vacation

[lute]

i have a cockatiel and i love him and i only want the best for him....i am going on vacation and i don't want to leave him behind,but i have to....what do i do with him while i'm gone? i live too out of the way for someone to come and care for him everyday. we will be gone for a week or more. i can't board him.it is too expensive. what do i do?
any ideas?

[shellonabeach]

Do you have any friends at work/relatives who may be able to care for him in their homes while you are gone?

I don't know how tame/friendly he is but perhaps he could be "borrowed" by a family who are thinking of having a bird in their house - this way they get practice without the total commitment. But of course the "practice" is on your boy!!

If you do leave him with someone be sure to have something written to say if he needs vet care they should get it and you will pay all costs - that way all angles are covered.

[popcornbird]

We go on vacation often and never board our tiels. When we go by car, they normally come along, but if we go by plane, they stay with a friend while we are gone. We have several friends that have birds of their own, or have had birds, so they have plenty of experience and I can trust them. We have even left the tiels with a friend (at their house) for a month once. Its always stressful to leave a pet behind while you go on vacation, but hopefully he'll be just fine. I recommend asking a trustable friend, preferable with no small children, to care for you baby in their home while you are gone. Make a list of instructions and concerns such as feeding instructions, how to hold him/play with him, how to put him to sleep etc. along with concerns like not using perfumes/chemicals around him, keeping him far from the kitchen in a well ventilated area if/when using teflon cookware; preferably not using them at all during his stay, and not self cleaning the oven while he is there. Also, be sure to have his vet's name and number on the list, and write any concern you may have. Hopefully he'll be just fine. Let us know how everything turns out!