Crate and Barrel

A cockatoo chewing its way out of a crate could be a scary thought while in transit.  Two friends of mine once had worse.  They were driving two otters across several states in a van, when about halfway through their trip, the otters got the idea of chewing in their heads as well.  Soon, a modest hole began to form in the corner of their shared crate, and the increasingly nervous keepers kept looking over their shoulders to see little brown noses appearing in the hole.  It wouldn't be too much longer, they realized, before a whole otter could slip out.

They were too far to go back, and the only way was forward, so they did the only thing they could think of.  They pulled over at a large chain pet store, and while one keeper watched the otters, batting their noses back in whenever they made a cameo, the other ran in and bought the biggest, sturdiest crate she could find.  Then, they tossed the entire smaller crate, otters and all, into the big one, then continued their drive.  At a considerably faster pace than they had driven before.

Ideally, stuff like that doesn't happen.

Most of the time, it doesn't.  When prepping an animal for shipment, I spend a lot of time on crate selection.  Usually a standard sky kennel will do the trick.  These are made for dogs and cats, generally, so many zoos also have wooden or metal crates of various sizes and shapes which may have been customized for different species.  For simplicity's sake, we'll just focus on the shipment of a generic small bird or small mammal that's using a normal sky kennel for this scenario.

The size is the part I struggle with the most.  Unlike animal enclosures, in which bigger usually equals better, here balance is important.  You want something big enough for the animal to stand, turn around, and lie down - and not do too much else.  You don't want animals to gain momentum and potentially hurt themselves; besides, airlines charge by the volume of the animal cargo, as it tends to weigh less than standard cargo.  I once received two small parrots in a crate that could have easily held a condor, and they were practically flying around in it.  When they arrived at our zoo, we joked that we should just put the crate out on grounds, put some plantings around it and a sign, and call it their aviary.

(The exception to the crate size rule would be if the animal is going to be in it for a long period of time unrelated to travel, such as if you have to crate a bunch of animals and bring them in for an emergency, such as a hurricane.  In that case, bigger is better).

Furnishings are minimal.  For birds, a simple perch will do.  Two small bowls for food and water can be fixed to the front of the crate, or a water bottle on the outside.  For plant eaters like parrots and monkeys, I try to provide some wet fruit like grapes in the bowl so they can get moisture from that.  I have very little faith in the animals actually drinking from water bowls, which probably just slosh out everywhere, but it's an airline requirement, so there's that.  For flooring, you can do a nonslip mat or astroturf.  I usually recommend wood shavings.

The open areas of the crate - the front door and the side holes - should be covered with burlap or some other screen, as I learned on my first duck shipping adventure.  I try to leave myself an access point where I can peel it back a bit and take a look inside now and then, just to make sure everyone is doing OK.  When shipping by air, I label the crates prominently with their destination and contents, as well as "This Way Up" stickers and the like, as well as attaching their necessary paperwork in an envelope taped to the crate.  This isn't as important as when the crate is being driven by staff.

For destructive chewers, like parrots and rodents - and, apparently, otters - I make a metal wire cage within the crate, which keeps the animal from gnawing its way out.  The crate should be almost the exact same size as the interior of the sky kennel.  Then, I put the animal in the cage, close it with J-clips or zipties, then assemble the crate around it.  The sides of the kennel should be held in place with screws or nuts and bolts, not zipties or wire.

Last step after the animal goes in and you don't need access again until it arrives?  Ziptie the door of the crate shut, ideally in two or three locations, just to keep inquisitive fingers from opening the door.  When transporting animals, always have ready supplies of tape, zipties, and scissors with you.

Then, you should be ready to go.