Shipping
West African Grey 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. An outline of how to protect the parrots you want to ship from unnecessary stress, accidents, loss, and/or injury is provided below. This is also a useful guide when buying a parrot that needs to be shipped. You can be sure that we go all the way in ensuring that shipping is hitch-free and smooth.
How the parrots are prepared .
We make sure the condition of your Parrot is optimal before shipping. While older birds may require additional supplements, formula-fed babies do not. 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. West African Grey Parrots only sells weaned parrots and all our babies are fully weaned when 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. However, because every container may have additional cargo stacked around and on top of it, we go above and beyond to construct sturdy wooden crates with breathing holes on all four sides for improved air circulation. These provide more stability keeping the parrot from being thrown around during air turbulence. The initial deposit includes the costs of the crates. Each kennel will have a perch, juicy fruits, vegetables, and parrot kibble.
How the shipping containers are prepared .
Most airlines now require that a perch be installed (screwed in from the outside of the container) for birds. At West African Grey 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. If we are shipping babies or the weather is bad, we should also tape a thick piece of cardboard halfway up the front door. 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. The seed and/or pellets, if that is their diet, are added to the bottom of the crate. 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.
Our Shipping Policies, Routines, and Norms.
We can arrange transportation to almost any city in the United States or the world and ship to all states. Our primary consideration is the well-being of the bird(s) being shipped. We have been shipping for years and we take every precaution to make sure that your new pet arrives safely. We prefer to ship direct to a major city, eliminating connecting flights if at all possible. This could mean driving a little bit further to a big airport or picking up in the evening so that shipping temperatures are right during hot weather. Weekday shipping is preferred over weekends, due to the fact that there are fewer travelers then, and that many cargo terminals close early on the weekends.
We take care of all the flight/shipping arrangements. Very Simple and Very Safe!
We coordinate flight times with our customers a few days in advance before the bird is being shipped (weather permitting). Prior to departure, the customer is informed of the airline, flight number(s), air waybill/tracking number, and flight arrival time. 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 customers once again on the day of shipment before the bird leaves. We would greatly appreciate it if you called, texted, or emailed At West African Grey Parrots to confirm that the birds arrived safely. All sales are final when the birds are shipped. There are no returning birds unless the bird has health issues. 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. In order to ensure that the birds are alive upon delivery and that no damage occurred during shipping, immediate inspection is required. 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 internationally to Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
All parrots except cockatiels and parakeets are listed on the CITES appendix two list as threatened species. Parrots need a CITES certification to move from one country to another because of their status. Once a parrot has CITES certification, the paperwork should be valid in all countries.
To ship a bird to a foreign country, one first needs to get a CITES permit. We can expedite the acquisition of a CITES permit, with our well-established connections. This is generally done under situations concerning the purchase of Hyacinth Macaws and Black Palm Cockatoos, so we able and ready to ship our parrots to other countries without any problem or additional cost.
CITES is a worldwide organization and not directly associated with the USDA. Each country has its own office to process CITES certifications. The CITES certification is processed through the Division of Management Authority in the Fish and Wildlife Department in the US.