I'm not a
live aboard but I have gone on two 2-month trips and several shorter trips with my 2 parrots, an African Grey and an Eclectus. Accommodating my birds on board has taken a lot of consideration and patience from my sweet husband, but he knows if I go, they go. After lots of trial and error we've come up with a setup that works very well for us. We bought the largest
aluminum travel cages we could find (I got mine at windycityparrot.com) and mounted them off the stern, using the trays as roofs to block the sun. This accomplishes many things: the mess blows away! the droppings fall in the water! The birds are close to us all day and outside, and are happier for it. They are out of the way when we need to
work on something. If it's a nice day but too windy, I just put up a
wind block for them (usually a towel and clothespins). At night, in inclement
weather, or just rough
water, down into the
salon they go into their converted chihuahua-sized travel cages with attached nest boxes for sleeping. They also have a small travel perch I can set up in the
cockpit when the enclosure is up, and one of them loves to sit on the
winch handle (I wrapped it with
rope so he can grip it). My husband rarely handles one of my birds and never the other; let your husband continue to be the primary caregiver. If the bird ever comes to you it will do it in its own time and it will be a gift to you. Trying to force acceptance will make for a very long road for all of you!
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