how long left alone and what to do during the holidays?

[CowardMan]

Hiya,

just trying to cover all my bases for life with a bird. How long would you guys say it's okay to leave them with food and water in the cage? on times I'm away on vacation or get stuck away longer than expected? Also what do folks here do with their fids for the holidays when visiting family? I normally go to my mum's for the holiday's for about a week and with only a motorbike taking them in a "holiday" cage would be hard at best to do and with it being 4+ hours to get there would almost certainly be too much for them. I'm just a bit stumped on what to do around the holiday period. For normal summertime vacation I have my sister lined up to give food and water daily but of course for christmas she'll be visiting family too so she wouldn't be able to.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

The longest I have left my macaw unsupervised was one night. I have a security camera trained on his cage so I can see what he is up to, which involves eating, sleeping, preening or playing with his toys. I have mellow music set to go on and off at certain times.

Anything longer than one night and I take him to the avian vet for boarding. It gets very expensive if he is due for an annual exam/psittacosis test/gram stain, which are required for boarding, but that is the cost of doing business. Budget accordingly!

As a result, my trips are either one night or several weeks. The longest trip was one month. It is not worth the hassle or expense to go on short trips longer than overnight. As self-entertaining as my bird is, I do not think it is fair to leave him alone overnight, which encompasses the good part of two days as well. It is rare that I even leave him overnight.

 

[rheashard2]

A back up bird sitter is nice. Someone your vet recommends or you know. Your birds personality will determine minimum frequency. Some like to throw food, dishes on floor. Or bathe in water dish. These need more frequent checks, 3 or more times daily. Then you have your birds personality. Some don't mind you being gone. Some hate it if you're in the next room. Start looking early so you can take your time checking out and evaluating the person you pick. It's also important for your bird to tolerate the person. If bird doesn't like them, attacks, bites and negative behaviors become the norm.

 

[Jcas]

I have various friends and family members who live nearby who are willing to stop in once a day to feed/ water/ check on the birds when I have to be away ( which isn’t very often). I have left them four or five days with someone just checking on them once or twice a day. I do have three birds in the same room so I feel like they keep each other company. I don’t think I would leave a single bird alone all day for more than a day or two if I could help it. If you had to, I think Leaving on a tv or radio some of the day would maybe help. If you don’t have any friends/ neighbors who would be willing to check on/ watch your bird during the holidays, checking vets’ office for local pet sitters might be helpful.

 

[wrench13]

1 nite/day ie 24 hours is the longest I have left my parrot alone in his cage w/food and water. I 100% do not recommend any longer then that. I was a total mess because of it. I was away 1 time for 4 days and I brought him to a professional bird sitter, highly recommended by our local parrot club.

With just a motorcycle, how do you propose to get him to vet visits?
And food and water daily, while that will sustain his life, zero interaction with his flock for an extended time is going to mess with his mind and you may be very sorry about that.

I suggest that at this time in your life, parrot ownership might not be the best for you or a parrot.

 

[GivemeSeedsorgivemeFlesh]

I always leave enough food so that if there were to be an emergency when I go out, birdie would at least be okay until the next morning, but I never leave him overnight. He is so used to having someone home all the time that I think he would be really upset if he was left alone overnight. I also leave an updated journal with food and medicine information at his cage when I go out just because we just never really know... He goes with me whenever I go away and thankfully has a second cage now that folds down and can go along. He's getting more used to his travel pack because we've had to make so many unexpected overnight trips. He even has his own winter jacket . You would have to get a ride in a car and take your birdie with you. Or pay for boarding. I wish we had local networks of trustworthy bird people in our cities and neighborhoods who we could call upon in emergencies.

 

[texsize]

Because of our cockatiels night fright I don’t even like it when everyone is sleeping at the same time.
Last time we all left the house alone it was for an anniversary lunch.
Was only gone about 2 hours.
I ended up getting very sick from the meal.
I think it was about 2/years ago..
As far as visiting relatives. Someone has to stay behind, usually my adult son.

I very much want to take Bingo with me but I don’t trust my stepmother (my only remaining “relatives) Further than I can throw her.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Traveling with birds at home requires a lot of planning. We have a reliable bird sitter that we pay $50 a day to come twice a day to feed my budgies and let them out of their cages for the day. She comes at 7am and comes back at 5pm to put them to bed. It's worth it to know they're happy and as safe as they can be without keeping them locked up which most of them hate except at bedtime. I admit I've spoiled them but they are pretty predictable and I have bird proofed the house best I can.

I have a 4 month old budgie I hand raised, Joey, who has two deformed feet (toes) and she also hasn't learned to fly well for some reason so she has special needs and requires supervision. She's very bonded to us and isn't drawn to the rest like most budgies her age. She hangs out on top of the Big Birds' cages for a couple hours but then flaps off and tries to find us. She clearly isn't ready to join the flock and keep up with the expert fighter pilots and bombers, so when we travel overnight we take Joey with us. She is content to sit on our shoulders during long road trips.