Parrots and Travel

[MissLady9902]

I think that if you have a trusted bird sitter that it's a good thing for her to stop by and re-fresh his water and just make sure everything is okay.
If he's social and she and you are comfortable letting him out it's good for him to get some out time.
I think it's always a good idea to have someone check your birds at least twice a day even if it's to just re-fresh the water bowl and make sure that nothing has gone wrong. I.E. bird gets ill, cat gets out or anything else that might go wrong.
Better safe than sorry!

[Suzzique]

I have to agree if the pet sitter is someone you trust then having her stop in to check food and give fresh water is a good idea. I might tell her to just leave the bird in the cage. Safer for all conserned. I know my guys could not go 48 hours without fresh water. Martini is a dunker he gets fresh water at least twice a day or it turns to sludge. Alex has picked this up to a point so his water also needs changing at least twice a day. I am lucky that I can leave mine with my daughter if I have to be out of town. But not everyone has that option.

[Michael]

Let me mention that mine drinks from a water bottle which is why I feel safe not changing the water for as much as 3 days straight. I'd drink from the same water bottle for 2 and even 3 days if necessary so I don't see why not for the parrot. Better yet, the parrot doesn't get spit back into the bottle and it's gravity fed downward so there's very little chance of anything getting back into the bottle.

[MissLady9902]

We're not disagreeing with you at all! If I could get Noodle to drink from a water bottle it would make my life a lot easier!!
I just think she's nervous and wants someone to check on her little guy! I have my sister stop by twice a day if I'm gone for more than a day.
I can understand leaving Kili if you don't have someone close. I wouldn't just trust some random pet sitter either.
If my friends and family can't watch them I have a trusted pet store/boarder that I would leave them at.

[MandyG]

I'm going to be away for 2 weeks in March. Unfortunately there isn't any bird people that I know of in my town so my sister will be feeding my fish and checking on Mojo twice a day. This weekend I'm going to work with both of them to see if Mojo will let her handle him, otherwise I've told her to just feed him and change the water twice a day and leave him in his cage. Last year I went away for less than a week and she was able to let him out and she stayed at the house for at least an hour a day. That was when he was younger and more sociable though.

I stocked up on a few of his favorite toys and got a few new ones. I'm also doing up a bunch of foraging boxes that he loves that will fit on one of his dish doors so she can replace them without letting him out if he's not getting along with her. I'm also going to cook up a batch of birdie bread and prepare some fresh food for him.

Anybody have any good recipes that will last two weeks in the fridge? Or ones that can be frozen and thawed easily? I generally prepare fresh food daily, usually vegetables/pasta/fruit that we're having for supper or snacks already. I've never made large batches of anything to keep in the fridge/freezer.

[Michael]

When I go away, I usually just leave pellets in the bowl (or for birdsitter to serve) and don't bother with other foods. The pellets really are supposed to be a whole meal in one and some people suggest that pellet only diets are the best. Thus I'm not worried about the parrot eating just pellets for a week or two without other foods. I don't want to burden the birdsitter with too much work (like buying fresh veggies) unless I really know them or they want to. Also, there is less risk of food going bad if it's just pellets. When I feed Kili, I normally measure out food portions and server her no more than she needs to eat. With a birdsitter, I tell them to play it safe and just fill the bowl up with pellets and leave it in. After a few days, throw out all the unused pellets and put new pellets in.

[MandyG]

How long have you left Kili like that? I'm just worried about changing too much since he will likely be in his cage for two weeks straight. He will have a lot more nuts and things in foraging toys than usual. Maybe that will be enough to keep him happy with straight pellets.

I swear, I'm more worried about leaving my bird for such a long period of time than I'll ever be worried about going on vacation without my future kids .

[Michael]

I think the longest I've left her was between 2 and 3 weeks and I was horrified but it all turned out fine. I just feel that by simplifying things for the bird sitter as much as possible (unless they are experienced bird person), there is less that can go wrong. By telling them fill the bowl with pellets every 2 days (throw out old pellets), change water in bottle, change newspaper, there is much less that can go wrong than trying to explain how much veggies and how much this and that. While I think it is good for the parrot to have a varied diet, I don't think any harm will be done for 2 weeks of pellets only. Afterall, the pellets are meant to be eaten alone anyway.

[Pola]

This summer I'm going on holidays for 10 days and I'm leaving at my friend's. The parrot will not come out to play, but it will have attantion as some one will be in the room. I am worried as it is usually 7hours outside his cage.

Do you think that it will affect him in any way???

[entrancedbymyGCC]

This is a shortish trip, but with the drive we'll be gone from Friday morning to Monday evening. The sitter will be in twice a day anyway, to care for the cats (Pepe gets meds twice daily) so she can certainly check food and water and give fresh food. I worry more about, say, the bird getting sick or in trouble and not getting noticed. She will come to meet him and learn his routine, and we'll probably decide on that basis if she will get him out or just leave him in.... he is SOOOOOOO social.

Do your birds get mad at you when you leave them?