Can I leave them for 1 week ?

[inex]

I have 7 society finches in a big cage.
Sometimes I leave them for 2 -3 days and they seem fine.
Now I am going on vacation for a week and I have nobody to take care of them.
Can I leave them alone ?

[Sally]

I routinely leave mine for 2-3 days without problems, but any longer than that, and I have a pet sitter who comes in each day to check on them, change water, etc. Even if you leave a lot of water, it can go bad in that period of time, or you never know when the container may leak and they are left without any water. With seeds, unless you use one of those outdoor bird feeders, most feeders/dishes will get covered with empty hulls. Some birds will forage through the empty hulls for the good seed underneath, but many will starve, not realizing there is food available. You wouldn't have to have cages cleaned, just water changed out and seed topped off/refilled, wouldn't take a pet sitter any time at all.

If there is no one to come into your house to check on them or you aren't comfortable having a stranger in your house, you could always look into getting several small cages and boarding them at a pet shop or with a pet sitter.

[MariusStegmann]

I have left my birds alone for about a week before without any problems. I have an outside aviary and I just put up a couple kg of seed into 3 seedfeeders and filled up couple of waterfeeders. The kind that holds 2 litres of water. I also put a couple of watercontainers out in the aviary for bathing. When I came back all the containers except the bathing ones were still full. Society finches should be ok with just seed for a week.

[MiaCarter]

Sally --- I agree.

I wouldn't leave them alone due to the risks of fouled water and food problems.

The only way I'd do it would be if I'd tested it out while I was present. So stock the cage for a week and then monitor over the week to ensure they're okay and troubleshoot any problems that arise.

But even then, you never know when a water can leak leaving them without water.

Really, peace of mind would require boarding them.You could call a boarding facility or call your vet to request a referral for a pet sitter.

[Corkysgirl]

The other issue that may arise is a sick or injured bird and you won't be there to tend to it's needs if this should occur. If you have someone look in on them you could instruct them to put a heat lamp, give liquid calcium (in case of egg binding, etc) or whatever other need arises. What part of the country are you located? Sometimes you can find bonded caretakers that can come in...if you don't have a friend or relative to do it. This is what I used for my pets when I went out of town.

[Madcat]

I went on vacation this year. Didn't have someone to care for them. Got some good advice from a friend on this forum . I purchased 2 vacation feeders for each cage (3). Filled all to the top. Bought several water tubes for each ( the kind with the little gully at the bottom) I removed all free standing water dishes and bird baths so not to have them poop in water and perhaps ingest. I removed anything "extra" . Only left perches. I filed 3 treat cups in each cage with herb salad millet and dried egg food. When I came back I quickly ran in the house to see if everyone made it. They did! I looked at the water tubes and they were low maybe a day left of water. ( I was gone for 6 days). Vacation feeders worked perfectly. But still....I was worried the whole time.