Slightly worried

So my parents want to go up to the mountains this weekend to visit with family and that's fine I don't mind going normally but I haven't gone since I got Lincoln and I'm worried about him. I've never left him for more than 7 hours at max. My parents have given me the option to leave him and have a neighbor watch him or take him with. I don't have the option of staying behind with him. Both options have their pros and cons though and I don't really know what to do.

Take him with:
Pros: familiar person
I could play with him
Socialization
He could come out if the cage

Cons: he'd be in his small travel cage
Unfamiliar surrounding
Less toys

Leave him:

Pros: familiar area
Lots of toys
More room

Cons: stranger taking care of
Little socialization
No time out of cage.


I'm probably over reacting but I'm still new to this and I don't want to ruin my relationship with him. What do you guys think? My brother and I would only be going up for about 24 hours give or take so it wouldn't be long but even after just 7 hours away and having my parents check in on him now and again he gets clingy thinking imma leave again. If I did take him with I'd have him out of the carrier any chance that I get though I don't know how often that'd be because I'm not entirely sure what our plan is as of now. If I do leave him behind we have a neighbor that'd be taking care of our dogs and have taken care of my other small animals in the past (who would be fine without me for 24 hours) so I could trust him to look after Lincoln but when I first got him he was relatively cage territorial and would sometimes lunge at me when I stuck my hand in. He rarely bit all that hard and hadn't made me bleed until recently where he got a lil too excited about a new toy. I'm not too worried about him genuinely hurting them but I'm worried about him scaring them. He's a good bird, he's just not good around new people.

I don't know what to do! Ideally I'd like to take him with me but idk if he'd be okay in a travel cage for so long.

I've been through that. I can remember wanting to take my little lovie hen away with me for a holiday and my wife put her foot down, also I was worried that if she managed to fly off I'd never be able to find her. But I stressed for 2 days without her.

I'd leave him at home, personally. Ultimately he is going to have to get used to you being away from time to time. I also dont really like taking the birds into new environments in case there is something toxic, or they get out, or panic, though I do take my eckie hen out in the car sometimes when she gets too bossy, and it brings her back to earth.

That's good advice...there will be times when you will have to leave him alone, and this way he can learn that you will come back. And it's also good to have him get used to another person, so someone familiar can be with him if there is ever an emergency.

That's true but he also needs to get use to Unfamiliar places being safe and not scary because I'm gonna have to move out eventually and there's no way I'm leaving him behind. Not to mention once I'm able to get him into a flight harness I'd like to take him outside.

Again, ideally I'd like to take him with, would he be okay in a travel cage for so long? I'm at school right now but once I get home I can get its dimensions if that helps.

Fwiw imo I think it would be better for him to get used to you being away for periods of time, because that's much more likely to happen from time to time. Then after that he can travel outside or on errands or wherever you decide to go with him.
Ugh.. Lol.. Hope that makes sense to you. Had about 5 different things going on as I was trying to type this out.

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The longest I've had mine in a cat carrier style arrangement was about 3 hours. That said, I'm sure that being in a small cage (where they can at least perch normally) for a few days wouldnt hurt.

Back when I was a kid it was common for large parrots to be in small cages pretty much all of their lives (poor things), and if they are in care at the vets they are usually kept in pretty small cages or crates for a few days.

Yeah it's a small cage probably a foot and a half in every direction (L × W × H) it has a rope perch in it right now along with 2 toys but I'd likely move his foraging toy in and bring a couple other toys just to have them

Just reading along and wishing well...
I love how hard you're working/thinking on all this.
You're really one of us.

I'm faced with a similar situation, only I don't have the option of staying or bringing my birds. I'll be away for 2 weeks.

I'd leave him, get him use to you being away. I've done that in the past for only 24 hours (during a move). My birds were fine and they were so very happy to see me again when I went back to pick them up.


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The only problem I see with having him get use to it is since I got him I've had to leave him 7 hours a day 4 times a week for school and he still gets upset when I have to put him in the cage and clingy when I get home.

That's why I think getting him use to that is more important than taking him at this point. He and you will be fine either way tho 👍 it's just my opinion.


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You might be projecting some of your own anxieties onto Lincoln, but I shared similar anxieties about leaving Oscar when I first got him. Now, I go away for about four days at a time and leave him alone, albeit with my partner, who's not home much during the days, and he's fine.
Have you considered letting Lincoln out of his travel cage in the car? I let Oscar out of his cage in the car and he's fine. He just sits on our shoulders. He's a little excited to start with, but on long trips, he gets sleepy and usually just shuts his eyes and has a nap.

On the other hand...

We take the birds with us pretty much everywhere we go. They all have travel cages that are sized well enough for up to about 5-7 days, and we could even push it longer if we had to and made sure to have them out all the time. On the extremely rare occasion when both of us would have to fly somewhere (so rare it hasn't actually happened yet), we would board them at the vet's office where we know they'd get top notch care.

Don't you have an aviary somewhere around you that does boarding? if so I would go that way. the store I do business with does boarding in the store. that way he would be around bird folks that know of his needs. this clingy thing you speak of I think it is something you have to get used to with these birds. it does show they have stability with you and is interested in what you are up to. at least that is how I take Maxx I give him all kinds of cool spots to hang out all over his cage and a huge playstand, but after he is done raiding the food dish on the stand, he likes to spend his time on the back of a stool next to me at the counter getting petted and talked too and sneaking down on to the counter and getting into anything he can. but I'm never away for more then a few hours at a time so I have no idea on how any of them will act when that happens.

Take him with you. I try to take Salty on our away gigs for pirate festivals. He comes out in the car and in the hotel, but he's in the travel cage or pak-o-bird when we are on stage.
At least the times when I have to leave him, like when I go to China, I know Geri (his Mommie) is home .

You definitely want him to get used to traveling with you, and you also want him to get used to handling time without you. 24 hours is a good initial overnight stay. Not too long, but long enough to get him used to the idea of staying somewhere else for a night. So long as where you're going is reasonably bird-friendly and he would get at least some out time, I really don't see an issue with taking him along.

Well... so long as there wouldn't be an issue with screaming, either. Remember that you don't know how your bird would react to that kind of situation until he's actually in it. So be prepared for the possibility of a lot of screaming. If that wouldn't be a problem either, go with it. (My birds are quiet to the point of stealth when we go away, but I didn't know that would be the case until we actually got there. Know what I mean?)

Lincoln is relatively quiet and doesn't actually SCREAM unless you do something he doesn't like (usually related to touching him) or if he wants attention so I'm not too worried about him being noisy. When I first got him he was very chatty but he never screamed.

I did end taking him with me, in fact we're in the car right now (brothers driving) he's doing alright and the carrier Is more 2 ft x 2 1/2 ft x 2 1/2 feet. No exact measurements but it's my guesstimate based on looking at it. I put a couple toys in it including his foraging wheel which he loves and have a few toys, extra newspapers, treats, etc in a bag for him. He was little nervous at first but he seems to have calmed down and even looks like he might take a nap

I'd take him with. Bottom line is that you need him to get used to BOTH SITUATIONS, and since he's never been away from you for more than 7 hours, personally I'd rather ease him into longer periods of time slowly. Plus you'll feel better if he's with you.

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