Hello!! :)

[cfr70]

Hello everyone! My name is Christopher and my best buddy is a Sun Conure named Bruce who i've had since he was 6 months old back in 2005. He'll be 15 years old this May and he's brought me more joy than I can ever put into words here.

It's just me and him here in our home and he's always out. His cage door is left opened 24/7 and he'll go inside for food & water and come right back out. The cage is on an old buffet table that had cabinets on either side that the doors are always left open and inside are 3 shelves on each side with cardboard boxes and old shirts where he goes to play. He even sleeps in one of them at night.


Pics at the bottom of his buffet table and him.

I do have a bit of a dilemma and feel this is the best place for feedback. How do you all deal with going away on vacation and leaving your bird behind?

For years i've done it just fine and never more than 5 days/nights at the boarding place. Last year however, he came back home from the boarding place holding his foot up constantly.

Now, thinking back, I THINK it could have been the rough ride there as there were lots of potholes and he was in his big cage in the back of the SUV I rented.
Now, I ensure he stays up front with me in his travel cage, but I half suspect it was the bumpy ride with him all the way in the back of the car that hurt his leg, and the other half wondered if something happened to him at the boarding place.

I took him straight to the vet back then for x rays and the works. Vet said all was fine and it was most likely a sprain that occurred of he had a hard landing. But he assured me he'd make a full recovery but it would take a while because these injuries can take months to heal.

Long story short...he did heal and is perfectly fine now. However....Monday he goes back to boarding (I chose a new place because I partly don't trust the other one anymore).

This new place is on Disney property and part of Disney World (I live close by to them) and i visited the place in October and loved what I saw. They have a whole big room just for birds and small "pocket pets". It's 24/7 manned and the room is right off the front desk with huge glass walls they can see him at all times. Very safe and secure so that makes me feel good.

The closer it gets to the trip now, the more nervous i'm getting. I wonder if he now associates the boarding places with his hurt foot and it will traumatize him being boarded again.

I also worry about having him caged for 5 nights when he's flighted 24/7 for 15 years. He's been boarded over the years many times, i'd say about 40+ days in total, so I shouldn't worry....but for some reason this time i'm a basket case and seriously even considering cancelling the trip and staying home. (I'm going to Vegas to try and get rich LOL)

I guess i'm being a baby and looking for reassurance that he'll be fine and i'm worrying for nothing. It's strange, in the past I never worried this much....I think it was the incident last year that made me wary now of going away.

Is anyone else like this when they leave their birds for vacation? I know it would be a lot easier is he had a mate, but he's a solo bird which makes me feel i'm abandoning him.
The trip will be over exactly one week from tonight and I actually can't wait until then so it will be all over....How sick is that?! Any advice and reassurance is much welcomed....and needed!!!! (Sorry this is so long!!)

I tried to attach pics....hope they show when I click post....

 

[Scott]

Welcome Christopher and Bruce! Your concern is inevitable considering Bruce's previous injury. Chances are high all will be well, but you'll want to vacation with clear conscious and enjoy yourself - and new found riches in Vegas lol.

I don't think Bruce will harbor deep fears during your absence and may in fact enjoy his temporary surroundings. Do you know if the boarding facility offers Skype or FaceTime with guests? It might be immensely therapeutic for you and comforting for Bruce. Parrots respond extremely well to smartphone/tablet images and sounds.

On the other hand, if you feel an unusually strong sense of dread, well, sometimes it is helpful to trust our "gut" feelings. Does this occur often, and if so how do you respond?

 

[cfr70]

Welcome Christopher and Bruce! Your concern is inevitable considering Bruce's previous injury. Chances are high all will be well, but you'll want to vacation with clear conscious and enjoy yourself - and new found riches in Vegas lol.

I don't think Bruce will harbor deep fears during your absence and may in fact enjoy his temporary surroundings. Do you know if the boarding facility offers Skype or FaceTime with guests? It might be immensely therapeutic for you and comforting for Bruce. Parrots respond extremely well to smartphone/tablet images and sounds.

