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We are hoping to find a bird sitter for our CAG, Corey


terryspear

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I know this is a bit of a long shot but here goes:  we have a 20 year old, sweet Congo African Grey and we need to find care for her when we travel.  I’ve called the offices of the avian vets around us and no luck.  We live in a house on the outskirts of Davis, California [approximately 20 minutes from Sacramento].  Davis is a university town [and UCD even has a Raptor Center/which I also contacted].  We would be willing to trade bird sitting responsibilities with someone somewhat close to Davis or we would be willing to negotiate what it would cost to have someone sit for Corey.  We would really like someone who has at least some experience with parrots.  We really don’t want to board her with a lot of other birds because of the disease risk.  Corey has briefly met other parrots [e.g. we have had a friend with a Lorikeet] but she hasn’t spent substantial time with any other parrots].  We do not clip Corey’s wings but she came to us clipped.  She will not fly voluntarily but WILL fly if startled.  Since Corey was apparently not allowed to learn to fly [she came to us when she was probably a couple of years old] she is really not a good flyer and we want to minimize how often she takes flight in fear.  Like probably most Greys, Corey really likes social interactions.  She likes to be in her playbox and she is not a very loud parrot but she has a relatively large vocabulary.   

So, we are hoping to travel for a couple of weeks starting on August 9, 2021.  Any chance that someone might be interested in either swapping bird sitting responsibilities OR being paid to sit for Corey?   

Fingers crossed, Terry

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I live even further away- over the pond in the UK- so I'm useless to you!

Are there any friends or family members that you could potentially train to care for Corey? If you're not going away until August then perhaps you could use this time to introduce them to Corey and get them used to his routine?

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Thanks, again, everybody for the well wishes.  We could take Corey to our friend with the Lorikeet but the problem with that is that this is a very chaotic household.  Their Lorikeet probably likes all the action, our Grey would not.  Since we just moved to Davis, we don't really know anybody  that would be willing to step in and live at our house. 

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Would they need to live at your house for the duration? Could your friend just pop in a few times a day instead? (distances allowing of course)

When I had a lodger in my house and went on holiday my lodger would look after Alfie for me- however he would just change out the food and water, put the radio on and interact with Alfie through the cage bars. He wouldn't let him out of the cage because he wouldn't have been able to convince him to go back in and was too wary of being bitten to do so. However it meant Alfie stayed in familiar surroundings in his own cage and still had some social interaction with someone he knew during the week. Then once I got back he was allowed out of his cage again.

I no longer have a lodger so Alfie would either have to go and stay with my parents house or I'd need friends/family to come and visit him if I was going away with my parents. Either way, he would stay in his cage and they would just do food/water/radio and interactions through the cage bars. Nobody I know would be willing to let him out. He is familiar with my parents house (grew up there and also visits with me regularly) so I'm personally happier with him being in familiar surroundings but not being allowed out of his cage than I would be with moving him to a new/strange location with new people and potentially being let out whilst there.

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Timbersmom wrote: This came up recently with another member. Have you checked with your avian vet? Sometimes they have names of bird sitters or might know of someone. I have checked with general vets and the one local avian vet office:  no luck.  I got referred to the Bird Shop [which does a nice job of stocking bird supplies and even sells a limited number of parrots] but I just can't put Corey in with 10+ other birds.  I have also contacted the local Parrot Rescue organization for bird sitter suggestions. 

Maybe I'm being too paranoid here but the idea of leaving Corey in a cage for 2 weeks while we are gone with only periodic visits just doesn't sound good to me.  Corey hates being locked in her cage.  She will generally not leave her cage when we are home [her cage door is open/unless we have to close it for safety reasons] and Corey asks to be taken from her cage to other places she can safely be in our house.  When my husband and I had to leave everyday for work [for the typical 9-10 hours we had to be gone] she developed a [somewhat minor] feather mutilation habit.  It took us a long time to get her out of that [with the help of an avian vet].  We are not retired and I just don't want to risk that again. 

I am totally laying out my worst concerns now because most all of you know what I am writing about here and probably won't think I'm too crazy.  This isn't an easy problem to solve.

 

 

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I totally understand. We're blessed to have family members who are willing to take care of Timber and spend quite a bit of time here when we are gone. I don't think I could board him because he would not thrive, and if the time comes when family isn't available, we'll probably just plan driving vacations that include him. Yes, you have certainly found the place where people understand your concerns! We are retired, and even when we worked, I was the only one who had to travel for work which left hubby home with Timber.

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On 6/25/2021 at 2:10 AM, terryspear said:

I am totally laying out my worst concerns now because most all of you know what I am writing about here and probably won't think I'm too crazy.  This isn't an easy problem to solve.

 

Ahh, no, definitely not crazy. You know your bird better than anyone. I guess I'm lucky in that Alfie doesn't mind hanging out in his cage so it works for the both of us. But I can now see why you'd be concerned with that approach for Corey! 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maybe since you have a few weeks and a college near by you could look for a baby sitter on campus that would be willing to learn about caring for a CAG. Maybe look for a teacher on summer break. They should be patient and nurturing. Kinder or first grade. They are used to noise and messes. 

My Vannah just went on vacation at her former companion's home. My others went to my parents. I'm lucky that way I guess. 

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  • 1 month later...

I was contemplating a vacation in The Netherlands to see family a couple of years ago, and my main concern was taking care of Dorian.  I'm leary.  I once hired a neighbour to take care of him for a couple of days.  I left them at the house, but had to circle back because I forgot something, and caught them putting him to bed at 5:00 in the afternoon, instead of 7:30 pm as instructed.  I've also used the daughter of a trusted friend, but the problem with training kids is that they grow up and move away, taking their bird sitting skills with them.  I belong to a good community group on Facebook, and I'd probably look there for a sitter.  A community or neighbourhood group is a good way to get to know your neighbours.

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  • 7 months later...

We’re troubled with the lack of qualified or at least experienced bird sitting/boarding…throwing them in a cage and changing food and water is NOT  caring for a CAG! Even good friends have disappointed, sorry to say. Debbie travels and vacations  with us…car trips only…  stressful, yes….but better than being ignored (imho)…

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I had to leave overnight 3 weeks ago and got my neighbour to put Dorian to bed and wake him up.  Well, the little bugger bit her but good.  She said she couldn't believe how fast he was.  I thought I'd lost my pet sitter for good, but she's a good friend 'cause she says she'll still watch him in an emergency.  I don't think there are any long term vacations in my future though lol.

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