Someone asked me to bird-sit

[Kyoto]

Hello everyone,
A friend of a friend is leaving town for 10 days, and like me she wants someone who would let her bird out and spend time with it while she is gone. It's a cockatiel, so how could I say no I believe he will be coming to stay at my house, but still need to confirm this.

I was just wondering if I should treat this as if I was quarantining or should I give him and Kyo the opportunity to see each other? We do have cats so my only real safe options for them would be to either keep one of them in my bedroom or to cage them both in kyo's room with separate times out of the cage.

What do you folks think is the best way to go about this?

 

[SilverSage]

I have a standard answer for bird sitting. "Sure, but first your bird needs a gram stain and to be tested for PBFD, Polyoma, and Psittacosis." I then explains that Avian BioTech can do the disease testing for around $20/test, and the grams gain costs about $40 at a well bird vet visit. Anyone who doesn't value the health of my flock enough to understand why I want this needs to find a different bird sitter.

When the bird is in my home they do not share play stands, etc, with my birds, and I do not put them in my bird room. I also don't have them out of the cages together because they don't know each other.

Not staying that's what you should do, it's just what I do.

 

[Rockford]

The best way is to treat it as a quarantine situation if you know nothing about the birds health.
That being said, I wouldn't worry about anything - I'm not saying you shouldn't, only that I wouldn't.

I've noticed here that when someone mentions quarantining a bird, they get told how important it is and they get all kinds of advice on the subject. But if someone brings home a new bird and almost immediately posts pictures of it with their existing bird to show how well the two get along with each other, nobody says a word about quarantine, they just gush at how wonderful the new bird is.

 

[JerseyWendy]

....

I've noticed here that when someone mentions quarantining a bird, they get told how important it is and they get all kinds of advice on the subject. But if someone brings home a new bird and almost immediately posts pictures of it with their existing bird to show how well the two get along with each other, nobody says a word about quarantine, they just gush at how wonderful the new bird is.

You clearly miss a whole lot of threads/posts if you are under that impression.

 

[SilverSage]

I agree, we usually mention something.

 

[Kyoto]

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep the bird away from Kyo and keep it in our bedroom.

 

[SilverSage]

I should also mention there are birds I will never sit because I don't trust them to be healthy, no matter what the vet says. I only sit if I have seen the home.

 

[Kiwibird]

I'd use common sense. How close is the friend? How long have they had their bird? Do they take their bird to regular AV appointments? I mean, come on, if this is one of your best friends who has a 15 year old bird they've had since a baby that sees the vet annually and is in perfect health, it isn't really a risk. A "friend" you barely know who has a bird they got 6 months ago who looks ratty and sickly, that's a different story. Just my .02

 

[Kyoto]

I'm going to TRY to convince them to let me go to their house, but again I've only had an initial inquiry so waiting for a response right now.

 

[Kyoto]

Well, the good news is she is happy to get him vet checked. The bad news is she will not have me come to her house to take care of him because she doesn't think he'd get enough attention. I don't think she understands that even if he comes here he's going to have to spend time locked in a room to stay safe from my husband'so cats. I'll see where it goes from here. I might put hubby on cockatiel duty if this ends up actually happening.

This girl is a friend of a friend. So not willing to take any risks at all.

 

[itchyfeet]

In that situation I just wouldn't. Chances are thats time for you away from your own parrot, and it doesn't sound like you're close to the owner anyway - It's hard work bird sitting sometimes and so I only do it for those I know and know well!

Two extremes though - the flip side is I have my in-laws cockatoo here no worries. But I know the bird well (he lives next door) and my in-laws well, and they often do the same for me.

 

[RavensGryf]

Since each situation is different, I'd just use your best judgement, and quarantine regardless. I would also 'feel' inclined to ask for blood tests for viruses, but then you risk the friend being completely insulted and not understanding where it is that you're coming from by asking that. Again, it's a judgement call with how comfortable you feel about this particular bird in your home.

 

[SilverSage]

I always start that conversation by saying "are you familiar with the 'big three' bird diseases? Well we have confirmed cases of two of them on the island and they are so contageus that your bird could literally get infected because you shop at the same grocery store as someone who has an aunt who has an infected bird, because they can be transmitted through feather dander. I know you are a super great bird owner, but I'm so scared for my flock right now that I just have to be really paranoid. I have friends who aren't even letting people come over to their houses right now! Anyway, getting the tests is super cheap and it would help set your mind at ease, too, plus birds should see the vet regularly anyway. I just don't let any birds into my house that have not been tested. If your tests come back clean though, I would love to!"

And yes we just had both a PBFD and Polyoma scares, and yes I was furious at how people disregarded the warnings and poopood us for suggesting testing...

 

[Kyoto]

Thank you everyone for your input. You've been very helpful to me in forming my emails in a way that would not offend her.

I haven't heard back since my last email, so I'm not sure if this will be happening anyways. It really would end up being a LOT more trouble for me than it's worth.

 

[Kyoto]

So, an update.

The more I talk to this lady, the more I get the feeling she is probably looking to actually rehome her tiel. She is super sweet and really cares about him, but she keeps talking about being worried that he isn't happy with her and writes me huge long letters in response to my simple questions. She also originally said 10 days, but suddenly she doesn't know how long she'll be gone..

The bird is a total seed junkie and refuses fresh food as well apparently. It's hard to say no but I'm worried I'm going to end up having a bird dropped off that won't be picked back up. Not that I don't want another bird right now, it's just that in order to purchase new toys, quarantine, disrupt my routine right now while I'm working 6 days a week in school and planning a wedding, I just feel like it may be too much of a risk in so many ways.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice on this issue.

 

[deque]

Erm good call. I agreed to sit a B&G for a friend....7 months ago. Guess who's still here

 

[Kyoto]

Erm good call. I agreed to sit a B&G for a friend....7 months ago. Guess who's still here

Haha exactly what I'm afraid of! And I have such a soft spot for cockatiels I know I wouldn't be able to be angry about it

 

[June2012]

So, an update.

The more I talk to this lady, the more I get the feeling she is probably looking to actually rehome her tiel. She is super sweet and really cares about him, but she keeps talking about being worried that he isn't happy with her and writes me huge long letters in response to my simple questions. She also originally said 10 days, but suddenly she doesn't know how long she'll be gone..

The bird is a total seed junkie and refuses fresh food as well apparently. It's hard to say no but I'm worried I'm going to end up having a bird dropped off that won't be picked back up. Not that I don't want another bird right now, it's just that in order to purchase new toys, quarantine, disrupt my routine right now while I'm working 6 days a week in school and planning a wedding, I just feel like it may be too much of a risk in so many ways.

Thank you everyone for all of the advice on this issue.

I'm glad you made that call! But I just don't understand why people can't be upfront. It angers me that people just drop off their animal, and think, well that person is taking care of it for me for a week. Surely he can take care of it forever? Just because it's an extra, I don't know, a few hundred doesn't mean much, right?!

Uh, no. NO. It doesn't work like that, hun. :20: