspond to your points.
"Hey Largo, I think we can do the job but we will need your cooperation perhaps. Will you be a good boy to get in if we have the carrier set up inside the car? Or you would rather be in the bird carrier from home and get carried to the car? Mom raises a good point about fitting thru the regular car door. This will give us some design flexibility" Would you also promise to play with the bird toy and not to take out the stitches. The carrier is made of light-weight materials so that your mom can go to more places with you. Are you a good boy?" Hi Laura, as you have hands-on experience, the success of this soft-side carrier depends also on the bird and how the bird was raised. If they really want, the 0.3 mm stainless steel mesh is no match to the diligent beak. Even if we overcome the technical difficulty to have thicker stainless steel thread (current not working with the sewing machine we have), there will still be connecting point that the bird can take out knowing they have the intelligence to open a door lock! So, do you think Largo has the temperament to be suitable to a soft-side carrier? It is not flimsy but not made of hard plastic. Our current carrier can be water-hosed inside. The surface material is a strong nylon with PVC coating in the back to hold the fabric. The interior is another layer of coating lining, though not as strong as the top layer. When we make the Tuocan carrier, we were warned by a bird expert that Tuocan is a fruit eater and their dropper can be shot across the floor (well, welcome to the kingdom of animals!). We actually add a detachable interior lining cover to help the cleaning job. Since you raise this issue, I think we will use an even stronger grade material for the lining inside. Also, on the floor where we expect the dropping go, we have a detachable plastic board for scrubbing need. Yes, a bird shop owner have told us earlier on. Well, we actually brought the stainless steel mesh from a US company and ship it to Hong Kong although we were told the materials come from Asia. We feel it is a more reliable source. The only piece would be the washer and the screw on the perch that is not stainless steel. It is provided by the Florida perch maker. We can purchase stainless steel washer (or you can get in from Home Depot) and the screw should not be reachable by the bird when it is attached. In terms of the snap buttons, D-ring (for hanging bird toy) and grommets, we purchase them from Hong Kong based company specifically demand for non-toxic material. The accessible pieces is limited and not coated with paint. We are not that sophisticated in this respect. We add two loops in the back wall of the bird carrier and expect the owner to use the horizontal seat beat to strap through the carrier. The three-point connection can easily be added to the design. This is the limitation for a soft-side carrier. We would not recommend it to go into the cargo area because of this reason. We did make one for airplane. Well, once again, the bird needs to be non-destructive in order to use the carrier because the mesh is of limited strength. Pls see enclosed picture. No matter how we structure the soft-sided carrier, it is not strong enough for the fallen luggage that we can't control. yes, we should get pictures to find the comfortable size. Some customers has mentioned this point but so far it has not been an issue from what we heard after the bird accept the carrier. An introduction period is needed. We have not had enough experience to know what is a good perch. The dragon wood perch was recommended by a bird shop owner early on when we were undecided if we should add the cups or perch so that the bird carrier is complete. As long as we know how the connecting point is, wing-nut, screw, attaching hook, we can have the option available. Do you have a rope perch maker that we can contact? The acrylic cage is a mean of confinement while allowing the bird to see and be seen clearly. From my understanding of dogs and cats, I sometimes wonder if the bird would feel more comfortable to be enclosed sometimes just like the dogs or cats (their own hide-away place). Like a metal cage, it offers security. Like anything else, it has limitation - heat disperse, portability, weight, etc. The one we design enables connection between the bird and owner (family). It is mostly functional for both the pet and the owner while also carrier good content of design and style. So, pls recognize the compromise before you spend money in having one made. It can be seen as a RV but understanding the very large size cages bird has and the freedom of movement up and down the cage, this carrier cannot replace it house. For stability, we were told by another bird expert about the concept of parallel perch so that the bird can have one feet forward one feet back - to rock :-) What do you think? Yea, the front carrier option is not possible. We probably need to set the connecting point for the backpack higher so that you won't be kicking the bottom of the carrier when you walk. We have a detachable plastic board now for the base that can handle rough scrubbing. Have you seen our physical product? What can we do to distract the bird? It has been a challenge and remains a challenge. If you would like to go ahead, pls give me a call. We can go over some points and may have a better solution together. |
