Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a senegal parrot for about 9 years now and we once in a while leave him home alone for a night and one time 2 nights and he was fine my question is it ok to leave him home for three nights? i will have a light that goes on and off so he will not be in the dark but the only thing is we cover him every night so he will not be covered those three nights but i always leave a blanket that wraps his cage open so its not like he is completely opened. i tried calling a local bird shop but found them unhelpful when i asked him what he thought about this he said the bird would be dead because the food. but i told him i change his food every 5 days his bowl is filled to the top like he likes it and than i change it. now i have been doing this for years and he said im lucky he is still alive cause the food could get contaminated? im not sure if thats true but if it is i will start changing it sooner than that he suggested every single day?? what do you guys think?

What type of food are you feeding him? Pellets or seeds? The reason why I ask is this. With seeds they will stay fresh long enough but most birds will pick out their favorites, leave shells on top and not eat what is in the bottom of the bowl. So it is better to feed them smaller amounts a lot more often. With pellets again they would "probably" stay fresh that long "but" does your bird soak any of them in the water, use the bathroom on or around the food dish, use the bathroom in the water dish? If he does any of these things it will contaminate seeds and pellets both. Some birds will pick one area of their cage to use the bathroom in away from food and water (if yours does you are lucky) If your bird has a water bottle it is much less likely to contaminate its water or draw mold to its food by getting it wet (but a lot of birds are hard to train to use a water bottle).

I would suggest starting to change food a lot more often.

As for the other question, leaving alone for three nights, that is a tough one. Your bird would probably be just fine but there is a chance he will contaminate his own food with feces or water or will pick out favorites from food dish and become really hungry etc. If you absolutely must leave him for three nights and cannot get anyone to help in his care I would suggest as a last resort at least putting in a second food dish for the time you are gone. I would also suggest at some point soon getting a fecal test done on him, with leaving food sitting for that long in the past sometimes they will seem very healthy but may have intestinal parasites because of it which won't always be noticeable.

Hope this helps.

I thank you for your post. I'm feeding him seeds
but I change his food every 5-6 days and never
found feces in it and there is usually some food
left over. But for now on I'm gonna change the
food every 3 days. As far as a feces test you got
me thinking about it? My bird has a plucking
problem as one time I went away for 2 weeks
left him to be watched by a family member
and he always has a blanket wrapped around his
cage and I never remove it I just fold it back every
morning well she decided to completely remove
the blanket and he plucked all his feathers out
and since than has never got them back so
this Is also a reason why I rather leave him
alone for the three days. I'm also gonna give
him a treat stick as well as plenty of food and water.
He will have a light go on and off at nite and
I also will be setting up my phone near his
cage and he will hear our voice every night!
Sounds nuts but we do love him like family!
Thank you very much for your time.

Just as a quick note. If/when you get your bird checked for parasites you might ask (even though a vet should suggest) that it be checked for Giardia. This can cause plucking in some birds, sometimes but not always may also cause loose or bad smelling stools. It can be caused by contamination by other birds but also even by flies spreading it through contact with food/water etc. Leaving standing food may cause no problems but may also become contaminated even without obvious bird fecal matter in the bowl. Instead being contaminated by insects or airborne particles. Again not saying that your bird has this problem but it would be good to have it tested and to change food as often as possible. If your are worrying about the waste of good food then try feeding smaller amounts and watching to see how much your bird actually eats in a day and trying to adjust the amount given to match the amount eaten. That way there is much less chance of contamination and also not as much waste of food. (Sometimes can even help to make less of a mess to clean up if there isn't an excess of food to pick through/play in/dump out.

And I know what you mean about finding someone to watch your pet while away. Sometimes it can be very hard to do and can take having someone actually get used to being around your pets and their care for longer periods of time until they can be trustworthy enough to follow your instructions and care for your pet as you wish it was cared for when you are away.

Good luck.