Birdie Sitting?

[PicklesParrot]

I'm going out of town in a couple months for about a week and am not sure what I can do with my bird. My husband and I havent had a vacation in over 2 years. It's much needed and long overdue. I looked into some local bird boarding places but they just dont feel right. They want a ton of money and basically just provide him with food and water, no playtime or out of cage time. I have some family I could ask but they are not bird owners and have never been. This concerns me. Ideally, Id love to take him with me but then I'd be leaving him alone in his cage for way too long during the day. Im just not sure what to do. I NEED to get away. We NEED this vacation for our sanity. Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? A thought I had was maybe I could meet someone on these forums who lived locally and either had birds, or had them before and knows how to take care of them properly and they could Birdie sit for me. Of course I'd have to meet them and their flock and vice versa before a few times to get to know each other. And of course, I'll pay. I dont know. What do you guys think? Any ideas or suggestions? Im located in the Tampa Area of Florida. But Im willing to travel over a city or two if its possible. "sigh" Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys!!

Pickles is a Male Eclectus. He is a little over 1 year old. He loves to chatter away. He is hand tame, not clipped, and eats a fresh food diet. He does not bite me but has nipped people. Although when he did nip, it was the first time he met my mom and she just stuck her hand up to have him step up without letting him get used to her first. He has nipped my hubby too and that was when I fell asleep on the couch with him on my chest asleep. Hubby picked him up and put him in the cage and I guess he didnt like that and gave him a good hard "I dont wanna go to my cage" bite (no broken skin though.) The other time he nipped my best friend who came by to feed him and let him out for a bit while I was away for the day. Unfortunately she put the food in the cage and then tried to pick him up instead of play with him first and then feed him. And he is used to her. Ive even made this mistake and he got me, lol. Anyways.... Any help or ideas would be great!!

 

[PicklesParrot]

Aw man! I think Canada might be a bit too far, lol. Since we are going to the Keys!

 

[weco]

Hmmm, are you doing a cottage/cabin or hotel? If they allow pets, why not take Pickles, all of my birds like to travel...and...I think he would enjoy being with you rather than having a bird sitter checking up on him.....just my humble opinion.....

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I could never leave my birds for that long lol.

I've never liked the idea of a parrot boarding place, to me it always seemed like a "STEAL EXOTIC BIRDS" sign for anyone burger!

Do you have a trusted friend who could stay at your home while you are gone?

 

[PicklesParrot]

We live in tampa, we're going to the keys and Miami to visit family. So... we will be staying at a hotel a few nights, a resort another few, and then with family. Too much moving about and not enough room to take him.

Unfortunately all of my friends are married with kids or shacked up with significnt others. And none of them have ever had birds period. LOL! so, NO. They can not watch him for 10 days. I have a friend who he likes who comes by and feeds him sometimes when me and hubby wanna leave for a day or night. But we've never been gone longer.

'sigh' Ill figure it out. But if anyone lives near Tampa and has large parrot experience...

 

[LoryLover]

I take it you don't have any grown kids living nearby who can do it for you. I would never leave my bird in a boarding place for mainly one reason - she would learn to holler and screech - two things she doesn't do. We haven't traveled for a few years, but the last time we went away for a few days, I had our housecleaning guy stop by the house a couple times. He has our alarm code and key to the house and is familiar with our bird. I have her radio on a timer and put the lights on a timer too. She survived fine while we were gone and was thrilled to see us when we got home. So if no other option presents itself, I'd say go with your friend who has come by to feed your parrot a few times before.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Pickles, I have a couple of ideas for you. I'm in S. Florida and would have considered letting him stay with us if you wanted, but I am about to sell the house within a week and don't even have Pritti staying in the house right now. Keep me in mind if you visit S. FL again.

1. You said there is no room for Pickles -- Are you saying no room in your vehicle or no room at family's place? If it is the vehicle, you could easily pick up inexpensive carrier that would be okay for him during the few hours in the car. If you are still interested in boarding him at a safe place, you could contact Dr. Gwen Flinchum's All Bird Clinic of the Palm Beaches in Lake Worth, FL. It's about 15 min. south of West Palm Beach. What makes her place special is that if you want your bird to be out of the cage all day long (they provide the cage), they have a safe area where each bird gets their own free-standing perch to hang out on and interact with an employee that shares the space and "supervises" the fids. The first time I walked in there to check-out the office, I was soooo happy to see these fids hanging out looking safe and happy. At night they are set inside individual cages in a special boarding room for healthy birds. Dr. Gwen requires testing results from your vet or she can do the testing, but then your bird would have to be in isolation rather than in regular boarding until the results came back.

I have no personal or business connection to Dr. Gwen or anyone in her practice or associated with them. They offered reasonable weekly rates. Pritti has boarded many times for up to two weeks for annual trips, but only at an a-vet's office.

2. Can you take Pickles with you in a carrier and bring him directly to your family's place near Miami to stay there while you are at the hotel? If they would keep him company and give basic care, then you can buy a temporary vacation cage for about $40 - $60 including shipping and have it shipped directly to them.

3. See if you can find at least two good a-vet or avian boarding places in the Miami area that are reputable. Investigate and get your family to go over and see them. Bring Pickles and he can stay at one of them and you can check in on him in person.

4. Contact a local avian rescue in your area, there are a couple, one is Flordia Parrot and Rescue - perhaps for a fee or specific donation, they could have a qualified sitter come over to your house a couple of times a day for an hour each time and let Pickles out, play, clean up cage, etc.

5. Get a trusted neighbor or famiy in your area to start spending time with Pickles now and see if you can work out a way for htem to let him out and get him back in every day while u r away.

 

[Gburchett]

There's a vet near me that boards birds. I live in GA, so you may want to check with some bird vets in your area. maybe ask your vet if you have one for your birds. The one I'm looking at using as my vet once I get my BG says they let them out and play with them.

 

[PicklesParrot]

Thanks WannaBe!

We've pretty much decided to leave him with my mom. She will just have to deal with me calling her 200 times a day. I'm going to start bringing him over to her house so he gets more familiar with it and start stick training. Ive got about 6 weeks to prepare. And she will have a feeding and care chart, emergency a-vet numbers, and a budget layed out in case of emergency care. I would love to take him with me but we are staying with my mother in law and they have a bird too but he is not allowed in the house due to her allergies. She's a spicy old cuban lady set in her ways and I absolutely adore her but trying to explain to her that he doesn't produce dander would be like beating my head into a wall to make the door open. LOL! I will however, keep you in mind for future visits. We do come down often. Ive had him for about 6 months now and it's the first time I have left him more than a day or night. I would prefer to have him near and be able to visit him. Currently he is sitting on his perch yelling "step up, step up, step up, good boy, step up" and I just cant bear not hearing that every day, LOL!

 

[lotosha]

We took our CAG back to breeder from whom we bought her. We were absent for a week only so it went pretty well.