Should he come too?

We are planning on visiting my family for 10 days. We were talking about boarding Ozzy at the locat pet store that specializes in birds. He will not be in the bird room, he will be out in the main part of the store by the counter. He will get lots of interaction with customers then...though he is used to being out of his cage all day :-( He is such a good QUIET conure. I am worried that he will learn bad screaming habits from the other birds. What does everyone think?

We are taking the dogs on the plane (the flight is 2 hours and 45 minutes)...so we are discussing taking him as well... If i do I will buy a carrier and he can sleep in it at night next to our bed so that he adjusts and it is comforting to him)

Should we take him with us? Leave him at the pet store? Will he be ok if we leave him at the pet store for 10 days?

I am so worried about my poor baby!!!!

That's a toughy. He can be taught to get rid of any bad habits he picks up while he's there. 10 days sounds like an eternity, but I'm sure he'll be okay in that area. Personally, I'd be worried him staying healthy.

Is there anyone you can have come bird sit for you? That would be much less stress on him. I'm betting you've already looked into this, but I gotta ask.

Can you get and swabbing test results from the pet store? This may be a lot to ask, but if they get periodic testing done for standard and/or serious birdie illnesses, they may be able to give those results to you.

If you're comfortable with this business, keep a good relationship with them. Boarding facilities and resources like that are priceless.

The first thing to think of is if your bird will pick up some viruses or other lingering or even new diseases. Personally, I would never in a million leave my bird in a store. I would look for someone to bird sit that I trust. Othwise take him with you.

Like the posts above, I wouldn't leave my birds at a petshop either!!!! You really never know what he can catch.... either bring him along or find a friend to watch him....

I am leaning towards taking him. Our family and friends are all in Michigan. The friends that we have made here are not "pet friendly" which drives me crazy. I don't want to leave him home for 10 days with someone to check on him every couple days because 1. He will be bored out of his mind, and 2. We have a cat (I don't want to leave them together that long). My boyfriend has a coworker who will stop to see the cat. I would ask her to watch him because her family does like animals. She has 5 cats, a parakeet (never comes out of his cage), and a dog though. I am scared that if Oscar is on top of his cage he will be left alone and a cat will get him. He likes to jump down and find people when they leave the room. I just don't trust the situation :-( We love him too much to risk that.

I'm just telling you what I would do.

I would never take a parrot with me on a trip, as I am a control freak, and I have less control over the environment when we travel. Who knows what cleaning chemicals they clean the hotel room with? What happens if their A/C or heater breaks down? What if the car gets stranded in a snow storm? As you can see, I am a worry wart when it comes to the fid.

I also would never put my bird up at a Communicable Parrot Disease Center; i.e. pet store. I'm sure there are reputable stores out there, but my imagination would run wild, and I could not enjoy my trip.

I would figure out a way to have someone you really trust come over at least a couple hours every day day to sit with the bird, feed/water it, watch TV with it, make sure the A/C is working, etc. Sweeten the pot however you have to. Rent them movies, give them free pizza gift certificates to use while they are there, promise to take them out to dinner when you get back...there is something you can offer them to compensate them. Personally, I always try to be a helpful son to my elderly parents. I would be regardless, but it is always a good card to pull out when a fid needs watching too.

I think the pros of having a competent bird sitter are far greater than the pros of any other choice here.

Again.....just my take on it.

What the above post said is right on.... I stock the fridge with anything they want. I ask ahead before grocery shopping. They have cable to watch, internet to surf, games to play.... its exactly what I did before leaving my Willie at home. I also ask them to leave the tv on childrens program all day for my bird to watch.

Thank you so much guys We really don't have anyone that can stay here though. We are a young couple who moved away from all of our family and friends from Michigan to Florida. We have not met anyone who can stay with him yet. Any friends that we have made will not take him :-( So, I bought him a carrier. We are taking an airplane and not driving. We carry them on and they go under the seat at our feet. The dogs are coming too. He loves them so will have comfort being near them. The flight is 2 hours and 15 minutes. Luckily it is at the time of the day that he takes his nap. I will work with him and the carrier. Lots of treats and love while he slowly adjusts to it. I want to hame him sleep in it next to my bed at night too.

Other than boarding him this is really our only choice :-( I will still try to talk to people about opening up their homes to him though.

tlouise,

If that is all you can do, then we will just have to hope for the best. You will not be the first person to take their bird with them. Just please, give it a lot of thought, and try to be prepared for any contingency. Fids are just so much more fragile than a dog or cat.