On the other hand, if you feel an unusually strong sense of dread, well, sometimes it is helpful to trust our "gut" feelings. Does this occur often, and if so how do you respond?

Thanks Scott for the great advice. I didn't notice during my tour at the boarding place in Oct. but will ask tomorrow about Skype or Facetime. That's a great idea! He already knows he's going because he's watching me packing and getting all his food, blankets and travel cage together. He's also being extra clingy too!

And all I have to say is "You're going to the Pet Spa" and I can see he knows what it means. Like all animals, he's highly intuitive and knows what's going on.

I don't have a gut feeling of dread thankfully. I know that feeling and always take it seriously, but it's mainly just me worrying due to what happened last year and also having to force him to be caged for 5 days when he's out 24/7.

He's going to HATE it and I know i'll feel badly about that during the trip, but will just try and keep things in perspective that he's a bird and will adjust to the new place for time he's there. I know I can't stop vacations forever for him, especially when they live so long.

My vet says he's only middle aged at 15 and can still be here another 15 or even 20 more years, and i'm turning 50 in a couple months, so i'm certainly not waiting until 65 or 70 to travel again. Yikes. I'll be too old to enjoy it.

I'm curious how everyone else takes care of this? Maybe there's a section here about this? What everyone does with their birds when they go away? Any anxiety they feel about it? I have a neighbor that did offer to take him, but while she's nice and all....I prefer he be with a professional boarding place just for peace of mind.

But thanks for the advice about the Skype. I will make sure to ask or even if they could send a text or e mail update once or twice just to ease my worries.

I swear when his time comes, i'm just going to get a cat....because they're so independent and much less to worry about.

 

[Laurasea]

I get a freind let sitter to come to my house.. I have a bunch of pets so they stay at my house while I'm gone.

But to help your bird, I would start having him in his cage at night. And keep him caged an hour or two during the day. So it's not a big stress for him to be stuck in the cage while you are gone on your trip.

Welcome to the forum, and nice to see you hav had 15 great years so far!!

 

[cfr70]

I get a freind let sitter to come to my house.. I have a bunch of pets so they stay at my house while I'm gone.

But to help your bird, I would start having him in his cage at night. And keep him caged an hour or two during the day. So it's not a big stress for him to be stuck in the cage while you are gone on your trip.

Welcome to the forum, and nice to see you hav had 15 great years so far!!

Up until last year he was always put into his cage at bedtime and he'd sleep on top of his Happy Hut at the top of the cage. (He never went inside it, only liked to sleep on top for some reason)

Then when he had his foot injury last year, the vet said to let him sleep in a box for a few weeks to keep him off the foot. That's when I began allowing him to sleep inside the buffet table at night in the little USPS box. It just became a habit after his foot healed and he just scurries in there when it's bedtime, so I just said "screw it"---if he likes it, let him sleep there all the time.

But now I do see that's not a good thing because he's too used to be free all the time and the cage must now seem like a prison to him. I should take your advice and start him back inside at nights....but I want him to be as comfortable as can be and i'm a wuss and will just keep him out if he wants it.

I tried attaching a pic of the buffet table with his boxes....it has to be seen to be believed LOL....he spends his whole day inside all the little compartments of that table.

If he had a companion bird, I would be so much less worrisome about this, but after 15 years solo, i'm terrified to being in a new bird. And if he's aggressive towards it, it wouldn't be fair to the new bird, so I guess he has to remain a solo bird.

I'm so glad I came here to ask for help and thanks for the warm welcome too. I'll be sure to update on Saturday when it's all over with hopefully a sigh of relief that all is well.

I'm going to try and attack his pic of the buffet table. It may come out sideways like my profile pic did. I don't know why it happens that way. When I upload pics, they're upright. Maybe i'm doing it wrong??...(And it did come out sideways lol. I guess I have to figure this out!)

 

[Flboy]

Welcome neighbor! I have been working Disney property since 1995! Just retired this year! No problems with his cozy hut?

 

[cfr70]

Welcome neighbor! I have been working Disney property since 1995! Just retired this year! No problems with his cozy hut?

Hi David. I never even knew Disney had a pet boarding place until I googled other boarding options after losing trust in my regular place. I feel comfortable knowing it's Disney and that people are there 24/7 to keep an eye on Bruce.

By cozy hut do you mean the Happy Hut sleeping fleece beds? I have read the horror stories on those things, and Bruce has been using his since he was a baby and well before I became aware of the unfortunate incidents with them.

When he was a baby, he'd sleep inside it and I never had any issues. And that was even with him chewing up the inside of it during the nights. I'd have to replace them every few months.

Then one day he just decided he didn't want to sleep inside it anymore and started climbing to sleep on top of it. So what I did to make it more comfortable for him, was stuff the inside with socks so he had a nice little fleece platform to sleep on. Thankfully, I never had issues with them and he now sleeps in his box on top of old t shirts (that I make sure to cut all the stitching parts from so he only walks on the cloth)

They have changed the way they make them though. I cut one up a couple years ago and saw that the inside is made of foam, and there's no loose threads or stitching anymore. It's much safer the way they make it now.

I hope you never experienced any horror stories with one. I read how birds would get strangled by the threads and those stories broke my heart.

Well, he goes at noon tomorrow and the house will feel so empty when I get home. But i'll be so busy getting ready for the morning flight I won't have time to sit around worrying....at least I hope!!

 

[Scott]

The facility seems first rate, I'd check a bit on Yelp and others to ease my mind. If they can arrange video-conferencing or daily message that'd be great!

Most critical issue with "happy huts" is ingestion of fibers, leading to blockage. Not all birds consume, but when the fibers are mangled you might not recognize any are missing.

Sounds like you are experiencing lead-up anxiety. Once you drop Bruce off and head for the airport, focus on the trip and all should be well!

 

[cfr70]

Yes the facility really impressed me on the tour when I visited and there was even a Sun Conure staying there at the time that was the spitting image of mine so I took that as a good omen. Of all the birds out there, the day I visited another Sun happened to be boarding. How's that for coincidence?

Bruce would chew the insides of the Happy Hut many years ago when he'd sleep inside it. Thankfully he never ingested anything from it. In fact, he did the exact opposite and regurgitated into it and ate it back up. It's a disgusting practice, but I think something all birds just like doing. Maybe things tastes better the second time around for them lol.

It's definitely lead up anxiety with me because I get like this before each vacation, but when I finally reach my destination I do manage to enjoy myself. I think it's worse this year because of last year's incident with his foot and if all goes well this time, then next year should be much easier for me to handle.

I think it would be so much easier if he was part of a pair as he'd always have a buddy with him. But after 15 years alone, I know that's not a good idea and when I see posts here like yours with all those birds you have together, I feel envious and even a bit guilty and regret not getting him a mate when it was still feasible to do.

 

[Flboy]

There were/are two issues with the happy hut. Yes, first is entanglement! Second, is the unintentional ingesting of the small fibers! It builds up over years in their crop and in some cases, requires surgery to remove! Some folks also warn about hormonal problems, but I never saw that!

 

[Scott]

Your motive of sharing a buddy with Bruce are pure, but there is never a guarantee two birds will like or tolerate each other. Or they might bond so tightly you'd be relegated to servant and little more!

 

[cfr70]

Your motive of sharing a buddy with Bruce are pure, but there is never a guarantee two birds will like or tolerate each other. Or they might bond so tightly you'd be relegated to servant and little more!

I've gone back and forth in my mind on this so many times but in the end I know it just wouldn't be fair to my bird and the new bird that would come, especially if Bruce winds up being aggressive and territorial with it.

I still feel guilt at having him live a solo life and deeply regret not getting him a mate when he was a baby. He was given to me by a friend at 6 months old when the friend had to move and it didn't allow birds, so Bruce basically fell into my lap and I didn't seek him out. Otherwise, I surely would have bought 2 conures if I went out and got them.

But what's done is done and he does have a happy life and is very possessive of me so I guess i'm his mate lol.

Well, he's at the Pet Resort and it was a smooth transition at his temporary home for the next few days. They don't have webcams in the bird room (they do for the dog areas though), but they assured me the workers will be constantly in and out of his room to keep him company and happy.

