Hi! I'm curious about people's boarding experiences. We're visiting my mother-in-law for Christmas, and now I'm worried about what to do with Pooka. We're flying there, so bringing him isn't an option. Plus, she has a huge Amazon that would probably eat my little baby! He's getting his polyoma vaccination, so that's one less worry. But I live in kind of a, well, a horrible city. And I don't know of any place here I can trust. I don't want him to spend a week angrily cursing me for leaving him in crap-hole where he gets no attention. I almost don't want to go, I know I would just be worrying about him...

BTW, I'm in North Carolina. I could probably find someplace in a nearby city, like Raleigh. Any recommendations?

Be very selective. Another member recently posted from Arizona that she boarded her QP and he disappeared from the boarder. As far as I know he never turned up. I would be to scared to try it unless I really knew the place. Would prefer to have a friend or relative look in on him.

Hmmm, does you vet board birds? I'd check there first. Maybe there is someone here on the forum willing to watch him over the holidays? There are lots of members in NC, hopefully some is willing/close enough to help out!

Good luck, Pooka sure is cute!

Me and my family would definitely help you out but we're in Minnesota... My parents are the cool, we don't mind looking after other pets as long as they don't stay forever type LOL

I sure wished that I were close to you. Id love to take care of your fid. Good luck on finding someone to take care of him. love the pic. you have a cutie pie there.

Thanks! I just want to make it clear that I'm not looking for somebody to look after my bird for me, just a recommendation for a place to board him. I wouldn't put upon a stranger at Christmas! We all have enough going on, I think, at that time of year.
Thanks again for all the nice comments!
My Pooka is cute, isn't he?

I would 2nd checking with your bird's vet. We boarded Petey once for 4 days there and he did well. It is a busy place all day (clinic hours are 7am-6:30pm)so he got plenty of attention and if something goes wrong he is surrounded by people that can help him. We took his travel cage, toys, food, treats, and left detailed instructions of when he gets what. It went very smoothly and was pretty cheap ($12/day).

My avian vet had recommendations and business cards for reliable, responsible boarders in Seattle area (Denise's Parrot Place is the one I use, on Mercer Island) and my experience has been very positive, and though I always feel guilty leaving SweetPea - he seems to like it a lot. Everyone refers to it as birdie camp.

She has a couple dozen cages of various sizes in a large shop next to her main store, with natural lighting, and you "rent" by the day according to cage size. The staff watch over the birds, feed them whatever it is you have asked, change out the food and water and take time with each bird. I take SweetPea's favorite toys and perches so he'll have some familiar stuff, and as sad as I feel to leave him he just starts to chirp away with the other birds in the room, nibbles his food and ignores me...

Denise requires that each bird has had a physical exam within the last year, and a vaccine. You have to reserve in advance for Holidays - I pay about $11.00 a day and it's so worth it because I know he's getting the best care from a staff who really care about birds, and he has lots of company. I'd suggest getting recommendations from your vet.

We have had great success boarding Horatio at the avian vet that we use. As long as you are a client they will board your bird. They love Horatio (although the last time he got grumpy for some reason and started nipping the girls a bit ). They are very careful and keep only one boarded bird in each room of the clinic. Horatio really enjoyed the one time they had another Quaker boarded. The two could not see each other but they could hear each other. Apparently it was very noisy

See if your vet would board your bird. We usually also get something done like a wing clip or a check up at the same time since it is easier on Horatio. He doesn't have the stress of travelling to the vet, getting something done and then travelling back, they can do the tests on any of the days he is there.

It costs a bit more but we always feel better knowing that he will get good care and if anything goes wrong, what better place to be.

I know that Dr. Burkett at birdie boutique in Durham NC boards birds. He and his staff are very good, I take Ava there.

I ran the avian section of a kennel down here, and I can say that you definitely want quality. This kennel was incredibly high end. When I took over the avian dept. I wasn't very pleased with it. I went straight to the owner, and made a lot of recomendations as to how the avian section could be improved. The owner is very dedicasted to the highest quality of employees and facilities. So she made the adjustments and had me tweak her other kennels. You will definitely have to take a tour of the location. Speak with the people who specifically care for the birds. Also make sure the building is under HEAVY surveilence. My kennel has 6 on the front of the buiilding alone. If something makes you uncomfortable, then move on. Don't settle, be happy and comfortable with the location. Also leave every phone number you can think of too. That will definitely help ease your separation anxiety.

I decided to board him with an avian vet in Raleigh. It's an hour and a half away, but I'll feel better about leaving him there. There is absolutely NO place in Fayetteville that boards birds, not even the local avian vet. I don't like this city.
The vet in Raliegh said that I can bring whatever I want for him, and that he is looked after by vet techs or the veterinarian interns. Yay! So I feel a little better. Thanks for all the advice.

I definitely think your best bet is to board him at the Avian vet. They will atleast know how to properly take care of him and what signs to look for if he gets hurt or sick while you are gone. I'm sure they will give him some attention too, but as far as time out of the cage and training, that probably won't happen. I don't think most vets do much with behavior and training. But he will definitely be in better hands than someone who isn't reputable.