Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Chat about general parrot care and parrot owner lifestyle. Bird psychology, activities, trimming, clipping, breeding etc.

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby patti » Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:04 pm

Hi ... I see that dates here are old and I don't know if this post will revive the forum but i will give it a shot. I am a new bird owner and this is my first post. yay! Lily the Jenday has been with me about a month now and she is the love of my life! She was the one who decided I needed to take her home from the store... i am so glad she convinced me to take her, and i think she is really happy here. right now she is on my shoulder singing along to justin timberlake and katy perry (she and i, unfortunately, have different tastes in music...)

I am on summer break and home more than usual so i have been leaving her pretend alone for a few hours in the morning, to see what she does and get her used to the schedule i will keep all year and well....

NOTHING! she gets up, eats only a few pellets, then just sits there like a bump on log - three times now. not very aratinga of her! today she was by herself from 8 when she got up to 12 when i "came home" and as soon as i picked her up she let loose this poop ball that was - i swear - almost as big as she was. it was 17 hours worth. her cage was uncovered, she had fresh food and water and foraging toys and even a mirror. plenty to do.

my guess is that she is too dependent on me. its super cute. but wondering if this is evidence of a developing problem, especially since she appears to be holding her poop longer than she should. wondering if anyone here has some advice or tips to encourage her to entertain herself alone the same way she does when i am entertaining myself within four feet of her. she is such a great bird... she deserves an equally great mom!
User avatar
patti
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 91
Location: Los Angeles
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Jenday Conure, Blue Crown Conure
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby Wolf » Tue Jul 29, 2014 5:38 pm

You have had her for a month and has she been to the bird doctor for her check up yet? This does not sound like normal behavior to me, so I really suggest that you take her to see the Avian vet and have her checked out. Birds are notorious for getting sick and hiding it until it becomes very serious so I would treat this as an emergency.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby patti » Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:39 pm

Thanks Wolf.... I have been having trouble logging in here for some reason and now i am wishing that I had figured it out sooner.

I did take her to the vet about 2 weeks ago and he said she was in great shape (and that she is probably a he...). But I was posting here because I am inexperienced and all these bird books at the pet store are just fluff! I know what you are saying - when birds are so good at hiding it, you need to have the knowledge to recognize the signs that you are able to see. I will take her to another vet - its good to have a backup vet anyway, and worth it for the peace of mind.

fwiw there is an alternate explanation that just dawned on me yesterday. it was wicked hot here last week and i had the blinds drawn to keep the place from getting to hot, because my air conditioner could not keep up. it was light enough in here for me, but maybe not enough for her. when i thought back, all the times i was worried about were days i had shut the blinds.

she and I are still getting to know each other, but I can now tell how she's feeling emotionally scared, interested, annoyed, happy, calm, anxious, super happy.. For example, planes at LAX changed flight paths and dropped altitude due to rain and delays or something... so every 60 seconds the house was shaking... and there was a minor earthquake too.... it made her a bit anxious until i turned it into a game, cuz she loves games, especially games involving hiding or dunking things. So I am figuring that stuff out quick, and soon I will have her so well trained she'll be going calculus. But with other stuff like health issues, trial and error cannot replace the wisdom of time and experience.
User avatar
patti
Cockatiel
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 91
Location: Los Angeles
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Jenday Conure, Blue Crown Conure
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby Wolf » Tue Aug 05, 2014 12:52 am

Hi Patti
Now it is apparently time to mention just an item or two that may help in the future to get you better responses. With that in mind do not take this wrong as I am not intending to get on you or anything. I want you to go back and read your first post as if it were someone other than you posting and attempt to answer it using only the information in the post and not what you know of the circumstances. Then read your second post with the same criteria in mind.

Now if you did as requested concerning your 2 posts, I believe that what you found is that based only on the information contained in the first post, that you could not honestly give any opinion an what was occurring. This is what I learned: you left her "alone" for 4 hours and she di nothing and when you " returned" she pooped an overly large amount. you have had her for a month and the two of you like different music.

So in the first post, there is nothing, there is no information. So lets look at the second post.

