Checklist: bird care during the holidays

🖨️ Keep it handy: print this page or save it as a PDF (Ctrl+P then “Save as PDF”) — fill in the blanks by hand and leave the sheet next to the cage.

Step 1 — Two weeks before you leave

The choice of solution (friend, pet-sitter, boarding) and the prices are compared in our bird care during the holidays guide.

• ☐ Choose in-home care whenever possible: unchanged environment, minimal stress — boarding is for long absences or highly dependent parrots
• ☐ Have the sitter visit once before departure: locate the cage, the equipment, the bird’s habits
• ☐ Check the bird over: behaviour, droppings, weight if you have a scale — an already weakened bird goes to the vet, not to a sitter
• ☐ For boarding: visit before booking, demand quarantine and a recent vet certificate for the boarders
• ☐ Prepare the portions: seed rations in advance (bags or a measuring cup), a fridge stock of approved vegetables
• ☐ Double up feeders and waterers as a safety margin — see our feeders and waterers guide
• ☐ Secure the room: list which windows may be tilted open, unplug fans, move toxic plants out of reach

Step 2 — The fill-in instruction sheet for the sitter

Most boarding accidents are escapes through a window or a feeding mistake: write everything down, don’t rely on the memory of a spoken brief.

• ☐ Bird(s): species, name, age, distinguishing marks — ____________________
• ☐ Exact daily ration (seeds/pellets, amount per bird): ____________________
• ☐ Approved vegetables/fruit: ____________________ — forbidden (avocado above all: lethal; chocolate, alcohol): ____________________
• ☐ Water: change daily, rinse the waterer — never leave cloudy water
• ☐ Out-of-cage time: FORBIDDEN unless the sitter is experienced — doors and windows closed before any cage opening
• ☐ A daily visit is mandatory: droppings change within 24 hours, a bird hides illness — never more than 48 h without a visit, and only for healthy birds kept in pairs
• ☐ Warning signs to watch for: fluffed-up bird, puffed feathers during the day, liquid or discoloured droppings, open-beak breathing, bird sitting on the cage floor
• ☐ Room temperature: target ____ °C, no draughts and no direct sun on the cage

Step 3 — The emergency plan to leave next to the cage

• ☐ Avian vet (name, address, phone, opening hours): ____________________
• ☐ Out-of-hours / exotic-pet emergency vet for evenings and weekends: ____________________
• ☐ Written, signed authorisation for care: “I authorise ____________ to take my bird to the vet and approve treatment up to ____ € in my absence”
• ☐ Your holiday contact details (reachable phone, time difference): ____________________
• ☐ If the bird escapes: don’t chase it, set the open cage with food at the escape point, tell the owner immediately — the full reflexes are in our lost bird guide
• ☐ If the bird travels (care at the sitter’s home, boarding): a suitable, secured travel cage — see transporting your bird

To go further (species, gear, guides), see our bird travel and safety section.

🩺 This health information is general in nature and does not replace a consultation: at the slightest doubt about your animal’s condition, talk to your vet.