It's a large, clean room right off the reception area with a big glass wall he can watch people coming and going, yet his cage is in a very secure place up against the back wall and I can see he's comfortable there. And they have a little radio on playing soft music.

Too bad they didn't have a small TV going tuned into the shopping channel as he likes that lol. And I asked if he'll have other birds coming so he'd have company, but no birds all week....only a turtle for a couple of days! So he has the whole room to himself.

They allowed me to get him all set up and went through the instructions I had written down for his feeding, covering etc....I felt really good leaving him there today and as I drove away, I didn't feel bad or anxious because I knew he was in a good place and the people there are so nice and wonderful.

I'll update if anyone is interested after he's back home to let you all know we survived the week. Again I want to thank everyone who eased my worries here. It's really nice to have a place where other people understand the mindset of us bird owners as bird-less people can never understand until they become one of us!!

 

[Scott]

Well done Christopher, you've set the foundation for a worry-free vacation. Have a safe flight and enjoy Las Vegas, so much more than gambling!

One of my favorite sites is the Mob Museum, located in the former court building in the old downtown section.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Hi Christopher and Bruce! What a handsome Sunny

One reason I don't take "vacations" anymore lol..Last time I boarded one of my kid's it didn't go the way I expected but I won't get into that.

Jim

 

[Laurasea]

I got my second conure ten years after my first. I lucked out and they liked eachother right off the bat. There are other members that have added a second conure and had a bumby start but then the birds got to be freinds. Also some that never hit it off.

My second conure is bonded to the Quaker I got after my first conure passed. The rest if my parrots tolerate eachother but are not buddy Buddy. At first as I added new parrots there was fighting.

The part that makes adding a second bird for you harder , is that you leave your current bird free all day. With two there would be safety issue. Even if you got a nice big cage and just kept the new bird caged while gone, your current bird would land in the cage a d fights could lead to loss of toes or other.

If you really wanted a second bird, and could deal with the hassle of the two not getting along. Then I hope you would take a rehome or rescue, as many do need homes. Many of us have multiple birds and make it work. But your current cage for your first bird would need to be upgraded to a much larger one, as likely he would have to be caged more. That would also be a big change for him.

Hope your vacation is nice. And your baby is safe and happy when you come home.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My solution? I just pretty much never go anywhere!

But seriously, good for you for reaching out and trying to do the right things.

 

[wrench13]

Skype is great for keeping in touch with your parrot while your gone. My job used to send me to China a few times a year, and I would Skype my wife and Salty every few nights. Parrots can see a digital image just fine, and it seemed to help ( I know it made me feel better). It also helped Salty if I started explaining to him a few days before I departed that I was gonna be gone for 1 or 2 weeks. He seemed calmer when I returned, and was angry if I hadn't done that.

 

[cfr70]

We're home and all is well!

I landed last night at 10pm and my plans were to go home and pick Bruce up this morning, but I didn't want another night in the house without him. When I dropped him off at the boarding place Monday and came home, the house was eerily quiet and felt so lonely without him there.

So after getting my rental car, I decided to drive to Disney to pick him up. I knew they're open till midnight and have people there 24/7. When I got there, they had their doors locked, but allow you in for overnight pickups. They said even if I came at 3am and wanted him, they'd have no problem letting me in. I like that.

Bruce was sleeping on top of his Happy Hut and when he saw me he lighted up and began muttering "hello, hello". He seemed very happy and content and the girl I spoke with said he was a joy and absolutely no screeching from him all week. She also said she has a 4 year old Sun herself and that made me feel even better knowing another Sun owner was there.

I really love this place and think Bruce does too so i'm definitely using them next time. We got home a little after midnight and he ate and went right into his little box to sleep. Even this morning he's still a little tired and I caught him napping a few times. But he's happy and content and glad to be home.

I think next trip i'll take an overnight red eye home so this way I arrive in the morning and can go straight to boarding place as I hated waking him up to go home after he was already put to bed. This would also give me a little longer vacation time for me as well.