Here is what I get from the second post:

You had trouble logging on.
You took the bird to the vet 2 weeks ago, the vet said she was fine and may be a he.
You will get a second opinion.
Here you offer an alternate explanation for your problem. Now this is interesting as there was never any explanation offered in the first place as there was not enough information to go on.
You are still getting to know your bird and feel that you are beginning to be able to read her body language fairly well.
You have concentrated most of your efforts for the past month on training your bird and you are proud of your results.
You have limited knowledge or experience in the area of your birds health.

Here is the thing, I would dearly love to be able to help you and your bird, but in two posts you have given nothing as far as information concerning the problem and what led up to and surrounding the problem. I understand that it is hard to know what to put into a post, but you need to give us something to go on and make it just as detailed as is possible because we are not there and don't know anything except what you tell us, you are our eyes and ears into your world and what is going on there.

OK enough of that! I am going to take a few liberties and make some assumptions and try to put your posts together in some meaningful fashion and make some comments that may provide some help for you. I am going to need you to evaluate what I have to say and let me know what helps you and what doesn't.

As far as the poop and your explanation of what happened goes, from what I can get from it is partially correct. It appears that although you got your bird up and gave her breakfast that you left before she was actually awake and left her in a darkened room and when you returned 4 hours later and the bird woke up, she needed to poop which she did. This is all good and everything is functioning properly. Your issue is twofold, 1) that she did nothing while you were "gone" and 2) the amount of poop. These two things made you afraid that your bird was sick.

NOW FOR THE CORRECT ANSWER !! Your bird is not sick and everything worked out well but don't do that again because you could hurt your bird by doing what you did the way that you did it.
the reason for the extra large poop and the reason for you bird doing nothing for this time period is the same. You left her before she was fully awake in a darkened room, thus the bird just went back to sleep as it was not light enough for her to get up. When birds are asleep they do not poop so with another 4 hours of poop in her, it had to come out when she woke up which is why there was so much of it. Now that is the good news. The bad news is that this was the same as if you made her hold the poop for four hours which if it occurs too many times can cause internal injury to your bird. How many times is too many? In my opinion once is too many because it could have injured her other than this no one actually knows for sure , it could take 100 time before it causes injury or it could cause injury the very first time.

I don't know how old Lily the Jenday is, but you have only had her for a month and you have put in a lot of time training her and I am sure that you enjoyed it a lot and now I am going to tell you to stop that you are making a huge mistake for which you will pay for soon enough, if you don't stop.

At the very least, the first couple of month with a new baby bird should be spent with getting to know each other and building a bond based on mutual respect and trust. You did not do this and it is going to come back soon and it is going to bite you. Instead you elected to spend the time training and I am sure that you made a lot of progress and are proud of the accomplishments of you and your bird, Lily. And you should be. But you have just done what is called flooding and you are going to find out that it was too much, too fast. So stop with all the training and get to know Lily. Learn what foods she likes and do some research and make sure that you are providing her with a good diet. Spend the next couple of months petting her, leaving her back alone, and talking to her and just hanging out with her. In spite of looking like an adult, Lily is a baby and should probably still be getting soft foods at least twice a day for now. As a baby she needs a lot of companionship and reassurance as she was not meant to be alone at all. you will have plenty of time for training later right now you should be developing you bond and your relationship with her.

Go back to the introduction section and look at the top of the page where you will find a red button that says new topic. Press it and name it something and the introduce yourself and Lily to us. Tell us how old she is and you know how to introduce someone.
Wolf
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 8679
Location: Lansing, NC
Number of Birds Owned: 6
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal
African Grey (CAG)
Yellow Naped Amazon
2Celestial Parrotlet
Budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby sambot863 » Mon Apr 03, 2017 3:12 pm

Michael wrote:I've left my parrot home for up to two full days without attention and she did just fine. She'd get super excited and happy to see me after though.

However, the parrot has to be able to use a water bottle cause water in a dish has to be replaced at least daily if not twice. Water bottle can last a few days. Also it has to be able to eat non perishable foods like pellets. By all means it's better to leave the bird with someone but if it has lots of toys in its cage, isn't spoiled, and well socialized, I think they can take 48 hours alone ok.



How often would I be able to leave a parrot alone for? Such as me leaving a macaw or a green cheek conure alone? If I were to get a bird I want to know if I'd be able to stay with him/her for 5 days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, leave on Friday night and come back on Monday morning every week, would that be doable?

I'd have 1 bird as well just to let you know. Either a Green-Winged Macaw or a Green Cheek Conure.
sambot863
Parakeet
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 1
Number of Birds Owned: 0
Types of Birds Owned: I own no birds at this time
Flight: No

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby stevesjk » Mon Apr 03, 2017 4:41 pm

Could you find a bird sitter for the weekend's?

If yes then thats fine but if you cant and you still decide you want a bird then you really need a pair to keep each other company when youre gone.

Food is also an issue, how would they get access to fresh fruit and veg over the weekend?
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby liz » Tue Apr 04, 2017 6:13 am

According to the bird no time away is acceptable.
I had to run back and forth between NC and FL. Myrtle had just got her flight feathers back and was starting to trust me. When I left she went wild. She was in the same home with three other people that she had been living with but I was #1. She flew from room to room all day for 3 days looking for me.

As for the water bottle you can put one in with a bowl of water before you have to leave. Attach it so that it's drip part is reachable from his favorite perch. Hopefully he will be curious and check it out. He may start playing with the drip and learn how to use it while you are gone.
I would also put a big bird feeder outside his window.
User avatar
liz
Macaw
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 7234
Location: Hernando FL
Number of Birds Owned: 12
Types of Birds Owned: DYH Amazon Rambo
BF Amazon Myrtle
Cockatiels: Shadow Tammy Flutter Phoenix Jackie
Andy Impy Louise Twila Leroy
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby Navre » Tue Apr 04, 2017 7:32 am

sambot863 wrote:
Michael wrote:I've left my parrot home for up to two full days without attention and she did just fine. She'd get super excited and happy to see me after though.

However, the parrot has to be able to use a water bottle cause water in a dish has to be replaced at least daily if not twice. Water bottle can last a few days. Also it has to be able to eat non perishable foods like pellets. By all means it's better to leave the bird with someone but if it has lots of toys in its cage, isn't spoiled, and well socialized, I think they can take 48 hours alone ok.



How often would I be able to leave a parrot alone for? Such as me leaving a macaw or a green cheek conure alone? If I were to get a bird I want to know if I'd be able to stay with him/her for 5 days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, leave on Friday night and come back on Monday morning every week, would that be doable?

I'd have 1 bird as well just to let you know. Either a Green-Winged Macaw or a Green Cheek Conure.


If that really has to be your regular schedule, I would advise against getting a bird, especially a person-oriented bird like a Greenwing Macaw or a GCC.

A bird can certainly stand to be left a couple of days if the need arises in an emergency. But if that is going to be a regular occurrence, I would not get a bird.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I know we would not adopt to a person who was going to leave the bird alone every weekend.
Navre
African Grey
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 1909
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Turquoise Green Cheek Conure
Hooded Parrot
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby alienlady » Tue Apr 04, 2017 9:07 am

I never leave my bird for more than 3 hours.
User avatar
alienlady
Poicephalus
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 305
Location: UK
Number of Birds Owned: 1
Types of Birds Owned: Blue fronted amazon
Flight: Yes

Re: Leaving a parrot alone - how long is OK?

Postby Pajarita » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:16 am

John (Navre) is correct. It's one thing to have a super emergency and have no choice to leave a bird alone (not that I would EVER consider doing such a thing!) but it cannot be done as part of their regular life. Parrots need to have company 24/7/365 to stay happy and healthy. This is not a matter of anybody's opinion, it's the way nature made them and you can't go against nature's rules without consequences. Loneliness is EXTREMELY stressful to them and stress depresses the immune system which means a fertile ground for disease. Some birds are needier than others and species like macaws, cockatoos, grays and the GCCs are the worst - they are very unhappy when the owner works full time so imagine how they would feel if they are left alone every single weekend?! It would be a terrible, terrible life for them - almost torture! Please reconsider getting a parrot because your lifestyle does not permit it... even getting a sitter to come in every weekend to feed it and check on it would not be acceptable. You could do that with a dog or a cat but, when it comes to parrots, the only one that 'does it' for them is their owner.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18701
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

PreviousNext

Return to General Parrot Care

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests

Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store