How long is it ok to leave a parrot unattended?

[Michael]

In light of recent discussions and the fact that it's summer here in the northern hemisphere with lots of people planning trips, I'd like to start a discussion about how long it's ok to leave a bird unattended. I know this will vary from species to species and individual to individual but let's see if we can get a good rule of thumb and some personal stories.

Also, how long is it ok to leave a bird that is attended? I would say there are two levels of attended: semi and full. Semi-attended is when someone comes and changes the food/water/newspapers but doesn't take the bird out. Fully attended would be where someone comes and takes the bird out, interacts with it, etc but for a limited time. Obviously if someone fosters the bird full time it's not as bad as birdsitting so it requires no mention. What does everyone think about this?

I'm not starting a poll because this isn't about hard numbers but getting a feel for the situation, species, and individual.

[Brittanyv326]

Not attended: No more than a day. 12 hours is probably my personal maximum.
Semi-attended: No more than a week.
Fully attended to: 3-4 weeks depending on your bond with the bird. I personally would take my bird if I was leaving for that long.

I'm taking a camping trip soon for 3 days and the lady I got her from offers boarding for $6/day. I guess I'm lucky since I have someone who knows Sadie, who I trust, and offers cheap boarding.

[Kim S]

Interesting to see how everyone thinks about this.
At what level do you say it is fully fostered? Usually my birds go to a friend of mine. She knows my birds and I'm sure they get the same amount of playtime there (if not more). But when she is out of town as well they go to my mom and dads. They will talk to them and give treats through the bars but wont take them out if the cages.
I'll leave them with my parents for as long as it takes though. Even if they dont take them out, I feel they get enough stimulation with the dogs and my parents talking to them.

In the odd case they can not go to my mom and dads, I would ask the neighbours to attend to them. They won't take them out and just change food and water. I would'nt leave them longer than a couple of days, a week at max. Fortunately I have more than one bird in home, so they can scream at eachother when bored

That said, since we have three dogs as well and we need to arange a kennel for them, we plan our vacations well ahead of time. So I probably won't get into a situation like that.

[Rue]

I'd say overnight is fine with no attendance. More than a day you need someone to come in and check food and water.

However, I won't let pet-sitters take the birds out of their cages. I don't want to risk an incident and I'd rather the bird stayed in it's cage for those reasons.

If you feel your bird needs entertainment/variety...you can put a radio/TV on a timer...

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I'd probably be OK with an overnight, but it's not going to happen because we have a cat on meds twice a day so a twice a day sitter is mandatory. And I'm happier knowing that someone is checking on him that often. That's semi-attended to fully-attended, I don't have a feeling for how much "out" time he gets when they come in. We're coming up on our longest trip away from the bird in August. It might as long as 11 days, and taking him along is out of the question due to the circumstances of the trip (my husband is crossing Death Valley on foot, I'm crewing, and I don't think 120 degrees and dead dry would suit Scooter at all. I'm not sure it is going to suit me).

I have to say, though, it sure helps to have a reliable professional pet-sitter available.

The first time we left on a short trip, I felt Scooter had been disrupted and was somewhat needy and unsettled afterward. Subsequent trips I've felt less so. So it may in fact depend somewhat on what they come to expect as routine.

[Natacha]

I have done one overnight stay where I did leave them alone. We left the appartment at 2-3 in the afternoon to go to a wedding last summer and came back first thing in the morning, so the birds weren't left alone for even 24 hours (I worried too much). While I might do an overnight stay and leave the birds alone again, this is the longest I would ever leave them alone.

I normally bring them over to someone's house (my mom being one of these people) when I leave for any longer. While it's true that someone could come over and feed them and change the water, one of my fears is that there would be a fire and no one could get them out in time.

[TheNzJessie]

my max is overnight/1 day

i think this could be a poll topic like overnight/one day
2 days
3 days
4 days
5 days
6 days
more than a week

[lzver]

We will face this exact situation a few times this summer. We will leave on a Saturday morning and come back late Sunday afternoon/early evening. I will have our neighbor come in later on Saturday to check on the birds and come again mid-day on Sunday. We always leave our cell numbers in case of emergency.

We will be going away for 4 days in August. Our neighbor will be coming in after her shift in the morning around 10am and again after dinner. I cannot provide them with time out of their cages while we are away because I don't know anyone well enough ... ok Lucy and Jessie don't know someone well enough. And I don't know anyone well enough in the area to take them to.

So to anwer the question ... I make arrangements for someone to come give fresh water and food twice a day.