Boarding or Bird Sitting?

[BirdyMomma]

OK, I'm really interested in everyone's opinions and experience so please share with me.

When you go away, either on vacation, or with work, do you board your birds, or do you have a pet sitter come in and visit your home?

Please state how many birds, what kind of birds you have and your reasons for choosing whichever option you did.

Thanks. I look forward to learning from your experience, and I'm sure it will help me when the time comes for me to make this difficult decision.

 

[Lovie]

I have a single lovebird and, though I haven't had to do so yet, I would board my bird. My friends or relatives (the only people I would bring into my home) don't really know much about my bird or what it needs, and I would rather have someone who knows more about birds to take care of it when I'm gone.

 

[BirdyMomma]

Thanks Lovie.
I was thinking about that. About having someone around constantly who understands a birds particular needs. But I also am concerned with how it would affect my bird to be removed from the familiar environment of our home. I mean, if I'm not there, and I'm the most familiar and comforting face, at least their surroundings will be the same until I return.

 

[Mattroma]

Last time I went away I boarded my Mac at a bird shop and boarded my budgies at my sister in laws.. When with the shop for the Mac because the owners has a lot of experience with macs and I knew he would get plenty of action and be well cared for.
I'm going away for 2 nights this summer and think my father in law may watch him then. My Mac loves him now and for two nights it is a little easier to get him there.

 

[Mekaisto]

I spent a year working at a bird boarding centre. We'd get everything in, from big noisy black cockatoos and macaws, down to tiny finches and budgerigars.

I can only speak for the place I worked at, because every centre will be different, but we never had any issues. Everything was disinfected and sterilised, birds had to get vet checks before being coming to us, and birds would never be let out for free time with other birds.
Birds got pellets along with fresh fruit and veg daily, and at least half an hour of play time a day (doesn't sound like much, but they had a whole flock of birds to talk to at every hour of the day!)

We never had birds who became depressed, owners would bring familiar toys along with them so at least birds had something from home to play with.

Many parrots would make 'bird friends', and would get a bit sad when they finally went home, haha.

 

[TessieB]

I only use a pet sitter. Because of disease transmission possibility, I would never consider boarding any pet away from my home. Besides, I have horses and need someone to care for them when I'm away and taking care of the other critters is part of the job.

Since I've worked in the veterinary business for over 26 years I can tell you a few horror stories, but the most common issue is respiratory disease. Cats get URI and dogs get kennel cough. Birds get stressed, go off their feed, and get respiratory problems. Older pets seem to have the most difficult time.

However, there are many people who take their animals to boarding facilities and don't have any problems. These animals are well socialized, like to travel, and are happy where ever they go. Owners know their pets better than anyone. If your bird gets out on a regular basis, is taken for walks, meets new people with no problem-then your bird is a good candidate for boarding.

Now if your bird is a nervous nellie that panics everytime someone enters their room, I'd consider having a petsitter care for your bird. Choose your petsitter with care. Have them visit daily for a few days before your vacation to allow your bird to become familiar with that particular person.

You can find a petsitter just about anywhere, but your most reliable source is your veterinarian. I've known technicians or assistants who will gladly assume the role as petsitter to supplement their income. Check references for those who claim to be a professional sitter.

Often a family member can do the job and may be the best choice in certain situations. Remember, if you are nervous (like me) about leaving your furred, feathered, finned family members you can always call on a daily basis to see how everyone is doing. Unless you are like my husband who has installed cameras to make visual confirmation that everyone is alive. Me? I'd like to have speakers on those cameras so I can talk to them. But hey, I'm supposed to be on vacation.

 

[Jayyj]

I have a friend who grew up around parrots, and is happy to house sit if I'm away for any length of time, which seems the ideal solution. Alice adores him (she has a thing for bearded men!) so that helps, and I check in on Skype, which she doesn't entirely understand but it makes me feel better to be able to see her looking happy and comfortable. I'm working on getting her used to being at my Mum's house as well in case she ever needs to stay there, and once she's travelling in the car happily I hope to be taking her more places, so hopefully our options will increase as time goes on. I definitely prefer her being with someone she knows if possible.