He was there 5 days and 4 nights, but after this trip I feel much better now extending it to 6 days and 5 nights. (3 nights in Vegas is too short!!) I wanted to get back to Bruce, but on the other hand I wasn't ready to leave either. Now I can do longer trips knowing he's perfectly fine with this place and I needn't worry so much!

Thanks to everyone who eased my worries before the trip as it really helped me and i'm glad to say all my worrying was really for nothing.

 

[cfr70]

I got my second conure ten years after my first. I lucked out and they liked eachother right off the bat. There are other members that have added a second conure and had a bumby start but then the birds got to be freinds. Also some that never hit it off.

My second conure is bonded to the Quaker I got after my first conure passed. The rest if my parrots tolerate eachother but are not buddy Buddy. At first as I added new parrots there was fighting.

The part that makes adding a second bird for you harder , is that you leave your current bird free all day. With two there would be safety issue. Even if you got a nice big cage and just kept the new bird caged while gone, your current bird would land in the cage a d fights could lead to loss of toes or other.

If you really wanted a second bird, and could deal with the hassle of the two not getting along. Then I hope you would take a rehome or rescue, as many do need homes. Many of us have multiple birds and make it work. But your current cage for your first bird would need to be upgraded to a much larger one, as likely he would have to be caged more. That would also be a big change for him.

Hope your vacation is nice. And your baby is safe and happy when you come home.

Bruce being 24/7 outside the cage would definitely cause major issues with a new bird. I think in his mind the entire house is "his territory" and no matter where i'd place the new cage for the 2nd bird, i'm sure Bruce would feel threatened that the bird is on his "territory" and would definitely go to the cage and try to attack it.

And if something like that happened while I was out, i'd never forgive myself. And no way i'd cage Bruce when I go out after too many years leaving him out all day. He'd HATE that!

This bird is so smart and knows how to handle himself being out all the time. He's like a cat or dog lol. I never worry when i'm out and he's home flying around. But with another bird, i'd always wonder what's going on at home. So a new bird is out of the question.

After Bruce though, I would certainly get 2 birds and would definitely look at established pairs that need to be rehomed.

 

[Scott]

We're home and all is well!

I landed last night at 10pm and my plans were to go home and pick Bruce up this morning, but I didn't want another night in the house without him. When I dropped him off at the boarding place Monday and came home, the house was eerily quiet and felt so lonely without him there.

So after getting my rental car, I decided to drive to Disney to pick him up. I knew they're open till midnight and have people there 24/7. When I got there, they had their doors locked, but allow you in for overnight pickups. They said even if I came at 3am and wanted him, they'd have no problem letting me in. I like that.

Bruce was sleeping on top of his Happy Hut and when he saw me he lighted up and began muttering "hello, hello". He seemed very happy and content and the girl I spoke with said he was a joy and absolutely no screeching from him all week. She also said she has a 4 year old Sun herself and that made me feel even better knowing another Sun owner was there.

I really love this place and think Bruce does too so i'm definitely using them next time. We got home a little after midnight and he ate and went right into his little box to sleep. Even this morning he's still a little tired and I caught him napping a few times. But he's happy and content and glad to be home.

I think next trip i'll take an overnight red eye home so this way I arrive in the morning and can go straight to boarding place as I hated waking him up to go home after he was already put to bed. This would also give me a little longer vacation time for me as well.

He was there 5 days and 4 nights, but after this trip I feel much better now extending it to 6 days and 5 nights. (3 nights in Vegas is too short!!) I wanted to get back to Bruce, but on the other hand I wasn't ready to leave either. Now I can do longer trips knowing he's perfectly fine with this place and I needn't worry so much!

Thanks to everyone who eased my worries before the trip as it really helped me and i'm glad to say all my worrying was really for nothing.

Having the ability to pick up Bruce "after hours" is a great post script to the story. Glad you had a nice vacation and ended with good feelings about boarding Bruce. We often go through angst for no apparent reason but benefit from thorough preparation. I'm really glad you posted the topic as it will likely help others in the future. (a lot of people use Google and find solutions in this and other forums)