Bird Boarding versus Home Care

[Shoulderin]

Hi,

I have a 14 week old CAG girl Bodhi who is thriving in her new home. My daughter and I are the main caretakers and we are going out of town for one week. My husband and second daughter are not able to give her much attention while we are gone so I am wondering if it would be better to keep her at home and hire someone to come in and play with her or to board her at the local vet or bird boarding store. Bodhi is used to a lot of attentionso I am afraid she will be unhappy no matter what I choose. Help!! Thanks, Gail

[Big_Squishy]

I am really not sure which I would choose. There are several things I would take into consideration.:

1. The health risk associated with boarding your bird. Most boarded birds are kept in the same room as all of the other boarded birds, There is the risk that another of the birds there may have mites or some illness that they pass on. If the place that you would board your bird at is clean and has a good health record, it might not be a bad choice. I would see if you can find someone who has used their services and see what they thought of it. Also I have a hard time believeing that these places spend quality time with the birds. I would expect that they would be most concerned with cleaning the cages and feeding. Other than that I am not sure how much more I would expect them to actually do.

 

With hireing someone to come to your home depending who they are and how familliar they are with handeling birds may lead to other questions. Do they know what they are doing? Will you bird allow them to interact with them? Are they going to just clean the cage and feed your bird the same as most boarding places would do? Is it cheaper and safer to have inhome care or board.

 

I am sure you may get much better responces here soon. I just wanted to offer up some of the questions I might ask if I would in your shoes.

 

Good luck and welcome to Greyforums.

[Ray P]

I have never had to deal with that because our birds travel with us. If it`s a long trip we go in our motor home so they are with us and if it`s an overniter we have a 12 passenger van we go in. We have large travel cages for them and they have been all over the country with us.

I know how you feel about leaving them with someone. There are people that bird sit and do a good job and some !! well.

Check around to find a person you feel good about and see if you can get refferances.

[Birdnut]

I would not be inclined to board such a young grey, no matter how excellent the boarding facility might be. She would be frightened and confused to be taken out of her home, and no telling how she might respond to you when you showed back up to reclaim her.

 

I think it would be best to choose the path that would result in minimal disruption to Bodhi's accustomed circumstances, which would be to stay at home in her familiar surroundings. If you hire a bird sitter to give her attention, I suggest having the sitter make at least a couple of visits beforehand, when you are there to greet him/her and demonstrate to Bodhi that this is a friendly and safe visitor.

 

Personally, I would worry about absenting myself from a baby grey who is just learning the ropes and developing relationships. But I hope all goes well for you.

[judygram]

Personally, I would worry about absenting myself from a baby grey who is just learning the ropes and developing relationships. But I hope all goes well for you.

 

Yes in an ideal situation it is best to not leave a grey under one year of age for more than one day unless absolutely necessary for this is the time they are forming the bond that will sustain them for the rest of their life. I have to agree with Birdnut that having someone come into the home and look after Bodhi is preferable to boarding, someone who could interact with her.

[Shoulderin]

Thanks everyone for your input. My daughter shows horses and has to go to a show in Arizona (we are in CA). I would take Bodhi but I think that being in a hotel and then being around all the dust and goings-on of a big horse show would be worse than leaving her - don't you agree? I would be happy to stay home with Bodhi if I could because I am basically a servant for the week (for those who have shown horses with their children - you know what I am talking about!)

[Morana]

I just wanted to say, if you leave your birdie at home, don't forget to instruct the person who is sitting Bodhi what to do and whom they need to refer to if anything bad would to happen. Just in case.. Telephone numbers, vet's number, ER for pets number, her routine, teats, favorite toys, ... basically I am saying, let the person get to know your Grey before you go. I wouldn't leave my birdie in boarding facility. It could be much more stressful but that is all individual. Good luck!

[Shoulderin]

Thanks! If she stays at home she will be with my husband, who works out of the home, and my older daughter. They would feed her but would not give her the 1:1 attention she is used to.

[judygram]

Then at least she will be with familiar people, that is better than with strangers but she should be just fine, if they won't be allowing her any out of cage time because you aren't there she will survive for one week and be so glad to see you when you get back all will be forgiven.

[caleigha]

We have taken 2 vacations since we've had Chili, and we went through the same dilemma. We finally decided it would be better to leave him home where he has his familiar cage & surroundings. The other animals were in the house too, so we knew they would help keep him company. We had someone come over twice a day, but did not allow Chili to be taken out of his cage. I was too afraid of something happening or our pet sitter having a problem getting him back in his cage. I also bought a bunch of new toys and let him have extra treats while we were gone. I think that was for my guilt, just as much as it was for him! I just didn't want him to get bored.

 

There were too many unknowns going to a boarding facility, and I liked having him safe and sound at home. It worked out well each time - he weathered (feathered) it just fine!

[JeffNOK]

This was a question I had as well. I read on some sites that during the first year of life for the Grey it was ill-advised to leave the bird. It seems that it if it is planned well things can still go smoothly. I probably will just take my bird with me if at all possible, but sometimes that just isnt an option. Has anyone here traveled with their Grey outside the US?

[Shoulderin]

Thanks! I have a new option...a friend's parents have two parrots and offered to keep her for the week. I can take her familiar cage with her as well as toys food etc. I have taken her on outings since we brought her home so I don't think being in a new place will be traumatic. Both caretakers are retired and are very experienced with parrots so she will get great care. What do you think?

[Morana]

You need to check how will those other birds react to your bird and then decide. Because, if they don't get along, will these people keep their parrots in the cage during the weekend, or your? And what other options are at their disposal?