Question about leaving finches alone for a weekend...

[Dragonseer]

Hello, Everyone.

I'm new here but am not new to birds. (I haven't lived with any for the last 8 years, though.)

I feel ready to get a few birds in the near future and am leaning toward Zebra finches due to their gregarious nature, (relative) ease of care, and (potential) longevity.

My husband's family lives 2.5 hours from us. For the last 8.5 years, we've had pets with health issues; so we never stay overnight in MI, though that would be soooo much easier/nice, at least sometimes.

So my question is this: if we get 2 (or 4) Zebra finches, is it generally okay to leave them caged, but unattended, for 2 days' time? Of course, I'd make certain that they'd have plenty of fresh food/water and that all potential cage escapes are thwarted (with some type of "lock" on the cage door).

Thank you,

J

 

[Sylvi_]

I would get someone to stop in daily, as water needs to be changed at least once daily.
It's also recommended to give fresh veggies/fruit, along with pellets and seed.
So the person that stops in will have to give the fresh food.
I personally wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my birds completely unattended for 2 whole days, so a bird-sitter or friend to stop in once or twice a day could be a good option.

Welcome to AA, hope you enjoy the forum!

 

[Dragonseer]

I would get someone to stop in daily, as water needs to be changed at least once daily.
It's also recommended to give fresh veggies/fruit, along with pellets and seed.
So the person that stops in will have to give the fresh food.
I personally wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my birds completely unattended for 2 whole days, so a bird-sitter or friend to stop in once or twice a day could be a good option.

In my heart of hearts, I know that you're right, though I don't know who we'd ask to do so. (We don't know our neighbors that well, and I'm certain that my husband wouldn't want the regular expense of a pet-sitter for us taking weekend trips to see his family. We're not tight with money but are burned out on having spent an obscene amount for the care of the 4 pets we have/had over the past 8.5 years, due to ongoing medical issues.)

So I either rethink the idea of getting finches, consider boarding them at my exotics vet clinic (if that wouldn't stress them too much), or opt for paying a pet-sitter. Well, at least I have time to dwell on the options in front of me.

Welcome to AA, hope you enjoy the forum!

Thank you very much!

 

[Sweet Louise]

I've had great luck with a pet sitter and it hasn't been at that much of a cost...

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum!

I too have a great pet sitter and she's pretty inexpensive. I actually found her on Care.com and was pleasantly surprised at the number of seemingly good selections there.

 

[Dragonseer]

I've had great luck with a pet sitter and it hasn't been at that much of a cost...

In the past, our 4 pets required two pet-sitting visits per day and a lengthy bit of time for their care/exercise; so we paid $60/day. (I know that someone coming in to feed/water and check on our birds once per day would cost roughly $25-$30, if I recall typical pet-sitting fees in our area.)

We're not cheap in terms of our pets' care. (If we were, we wouldn't have spent so much on vet bills in the last 8.5 years. ) But I'm not certain that I'll sell my husband on the idea of having birds again, if we can't find a friend/family member to watch them for us; I already know that he won't want to increase the cost of visiting his family--on top of the cost of gas and eating out.

Well, as I've said, there is time to consider all of our options, as I'm not rushing into anything. In the meantime, I'll need to get my "bird fix" by visiting pet stores and lurking on these forums.

 

[MommyBird]

Is there any reason the finches couldn't "go visit grandma" with you?
They would travel well (with a few precautions) and a travel cage for them would be inexpensive.

 

[JLcribber]

So I either rethink the idea of getting finches

Seems like the best solution for everyone if you're going away every weekend. Wanting something just for the sake of having it isn't always the best idea.

How many pets do you want?

 

[Dragonseer]

Is there any reason the finches couldn't "go visit grandma" with you?
They would travel well (with a few precautions) and a travel cage for them would be inexpensive.

It would be "Grandma" we'd be staying with D), but, yes, there's a chance that any future birds could travel with us. (I wasn't certain if finches would stress about car travel and, especially, about staying in a new environment for 2 days before braving another car ride home.)

 

[Dragonseer]

Seems like the best solution for everyone if you're going away every weekend. Wanting something just for the sake of having it isn't always the best idea.

I should've specified that we only make 3-4 trips to visit family per year; so not nearly every weekend. We, for the most part, are homebodies. (If we weren't, our previous pets--and our surviving girl--wouldn't have lived nearly as long as they did without our vigilant supervision.)

