Before freighting birds try make sure they remain as stress free as possible before hand. When boxing them up make sure they have eaten beforehand and put some fruit and seed (for the seed eaters) and maybe a spray of Millet, into the box for the trip. For non-seed eaters put fruit in the box for them. This way it helps to keep them hydrated and if flights happen to be delayed they have food.
Once you receive you bird/s, don’t force them out of the box. Have a holding cage, rag and net ready in the room. I like to use my bathroom to get them out. Make sure the room is sealed so the bird can’t escape. Open the box and try coax the bird out but don’t force it. Let it come out on its own accord. I like to let them have a bit of a fly around the room first to stretch their wings a bit. I then use a net to catch the bird so not to stress it too much and then put it into the holding cage.
I also like to give it some fresh food and water and add some Spark to the water as well as some probiotics. This helps to rehydrate the bird as well as lower the stress levels from the trip.
I also like to keep them on a course of probiotics for at least 5 days. With seed eaters I put this in their water and with nectar eaters I put it in their wet mix. This also helps in case of any bugs or infections that it may have or have picked up in transit. It is always better to err on the side of caution. It is just a safety measure, I am not saying the bird does or doesn’t have or been exposed to.
It is also advisable to keep the new bird isolated (quarantined) from the rest of your flock for at least 3 weeks to 3 months where possible — once again as a precaution. In a lot of cases if the bird has a pre-existing problem it’s very likely to present itself within this time, especially in the first 3 weeks as the stress of change of home etc. even if it’s only going next door or 3 doors down, it is the same, will bring the problem if any to the surface.
Example freight boxes:
