Bring my bird for the weekend or ...

[Svej]

Alright so, I've been casually reading topics here on occasion for advice but now I have a question of my own! Hopefully you can advise.

I have a pet lovebird, s/he is 5 months old so still young. I'm going to my parents place from Saturday afternoon-Sunday evening. Should I leave my bird at home with enough food and water to last that amount of time (he doesn't drink from a water bottle, he uses a dish of water if that's relevant.) Or, should I bring him with me and keep him in an unused guinea pig cage my parents have. If I brought him with me I would bring his food container, water dish and some of his toys too so he has familiar things. The guinea pig cage is smaller than my birds cage but possibly okay for a day and a half? Which would be the better solution for my bird?

And another additional note to add is that he seems to travel well. He was fine when I brought him home for the first time and had no visible troubles when I moved a couple weeks ago. So I am not too worried about having to transport him. Obviously not something I would do on a regular basis however.

Thanks for your help!

[Michael]

Either can work depending on situation. Consider if the place you are visiting is bird safe or not? You may not use non-stick cookware, leave windows open, or have other pets that could harm a bird but their house might. You need to fully think through if it is even safe to bring the bird first. Be prepared that the bird won't eat properly whether left alone or brought along. As long as the house is not bird-dangerous, either option would probably be fine and depends more on what is convenient for you. It's probably good socialization for the bird but safety considerations must come first.

[HungryBird]

I would bring him with me. If you leave him with a water bowl what if it gets dirty really quickly and he is stuck drinking dirty water? My birds travel very well, it's me that spends the entire time going crazy making sure windows are shut and no one uses teflon pans.

[Svej]

@Michael - thanks for the advice. I was living at my parents house for the summer and had my bird there with me, so the people are a bit familiar to him and I know that it is safe for him. And my family is used to him so he won't be a bother.

@Hungry - this is what I am a bit worried about, sometimes he manages to keep his water clean but sometimes he makes a total mess of it. My apartment tends to be seemingly 10 degrees hotter than outside, which means water is probably important moreso than usual, so perhaps I will bring him and save myself the stress.


Thanks for the info guys!