How many pets do you want?

My total cap off of pets in the future would be three--with one exception: 2 or 4 finches, kept in one cage, I would count, in a sense, as one pet. (I know that it's multiple pets, but it's only one cage to clean and one feeding/watering to do per that cage.) But any other caged bird, or any other animal species, would be counted individually.

 

[Lady Jane]

You definitely need someone to check on them Accidents can happen in a flash. Birds can get caught in something or get in fights or illness. There are professional pet sitting companies and a sub forum here I think for bird sitters.

Bird Sitting...

 

[Dragonseer]

You definitely need someone to check on them Accidents can happen in a flash. Birds can get caught in something or get in fights or illness. There are professional pet sitting companies and a sub forum here I think for bird sitters.

Bird Sitting...

Thank you for the link to potential bird sitters.

 

[wyrinth]

I've left birds for three days with plenty of water, I use the gravity wateres for the canaries, I'm always afraid the ones with the balls will get jammed. That way, if one of the waters breaks/leaks/jams, there is a backup. And extra food dishes, enough for an extra day of food than you plan. I don't usually travel, but when I do, my family only comes every 2-3 days, so I've done this a few times. I als watched my dads canaries (he used to have many) and followed the same system. Yes, accidents can happen, but they can also occur while you're at work, or out to the store...etc.

 

[Dragonseer]

I've left birds for three days with plenty of water, I use the gravity wateres for the canaries, I'm always afraid the ones with the balls will get jammed. That way, if one of the waters breaks/leaks/jams, there is a backup. And extra food dishes, enough for an extra day of food than you plan.

I've read the same advice on other sites with regard to water dishes: use gravity-based ones, if you're not present to switch out the water for 1-2 days. And I can't argue with the idea of putting out more food than you'd think is necessary. Better to be safe than sorry, in that regard.

I don't usually travel, but when I do, my family only comes every 2-3 days, so I've done this a few times. I also watched my dads canaries (he used to have many) and followed the same system.

Same here: my husband and I don't travel much--only 3-4 trips to see his family per year. (For the past 7.5 years, we've not stayed anywhere overnight, due to having rabbits whose health couldn't be trusted more than 12 hours without my experienced eyes keeping watch over them.)

If we were to start taking vacations again someday and had birds at the time, I would have them watched by someone trustworthy.

Yes, accidents can happen, but they can also occur while you're at work, or out to the store...etc.

You make a valid point.

 

[mythic55]

Leaving finches for 2 days is not a problem if your enclosure is set up properly. Make sure your enclosure is SAFE (nothing to get caught in, no non bird products, etc).
Multiple food and water containers should be set up:

Do NOT provide fresh fruit, or veggies during your trip. Fruit in itself is not ideal for finches in the same amounts as parrots. The main staple of their diet should be sprouted seed- but in this instance the sprouted seed would also be omitted.
You should have their normal, plus have two tubes (one water and one food) a bathing dish and a string of millet.
I set up a web cam and check on them, but there should be no issue at all. Finches are not like other birds- and their care is actually very advanced if you include diet.... but provisions are simple. Normally finches are bred in enclosures which are only checked on every few days. They are not like parrots who dump dishes, or chew, etc.

 

[Dragonseer]

Leaving finches for 2 days is not a problem if your enclosure is set up properly. Make sure your enclosure is SAFE (nothing to get caught in, no non bird products, etc).
Multiple food and water containers should be set up:

Do NOT provide fresh fruit, or veggies during your trip. Fruit in itself is not ideal for finches in the same amounts as parrots. The main staple of their diet should be sprouted seed- but in this instance the sprouted seed would also be omitted.
You should have their normal, plus have two tubes (one water and one food) a bathing dish and a string of millet.
I set up a web cam and check on them, but there should be no issue at all. Finches are not like other birds- and their care is actually very advanced if you include diet.... but provisions are simple. Normally finches are bred in enclosures which are only checked on every few days. They are not like parrots who dump dishes, or chew, etc.

Your response means a lot to me and puts my mind at greater ease. And it likely will help my husband drop any reluctance to getting finches in the future, if we can make 3-4 overnight trips to his visit family per year without too much fuss over the birds (other than insuring that the cage setup is secure and plenty of non-perishable food/water is available).