 

[MonicaMc]

I've done both in regards to pets.

I've never hired a pet sitter to come into my home to take care of my critters, but I have had family members watch over my critters, boarded my birds at a bird store once, and had a pet sitter watch my dog in her home. He was loved so much that I'm surprised I got him back! LOL


I'm going away on vacation again later this year and I don't think I'll be able to rely on family to watch over the critters. Well, the cats are likely to stay at home and as long as they have food, they'd be fine! My sister may be able to check up on them every now and then. She could also watch over my dog as well, although I think she may be busy enough with a newborn and toddler then.


As far as the birds.... well, depending on what happens (if anything) between now and then, I may have the same pet sitter take care of my birds, or may have friends do it, even though they know very little about caring for birds and one of them is afraid of one of the birds!


Or I could have the pet sitter come in and check on the critters in the morning and my sister could do so in the evening.



Really still figuring that part out.... although I would prefer it if I could board my bourke parakeet somewhere where I'd know she'd be ok. Kind of afraid that if I leave her in the hands of someone incompetent, she might pass away while I'm gone. I can't take her with me, but I would feel more comfortable if there was someone who could closely monitor her health while I'm away.

 

[Birdman666]

I have five. I have done both.

When I was in California, I used to board them regularly down at the rescue. I knew those people, and they knew my birds, and my birds went there to play on a regular basis. So, they got pampered...

I don't have anything like that out here. So I pay someone to come in and feed them and change their water twice a day.

The advantages of boarding are that they were with people I trusted. The disadvantages, were that they actually had to be caged. And it cost more.

The advantages of keeping them at home are that they are out and in familiar surroundings. The disadvantages are that no one is there to watch them or play with them, and the person who comes in only comes in twice a day to change the food and water.

I have five. Two macaws. Two amazons and a CAG.

 

[Terry57]

I have not had to deal with this since we haven't gone anywhere since we got the birds, but we would have to hire in a pet sitter to come here. We have way too many birds to board. Also there are only 2 options here for boarding birds that I know of, and one is also a rescue, and she takes birds in on an emergency basis, which would scare me, and the other is a pet shop who only feeds his own birds seeds. He told me that they don't believe in feeding veggies.

I think boarding would be fine if there was a good one close to you like some people had mentioned above.

 

[Zumaria]

I have a CAG (Jenga) and a cat.

The rescue that I adopted her from would board her, cheaply, but I instead opt for a pet sitter. My sitter has an african grey herself so she's very familiar and skilled which was the tie breaker. She also lives with her family so she likes staying at my house as an escape from home and so she would be there 24/7.

This august I'm going to be gone for 10 days and if I didn't have my friend I would have probably boarded jenga and had someone stop by to feed the cat. I think boarding is better for Jenga. I know she'd prefer to be at home and would be scared at the rescue, but for her own protection, I would rather board her with people who know birds than leave her for so long with people who don't and who would just be 'stopping by'.

 

[SilverSage]

I always get a sitter for several reasons, in no particular order

I don't do one bird at a time, I have not owned one bird at a time since I was 11 years old. They are like potato chips to me! So it is pretty expensive to board them, but the price typically doesnt go up much for additional pets when they come to your home. Right now I have 3 birds, one GCC and two Maxi Pionus.

I don't have a way to control what other birds the boarding facility would accept, who KNOWS what kinds of things they could be exposed to??

The stress on the bird. I think they are much happier at home, especially since they have each other for comfort and companionship, the less I can disrupt their lives the better.

Home security. I always have a trusted friend help out rather than a business, and they bring in the mail and turn on various lights, take a walk around, etc. It makes it less likely that my house will look empty and invite burglars.

