Akinerri Birds Travel Carrier, Small Bird Travel Bag, Transparent Breathable Travel Cage Bird Parrot Carrier, Include Perch and Bottom Tray

The Bird: Adopted cockatiel with a BIG aversion to getting into anything that resembles a carrier. And a MASSIVE psychological need to be able to see his best friend budgie at all times (otherwise panics).Time for a vet visit, time to deal with “carrier angst,” time for a new carrier. (cue scary music).Bird’s vet: Awesome vets, terrific human beings, don’t do house calls.Me: put away the too-small, too dark, claustrophobic cat carrier he came with; bought and returned two other failed carriers before this one.UPSHOT: This one’s the winner. An excellent carrier for a medium-sized non-mesh chewer on a short trip. (but read the caveats below if nothing else).The winner:———–It’s is a “front loader” where the bottom of the opening is nearly flush with whatever it’s sitting on. Which means The Bird doesn’t have to climb DOWN to get in (good luck with that). Which means I don’t have to catch him and stuff him into the carrier, frustrating me and ticking him off. Easy in, easy out. Happy bird, happy me, probably happy vet tech.It has mesh on two sides, which means there’s adequate ventilation. (Who in their right mind designs a “plastic bubble” animal carrier that has two tiny holes, then says “oops, our bad we’ll sell you a fan.” OMG. Greenhouse = cooked bird And no, I didn’t even try one of those). The Bird can see everything around him, see and hear his bestie in her cage next to him, and not cook. Happy bird, happy me.It has a perch. The Bird likes perches. Happy bird, happy me.It has a hole in the back (grommeted), the perfect size to stick a millet spray through. Essential (for my Bird at least) to invite him in and get him comfortable being inside (although we did start with tiny bits of millet in the bottom until he thought to look up and see the jackpot). Treats are good. Happy bird in millet coma (lol), happy me. And an extra point for the removable tray (that was a lot of millet hulls!).Here’s the big one: Bird HATED every other carrier. Even if he was comfortable going in and out, as soon as the door shut, he wanted OMG OUT RIGHT NOW OMG. This one, there’s a bit of “uh… huh?” then he was FINE. He could see all around, he could hear me (and his bestie), I could get right up there and give him smoochies and boops through the mesh. Once he was inside, he was FINE.That said, and IMPORTANT: A lot of this is because I took the time to get him accustomed to seeing it, accustomed to going inside and not being upset when I rolled down the door, and I started the process well before the Big Day. Lots of praise and positive reinforcement and PATIENCE with many short sessions.But. I did this with both the other carriers I bought (and the cat carrier too). He was mostly comfortable going in, but freaked out as soon as the door shut. THIS carrier works. No trepidation going in, no panic once the door was closed. The Bird was curious and interested, not confined and unable to see.BIG FAT DISCLAIMER. My Bird is not your bird. I’ve worked with my bird since I got him and he trusts me (to a point, heh). Your experience will almost certainly be different. There’s no guarantee that Your Bird will have the same epiphany that mine did. But I hope he/she does.So that’s the good. Here’s the caveats:—————————————-It doesn’t have food/water bowls or any way to attach yours. It’s not meant for long-term habitation. Trip to the vet and back, great. Road trip across the country, nope. He got to stay all day, so I sent him with a couple of mayo-size jar lids for food and water, and that worked fine. But I’d consider another solution for anything longer than that.The mesh is … mesh. Which means a determined bird can chew through it. My Bird much prefers wood, so he’s probably not going to mess with the mesh (but I’ll keep tabs on his activities). My friend’s Bird would have it shredded in about ten minutes.That grommeted hole at the back? Absolutely big enough for a budgie to stick their head through, and quite possibly escape if they were on the smaller size and determined. I WOULD NOT put my budgie in here, or anything of that size or smaller without solidly covering that hole.Sturdiness: For carrying The Bird to and fro, it’s fine – sturdy enough for what it is. But it won’t withstand abuse, and it won’t offer more than minimal protection against injury if I’m in a car accident, or fall down the steps while carrying him. (unlikely but things happen).Carry strap? (which most of this style carrier have) Hm. I can’t imagine being inside and getting banged around as my human walked.Cover? Nice to store it in when not in use. Wouldn’t use it as a cover with the bird inside, concerned about air flow. Or at least not cover completely.P.S. (because I know you want to know): Vet visit went fine. Bird is in excellent health.