I'll have to travel without Mango :(

Hello everyone!

I'm going out of the country soon for a family emergency and I felt bad leaving Mango behind for 2 weeks (Aug. 10-27) so I thought it would be fun to bring him with me. I did some research and saw that I could bring him on the airline by paying a fee. The websites I looked into also said that if he's a smaller parrot, which he is, that we could bring him into the cabin with us.
So I thought everything was set and we just had to call the airline and let them know and make his reservation. Now they're telling us he has to go in the cargo area and that we have to get in contact with several different people to make sure he can go. It just sounds like a lot of trouble for my family and they're saying its better to leave him with a friend or a pet hotel. I don't want to leave him with someone who doesn't know how to take care of birds, and I don't want to leave him with strangers. To be completely honest I'm scared of leaving him at all.
I'm scared he'll forget me when we come back and won't love my family and I the same. My dog always treats us differently when we come back after leaving him with a friend, and we've had him for a few years. I can't imagine how Mango will react when we only got him a few months ago.
What I'm asking is, do any of you have any recommendations for how to deal with this if we do have to leave him behind? Or do you have your own experiences with leaving a feathered friend while you were gone? Do you have any tips if we do happen to take him with us?

Much love,
Mango & Luca

I am not saying this to alarm you (or even accuse anyone)
just a story of something that *MIGHT* happen, and remember every parrot is different!

My mother reminded me the last time I visited that when we used to go on holliday we could not take my grey, so he went to friends (with parrot experience, who knew him) or sometimes even his previous caretaker and when we came back it was to a very thin parrot and some very stressed out people.
Rico did not like staying away from his home or his usual people!

The next year we tried leaving him in our house and have someone come in to feed him (+ radio and everything we could think of)- and it went a bit better.
But every year it was the same thing: we came home and he dove into his feeding bowl for the first full meal since we left...
He did not starve himself to death, but it obviously was not healthy for him.
(and yes of course I pointedly refused to go on hollidays ever again, but was not of a voting age at that time...)

... and that is just one of the many crazy things that might happen
Or nothing a all will happen and you will just spend a week getting reacquainted.
You never know unless you try!


(if we had skype in those days I am sure he would have understood we were still there for him)

I have only ever been gone for one week and I had a trusted friend come over and give them food and water daily. Without being handled for a week they were a little skittish when we got home but after a few days they were fine.

These things happen and we can't be with out birds (or other pets) all the time. In a case like this, the top priority would be to make sure your bird is being fed/changed water daily. If your vet does bird boarding, you could try that -- though there may not be any out of cage time, he'll be in the safest hands in case anything happens.

If you don't have any bird-savvy people you can trust to come over to your house, feed and water, and even take him out and play, then definitely go with the vet (or local pet store if they offer it. Personally pet stores make me wary because 1.) strangers are coming in and out all day, I would be scared of them taking my bird out and someone selling him lol 2.) other birds could make your bid sick. Most pet stores get their bids from breeders who just want profit and don't care about health ($400 cockatiel at Petco, no thanks) . 3.) if your bid gets sick not much they can do. Just my thoughts!

I hope you can find a good solution!

Be careful of leaving your bird behind. I once talked with a man who was extremely close with his Amazon (they would even drive a motorcycle together and the bird would go brrr, brrr, brrr -engine sound-)... well, he was moving to a different state and temporarily left the bird with his brother. Just 2 weeks later, the bird died... of a broken heart, I assume.

When I went on vacation for a week this summer Lenny stayed at this local exotic bird pet store and it went great. All birds have to have a CAV check them out and write that they are healthy before they are allowed to stay there. Also there is a separate room in the back of the store that is closed off to costumers where the birds stay, there is even a TV for them! Lenny was super excited to see me when I picked him up, but he seemed to have a good time. All the workers knew his name and were saying bye to him. If any of you live in Arizona and want to check this place out it’s called Tropic Zone. Also, don’t worry about it. Find a place that you think your baby will like and enjoy or a person. Birds seem to be super clingy once you come back and more cuddly.

Could you practice being away from the bird in small doses ahead of time...like a few nights at a time? I guess it depends on whether you know someone who could watch him for practice SAFELY...
If you do cargo, ask about climate control etc. It can get hot or cold without it....FYI, I did once have to transport my bird in cargo and she HATED it...That having been said,she is over it now. I think it just really stressed her out and confused her, so that is another obvious risk.

MANY years ago,when I only has Smokey,my family and I went to visit my sister and her family,out-of-state,for a week. I had only had Smokes for about a year. Smokes CAV did boarding,but they were full for the time slot I needed.
So I asked my local pet shop,that dealt with birdies,and they said SURE,for a nominal fee,BUT I had to supply Smokes house,FOOD,and toys!
What a major mistake that was!


When I went to take Smokey home,man oh man was she p.o. at me
She tried to bite me,she growled at me,would NOT come out of her house for another week. I later found out that the pet store treated her like DIRT! They didn't change the carpet on her house floor once..didn't even offer her any toys I brought with me,in fact,they GAVE her toys to OTHER birds!!! There was zero proof of her being fed her fruit/veggies..since they never changed her papers,there would have been evidence (fruit/veggie) pieces on the papers,and there should have been evidence of seed/pellet remnants and there wasn't!
I should have SUED them for animal neglect and abuse!!!
Never EVER did I do that again!

Then Amy came a long. My Mom was older and she didn't travel anymore so if I had to go someplace she took care of the fids. After Mom passed away,either my brother or the fids "Uncle Joe" would come by to take care of them,stay for an hour or so and let them out and watch tv.

Now,needless to say, I havn't been away for more than one night,in about twelve years


Jim