Bird Boarding
From Beaks To Barks now provides a luxury hotel for your companion parrot while you’re away from home. Your bird will share an enrichment-packed resort with my own flock and only a select few other guests. The bird room is lit by full spectrum light bulbs with a CRI of 90 so that they can see their full color spectrum (birds can see ultraviolet when in proper lighting) and perceive it as a solid light (since birds have faster vision than humans, they perceive regular light bulbs as constantly flickering). The lights are also kept on a timer to provide exactly 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of sleep at night. The room is kept at an ideal 55% humidity by a digitally regulated humidifier and the air is kept clean by a 5-star energy rated HEPA filter. Although the room is insulated and provided with central heat and air, additional heaters or cooling fans are provided when necessary to keep the birds within the most comfortable temperature range possible. Music is played during the day to keep them entertained, and soothing rainforest sounds are played at night to provide an auditory buffer from both household and street noises that could disrupt their sleep. Fresh, filtered water is provided daily. Cages are cleaned daily, and handleable birds are provided with monitored out of cage time in order to play on the wide variety of foraging stations and playgyms available in the bird room.
All of this is available at just $25/day.
FOOD FOR SALE
While all birds are welcome to bring their own food from home, we also offer a fresh diet tailored to your bird’s nutritional needs at an additional $2/day. Our base diet consists of “chop” in the morning, which is a combination of:
- chopped raw, organic vegetables
- soaked and cooked organic beans
- cooked organic quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and/or millet
- cooked sweet potato and/or squash (organic when possible)
- sprouted organic seed mix
- a mixture of organic flowers, herbs, and spices
- organic, fair trade, sustainably harvested Red Palm Oil, Coconut Cream Concentrate, Flaxseed Oil, and shaved cuttlebone.
Depending on your bird’s individual needs, scrambled egg, mealworms, nuts, or any combination thereof may be added to the base chop.
In the evening, the birds get a small amount of berries or some other wild fruit that has been minimally cultivated/tampered with by agriculture. Wild fruits are lower in sugar and higher in fiber and micronutrients than the typical cultivated fruit you can buy in your average grocery store, and are therefore much healthier and more appropriate for our birds.
1 lb bags of chop are also available for sale for $15. You can elect to have it either rough chopped or blended into a mash consistency.
TOYS FOR SALE
You can also elect to purchase foraging toys for your bird’s cage, which will be tailor-made to his or her own foraging skill/experience level–all the way from total newbie to old pro.
Small foraging toys: $5/ea
Medium foraging toys: $7/ea
Large foraging toys: $10/ea
All foraging toys are filled with a mixture of Totally Organic Pellets, Phoenix Foraging’s UnPellet, and a variety of Goldenfeast cage mixes.
Fancy toys from Polly Oopie Pet Toys can also be purchased on your behalf and be waiting for your bird when s/he arrives if given at least one month’s advance notice. Prices vary depending on the toy. See her website for details.
OUTSIDE TIME
Clients also have the option to purchase half-hour or hour-long outdoor sessions for their handleable birds as often as every other day. Birds will be placed in one of my travel cages and taken into the garden to soak up some sunlight and enjoy the fresh air and change of scenery. If they enjoy receiving showers, they can also be gently misted with the garden hose and allowed to sun dry. Birds will be monitored the entire time they are outside and will not be allowed contact with other animals, nor will they be allowed out of the cage. Cage doors will be locked to prevent escape.
- Half hour session: $10
- Hour session: $20
BOARDING-TRAINING
Boarding-training is also available at $50/day. If you plan to leave your bird for one or more weeks, the price is reduced to $300/week (a $50/week discount). Please see the Behavior Consults page for more details.
THE RULES
- All prospective clients will need to show proof of negative test results from an infectious disease screening and a clean bill of health from an avian vet. The infectious disease screening will NOT need to be repeated before each successive visit as long as the bird has not been out in public or come into contact with other birds since last being boarded here.
- Since space is limited, it is in your best interest to try to book your bird’s dates as soon as possible. However, if an emergency crops up, you are more than welcome to inquire about last minute dates. If I have space available, I will be happy to accommodate you as best as I can.
- Also since space is limited, a non-refundable 50% deposit will be required upon booking your dates. However, if you do need to cancel your dates, that deposit can be applied to future dates or gifted to another client–whichever you prefer. If you are unsure of your end date (for example, in the case of a board-and-train), contact me and we can work something out.
- If you have any questions or concerns about these policies, feel free to contact me. I want to make the process as clear and painless as possible for you, while still ensuring the health and safety of my, your, and other clients’ birds, and while providing these services as fairly and equally as possible.
- I will occasionally consider boarding a non-avian pet in my home under special circumstances. If you have an animal that you would like to be considered for boarding, contact me and we can discuss whether or not this is a possibility.
Kitt Ferraz said
The “hotel” looks wonderful Emily; great job. So many toys and so many options. I’m certain you’ll be posting a No Vacancy sign soon. Congrats and good luck!
Emily Strong said
Thank you, Kitt!