Ask Lafeber

Can I leave my birds for 2 weeks?

Hello!

We are planning on leaving our two parakeets and two cockatiels for two weeks. My parakeets are always together in the same cage, while my cockatiels are in separate cages since one of them won’t leave the other alone.

We’re planning on having a friend come over to change their food and water, would it be fine if my birds are in the cage for all two weeks and if our friend can come over like twice a week? We can’t really think of another way since we don’t wanna ask for too many favors.

Thank you!

Hi Mary,

It’s fine for them to be alone and stay in the cage for two weeks, but you need someone to come in twice a day, ideally. Twice a week isn’t going to work. If they soil their water, they can get a bacterial infection because bacterial growth can start in just a few hours if the water is very dirty. If they spill their water, they can die from thirst in just a couple of days. The same goes if they toss their food or scatter it out of the cage. Birds have an extremely high metabolism and can begin to starve to death in a matter of hours if completely deprived of food. They also need lights, but should not have them on 24/7. They will not eat well or at all without some light. They have almost no ability to see in the dark. But being in a lit room all the time can affect their sleep and well being. So hopefully you can find someone to come in twice daily. There are a lot of pet sitting services that will care for pet birds these days.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda