How to Find a Capable Birdsitter Before Your Next Vacation

It is usually easy to locate a dog or a cat sitter when you go on holidays. However, exotic pets like birds require special attention. Finding somebody who can care for your avian friend may prove to be a difficult task. These tips should help.

It is usually easy to locate a dog or a cat sitter when you go on holidays. However, exotic pets like birds require special attention. Finding somebody who can care for your avian friend may prove to be a difficult task. These tips should help.

Locate an Appropriate Candidate

Explore the following suggestions for initial contact.

• Talk to the nearest avian veterinarian or your local vet. They may know of someone, or there might even be someone in their office who would be willing to sit for you.

• Meet with other bird owners. This step is easier if you have a local bird club, but the local pet store or avian vet might be able to help.

• Check with bird rescue societies. They usually have volunteers who foster birds, and there might be a vacancy with one of their members.

• Ask the pet store. Some stores have avian boarding facilities.

• Search on Facebook and other social media sites.

• Go to pet forums on the Internet, and make appropriate inquiries.

• Check ads in classified sections of bird magazines.

• Consider hiring a dedicated house sitter.

• Advertise on bulletin boards in the pet store and vet's office.

Arrange for a sitter months in advance. Leaving it until the last minute could mean that you will not be able to find anyone.

You can also search the Internet for a bird sitter in your local area by going to your favorite search engine, and searching for "pet sitting birds YOUR LOCATION", without the quotes.

The local SPCA, even if they have the facilities, would not be the best choice for temporary boarding. Birds should not be exposed to cats. Cats carry pasteurella, which, even with minimal contact, can be fatal to birds in as little as 24 hours.

Find housesitting sites by searching for "house sitters directory international", without the quotes.

Screen the Sitter

• Ideally, your sitter should have previous experience caring for or owning birds.

• A sitter should be easy to contact; i.e., reachable by cellphone at all times.

• Before you hand over the keys to your house, you need to know that you have found a reliable bird minder. Are they bonded? And insured? Can they provide references? Do they have a printed list of fees and services?

• If the sitter owns birds, or is taking care of someone else's birds, they must be meticulous about sanitary procedures in order to prevent transferring disease.

• What happens if your sitter becomes ill? Is there a backup plan? Establish the contingencies in advance.

• There should be a clear understanding of how many times daily the sitter will visit your home.

• Will they spend time interacting with your bird? Clarify your expectations.

• A minder or housesitter should not bring another pet into your home while you are away.

• If you board your bird at a pet store, it might be exposed to diseases carried by other avian residents.

Prepare Before You Leave

• Consider purchasing a birdsitter DVD to keep your pet company. Play it several times in the weeks before you leave, so that the DVD isn't associated with your absence.

• Have bird and sitter meet ahead of time to see if they get along. Your bird might prefer someone of the same gender as its primary caregiver, or there could be other reasons why it rejects the company of your potential minder.

• Make sure that you have a carrier or travel cage for transport to the vet in case of emergency.

• Leave instructions about feeding and medical emergencies. Explicitly detail safety precautions such as:

- No Teflon on the stove
- No junk food
- No smoking
- No air fresheners
- No harsh cleaning chemicals

• Further information should include:

- Signs of illness
- Name(s) of bird(s)
- Hatch date(s)
- Sex(es)
- Contact information for your veterinarian
- Contact information for a friend who is familiar with your pet
- Detailed itinerary and/or contact information for you and/or travel companions

There is no such thing as too much detail.


• Equip the cage with lots of toys to help eliminate boredom.

• Familiarize your birds with the concept of "days" months before you leave. For example, mine understand that one bedtime equals one day. Before I leave, I tell them that I will be gone for a specific number of bedtimes.

• Investigate timers for TV and lights, and install them weeks or months before you go, in order to ensure that they work efficiently.

• Get the sitter to repeat all last-minute verbal instructions back to you so that you are sure they understand, and then watch while they write them on a piece of paper or type them into their tablet or smartphone.

(c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann: This article is free to publish only if this copyright notice, the byline, and the author's note below (with active links) are included.

About the Author:

Are you looking for more travel information? Kathy has written two books of travel tips that you can purchase for your eReader, tablet, or smartphone, and take with you on your next trip: Top Tips for Packing Your Suitcase - how, why, and what to pack for your next travel adventure, and Top Tips for Travel by Air - over 300 targeted travel tips. Article source: 111 Travel Directory: Triple1.com (triple one dot com)