I am paranoid about transportation. I have owned birds since childhood, and sadly my very large family of kids did not really follow my childish instructions, and I have suffered the heart ache of birds escaping. I am deathly afraid of losing my birds to a dropped cage, car crash, loose door, anything. I would much rather not risk it.


That said, I do not look down on people who board their birds, I just don't see it as the best option for my birds.

 

[newclassic]

The local parrot shop offers boarding; the 40+ perpetually-shrieking parrots crammed in a back room--a completely new, noisy environment--can either be stressful or stimulating. We boarded our birds in the past, but now have a close relative come over and house-sit; we don't have them out of their cages when we're gone, so he basically just changes the food/water and keeps them company. I don't think he does any worse a job than the part-time teen employees at the parrot shop.

 

[Kiwibird]

Getting in a little late here, but I ALWAYS hire a sitter or have someone I know/trust come over to take care of Kiwi when we're gone. It's worth the extra expense to me. I don't know what kind of diseases he could pick up from another bird at a place that boards bird, and the extra cost is well worth it to keep my healthy bird healthy.

 

[Sheryl]

I have a GW, B&G and CAG. They have an aviary so don't have to be in their cage unless they want to be. I never board. I had a sitter for 12 years that was a wildlife rehabber -- primarily birds. And I had a girl for a year who had worked as a parrot trainer in a park in Florida and had a CAG of her own. But it is hard to find the right person -- someone who isn't scared of Macaws. We have a webcam in the aviary so I do get to check in on them. I hate vacations. But my husband doesn't so I have to deal with my leaving home phobia.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'm late, too, I hope that's ok.

I have 4 (large) parrots and 2 (very large) dogs. NONE of my animals have ever been, nor will they ever be boarded I've seen the boarding facilities in my area, and I'd rather never go on a trip again than leave my birds in either of those places.

Now last year we (all of us) took several trips down to Georgia. I "hired" my youngest son's "then" GF to live here and take care of all my pets. I paid her well ($100/day), and that included free range to our food and drinks (abundance, I promise). All went well. We were only gone for 3 days/3 nights.

Now I'm seriously planning on visiting my oldest son in CA, and I can only do this if my husband takes off work to care for the mini zoo, OR I would have to find someone to care for them AT HOME, only I would need to interview such person EXTENSIVELY.

I just don't have it in me to board my pets. My last neighbor lost her Dalmation 3 days after they got back from their vacation, and he was boarded in a "supposedly" stellar facility. They were gone for 2 weeks, and the dog REFUSED any and all food while being boarded.

 

[BirdyMomma]

I don't mind how long it takes anyone to answer this question, as it's VERY important to me, and I asked it way, way far in advance, on purpose

I don't think I could board my babies, but I did have to entertain the thought because I really havent the faintest clue as to how I could find a suitable sitter. Honestly, whoever it will be is going to have to spend several sessions with me, learning how to interact with our birds.

We have always been mad travelers. My boyfriend is a reservist, and he is expiditionary. He goes on orders all over the world, and I have been fortunate enough to have been able to meet up with him in a lot of awesome places. We also are avid SCUBA divers and there's not too much of that going on in good ol' New York. Since becoming bird parents, we have only been gone once, for three days, in Virginia. That was when we only had Bacci, and we just brought him with us.

I feel as if we actually need to start planning short trips, where we leave the birds home with my mom for a night or two, just to get them used to us not being there. Any more time than that, will require the assistance of a sitter. My mom LOVES the birds, but she is 75 and not overly confident handling them. Also, I do not want to have her stressing, and with no help. My goal is to find someone who will come in for an hour or two, while my mom is there, and take the birds out. Play with them, train with them a bit, and clean their cages. Mom loves to feed them, and would keep them company while they are in their cages.

 

[hacatta]

Am i glad i hate going away on vacation.
I haven't been on 1 in more than 10 years.
My mother trough goes camping almost a few days a week,guess who may take care of her 8 parrots,2 ferrets,2 rabbits and 1 dog.......
And my sister who is rather by her boyfriend than at home,and she has 4 rats...so much for free time.