Abstract
Finding bird care while you go away on vacation can be far more stressful and difficult than finding childcare. After all, experienced babysitters outnumber experienced bird sitters and who wants to trust a precious bird to a novice who may fear beaks?
A single pet bird can sometimes be taken to the home of a friend - but the friend must be familiar with birds. Anything ranging from three birds in ample cages to a large group can present major problems. Will someone come over twice daily to feed, check, and clean? Once daily? Would someone bird-sit in the house? This someone can be hard to find for, incredible as it seems, not everybody likes birds; and some who like them, such as the five year old next door, cannot be relied upon to care for them.
One couple I know does not go anywhere together for more than a weekend when they can leave their parrots with adequate pellets and water for a couple of days. Such a solution will not suit everyone. Highly imaginative worriers would never be comfortable leaving their birds alone for even twenty-four hours.
Any breeder knows that spouses or significant others cannot vacation together during handfeeding times. Some couples never get a chance to vacation together at all and they are fortunate if they believe separate vacations improve their marriages. Still others simply give up on vacations - all their spare dollars go the birds, anyway. This article will consider such breeders as a breed apart and address itself to the moderate types who feel that a twoweek getaway with spouse or partner is all that stands between them and an explosion that will terrorize the entire family and neighborhood, causing grave psychological scars to all concerned. You know the feeling.
If you are not already an active member of a local bird club, vacation alone is reason enough to join. Just placing a "Birdsitting Needed" ad in the club newsletter is not likely to get results unless you mention a very attractive sum of money to go with the birds. And the whole point here is to get bird care at low cost, right? The best method is to attend meetings, call your club friends, and ask, ask, ask. Word of mouth and personal reference are the best ways to make contacts just as they are the most effective ways to find a job. Why? Because people are much more likely to help you-the-person than you-the-ad.
Among your club friends there may be someone willing to look after your birds in their own home or in yours if you are lucky enough to live near each other. Or these people will help you spread a network by referring you to other people they know. You may end up, after twenty-five calls, contacting the third cousin twice removed of a friend of a friend that a club member met at an office party two years ago but if you get results, the long search will be worth it. Also, getting references from people you trust is helpful in determining whether or not to trust a stranger. You might not find any one person who will take all your birds but even if you have to go to the trouble of taking your birds to several different homes, you will be setting up your own network for now and the future.
If the bird club scheme does not work or you have no local club, there are pet shops and veterinarians who will board birds. For most people, this boarding is a last resort because it can be very costly and often requires additional health exams even if you had your birds checked only a few months ago. And you may not like the idea of your pet being cared for by busy people who cannot give it the TLC it deserves. If, however, you are very friendly with a salesclerk, perhaps you can make personal arrangements for home care.
Another solution is to rely on family, friends, neighbors who may not much like birds but like you. Even if they do not give you the wholehearted devotion you undoubtedly deserve, maybe somebody owes you a favor. You might pay your caretaker; you might work out an exchange of services. In order to preserve friendships and make sure your bird ( or birds) gets good care, write everything down. Go ahead and assume your caretaker is only dimly aware that birds have feathers and fly; it is better to inform too much than too little. Simplify and streamline your care routine as much as possible and describe not only what the bird eats, when, and how much, but also how to prepare the food and get it in and out of the cage. If you have a bird that likes to lunge at hands entering the cage, as I do, take steps to ensure your caretaker's safety. Maybe you will have to alter the cage by making a special food door. The same goes for birds that expect to be let out whenever the door opens. In such a case, it is better to make your bird stay in its cage all day rather than risk it to a well meaning person who may be unable to handle it. Lack of exercise is preferable to a terrified (both bird and caretaker) chase around the room, risking injury or escape. Even the sweetest bird can turn into a tyrant when it realizes the hand that feeds is shaking. Or the person may handle the bird too roughly and you will come home to a grumpy bird you will need to retrain.
When you are trying to educate the novice, give your imagination full reign. No event is too outrageous to envision and explain. Do not forget the mundane side. Leave notes on cleaning the cage and utensils, covering the cage or not, and the bird's habits and idiosyncracies. Describe the bird's usual activities and behavior; what is normal in your eyes may look sick in someone else's. The less you stress your caretaker, the less you will stress your bird. But do not tell the caretaker that you care more about the bird's comfort than hers or your own. She may think you are overdoing it; whereas a bird owner knows you can never overdo proper care.