# Going away leaving budgie alone?



## Jaayy (Jan 31, 2016)

First off I'd like to apologize if this is in the wrong forum, apparently I do not know how these work. I'm sure there is a thread with the same but this one is a little more specific 

So I have one male budgie who I've had for about 5 years now. He's bonded with me so much and is even grooming himself on my shoulders as I type. His cage is in my bedroom, as my family isn't a huge fan of animals. My family and I are going on vacation out of state for a week in April and I will have no choice but to leave him home. I have made arrangements with my aunt who thankfully is an aninal lover to look after him. She will be staying at my house, but I'm concerned that while she is at work she won't be able to feed him as often and he might go hungry. I feed him seeds along with fruits and veggies (I've constantly tried for 2 years to get him to eat pellets but he won't eat it). She'll be gone from 5am-7:30pm.I have to refill the food bowl every 2- 3 hours cause he eats often. He has a water bottle that he has no problem drinking out of and it holds enough water to last a few days so water isn't an issue .

I'm also concerned that he will be lonely because he'll be all alone in his cage in my closed bedroom all day for a week. I always leave the radio on for him when I leave the house, so its not too quiet for him. I've asked her to try to interact with him by maybe talking to him while giving him food. But she isn't confident in letting him out the cage to fly around, or handling him. Do you think it will be ok to keep him in his cage for a week without being let out? Considering as long as I'm home his cage door is always open and he's allowed to fly around, and I interact with him A LOT.

I don't want this to be too stressful for him because the longest I've been away for him was a day and he almost went without food because no one was there to refill the bowl. This is the first time he will be away from me for more than 24hrs

I don't know if this will make any difference but I've thought about getting a baby monitor/wifi camera and setting it on a shelf near his cage to keep an eye on him while I'm away, and I will be able to talk to him through it. Do you think this m a good idea? Would he even recognize my voice through it?? 😂😂


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## justmoira (Aug 29, 2014)

Hmm, that's tough. There are a few options. 
1. Don't go on vacation. I'm not sure how old you are but if your aunt is going to be checking in on budgie she could check on you too if you are a teenager. Or, if possible, go home early. Stay for a few days but return halfway. 
2. Maybe your avian vet can board him. It would be different but you know he'll be given proper food at proper times and they will interact with him probably more often than your aunt. He'll be safe, warm, and around other people and/or birds. 
3. See if a friend can stop by during the day as well to chat with him or play or whatnot. Even sitting in your room doing their schoolwork (whether high school or university) would be better company for him than just being alone. 

Personally, I would stay at home. That is just me. There will be other vacations but there is only one of your budgie. You have the world but his world is you. Good luck! I hope it works out.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*I'm confused as to why you have to refill your budgie's food dish 2 or 3 times a day?

A budgie should only be getting 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of seed per day. How much seed are you giving your budgie on a daily basis?

Your bird (name?) can be given his fruit and vegetables in the morning and evening.
Vegetables are better than fruit. 
Fruit should only be given sparingly as it is high in sugar content.

If you aunt is staying at your home to care for the budgie and you have a friend come in after school to sit with him and talk, read or sing to him, that should work out for a week.*


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

I agree, you shouldn't have to "keep refilling" his food bowl! You can leave a bowl of pellets in there for him in addition to the few tsp. of seed per day


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## slide95 (Mar 14, 2019)

have left my birds alone overnight but if it's longer than that, I board them w/ my vet. I'm afraid to leave them w/ someone who knows nothing about birds so would not recognize signs of a problem. I have also boarded them at a pet store that only boards birds who have been vetted w/in the past year. I realize that is a bit of a risk, but a few times I've had an emergancy & had to leave immediately & the vet was closed but the pet store was open. I left one lovie home alone for 34 hours once & when I got home he was frantic. He was okay physically, but he was an emotional wreck for about a week.  Ever since then, we don't play "Home Alone" in this house...


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## JasnaM (Jan 22, 2016)

When I have to leave my birdies (I've never left them for more than 1.5 or 2 days alone) I make sure their food bowls have enough food to last them until I return. I also fill their food once per day. I know it should be 2 teaspoons per budgie but I fill it a bit more. They never empty the bowls but I want to make sure they're not hungry in case I get stuck somewhere.

My bigger concern is the water as I usually change their water 1 or 2 times a day so it doesn't get dirty.


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## slide95 (Mar 14, 2019)

slide95 said:


> have left my birds alone overnight but if it's longer than that, I board them w/ my vet. I'm afraid to leave them w/ someone who knows nothing about birds so would not recognize signs of a problem. I have also boarded them at a pet store that only boards birds who have been vetted w/in the past year. I realize that is a bit of a risk, but a few times I've had an emergancy & had to leave immediately & the vet was closed but the pet store was open. I left one lovie home alone for 34 hours once & when I got home he was frantic. He was okay physically, but he was an emotional wreck for about a week.  Ever since then, we don't play "Home Alone" in this house...


I left one lovie home alone for 34 hours once & when I got home he was frantic. He was okay physically, but he was an emotional wreck for about a week.  Ever since then, we don't play "Home Alone" in this house...

Tutuapp 9apps Showbox


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## #Kiara (Mar 18, 2019)

Personally, I'd make sure one person is at home all the time.... even if not cuddling and chatting.


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