Hello,

I will be going to Fiji with my wife soon and thus leaving my ekkie with a bird boarder(she's great by the way and has her own flock of 7 ekkies) and I just am a little worried as I have never left him for my than 2 days.

I mean would he be stressed out because we will be gone for so long?

Will he be angry with us for leaving him?

Does anyone have any experience with leaving their bird for long periods of time?

Thanks in advance.

I used to have my mom watch my amazon when my husband and I would go out of town (she has 3 parrots herself), on a few occasions for a week to 10 days. He was always fine. A tad pissy for a day or 2 after we got home (I can't believe you left me behind!) but it never caused lingering issues. If anything, he was always more excited when we came back for him and he got to go back to his calm, quiet home (her birds are a lot noisier and 'friendlier' than him lol).

Make sure you leave your birds regular food/treats with the boarder, along with his favorite toys and nighttime cover. Expect him to be a little 'upset' with you that first few days after you get back (a little extra shameless bribery with treats and love never hurts!) before he forgives you for not taking him along Parrots are pretty resilient and forgiving when you come back for them, and they do get used to the idea of the concept of vacations over the years (and that they aren't being abandoned permanently).

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I've boarded mine for a week or two.

They get a bit clingy when I get home, but other than that, they've been fine.

I've been gone for a month at a time while my boyfriend or his parents watch our birds. Every time I come back, my IRN clings to me and for about a week has very obvious attachment issues and anxiety. Then he calms down again. My GCC is more like, "Pfft, it's about damn time you got back", and holds a little grudge against me. But it's never created a long-term problem or anything like that

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- Chantal

We returned recently from a week away, Gizmo (our male), was clearly annoyed for a few days, but Pebbles (our female) handled it better. We only really had some issues convincing Gizmo to go back in his cage for a few days (he obviously thought if we can't put him back, we can't go away again)

Cheers,

Cameron

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience. Makes me feel a little better about it now.

The first time I left him for 2 days when we came back to get him for about the whole car ride back home and 2 hours after he was squawking loudly in these 2 second intervals.

The real reason I got worried was I read this story online of someone with a Cockatoo who started college and thus would be only coming back home every month or so. After the first time he left his Cockatoo and returned approximately a month later the Cockatoo started chasing and attacking him on sight and the Cockatoo never seemed to come around to the fact of him being gone for so long.

I suspect your Ekkie will be just fine!

My job has me away from home for 3 to 4 consecutive days followed by 3 or 4 uninterrupted days off at home. It is a fairly consistent cycle my flock has come to accept. At least one Goffin has made the connection when I check on them just before departing dressed in uniform, and he's rather pissy. The Toos are most clingy my first day off; the other species less so.

In my experience Ekkies tend to be a bit more emotionally stoic than Toos.

The longest I left Oliver was 5 days and it happened to be my first time away from him. My husband and son reported he was very quiet and didn't have his usual appetite. Upon my return, when I walked through the door (his cage is straight ahead when you enter my home) he had his head bowed low and looked very sad...I bawled. But....since then...he does okay but always happy for my return. He's never pissy when I leave and return but more on the clingy side. Your situation sounds much better in that your caretaker will most likely take your baby out and play with him where my family is a bit skiddish of Oliver. They have learned to open the door for short spurts to let him out which helps a bit.

Based on experience with our two male ekkies, you can expect some emotional behavior. Winston, our older male would have nothing to do with my wife for weeks after a one night stay with friends. Montego the younger was is still angry with me for leaving for a week in May.