Bird Boarding vs Bringing Your Bird Along: An Honest Comparison

The short answer for the trip most people are actually planning

If you’re driving or flying into the United States and your bird has been with you at least 90 days with no contact with other birds, taking it is usually the better call — the paperwork is far lighter than most owners assume. If you’re headed anywhere else, own a CITES-listed species, or can’t put your bird on your own carrier, boarding is the more honest answer.

That split matters because most Canadians who ask “should I take my bird on vacation” are asking about a US trip, and the US is the one destination in this whole cluster where a personally-owned pet bird, travelling with its owner, runs on genuinely light rules. So we’re going to lead with the case for taking your bird, even though boarding is what we sell — and then give you the honest list of situations where boarding is the right call instead.

What “lighter than you think” actually means — and what it doesn’t

Under 9 CFR 93.101(c)(1), a pet bird can be imported into the United States by its owner at a designated port, provided it isn’t known to be affected with or exposed to any communicable disease of poultry, it’s caged before release, and the owner signs a statement that the bird has been in their possession for at least 90 days before travel and has not been in contact with poultry or other birds during that time — exhibitions and aviaries are the examples the regulation gives. Because that route applies, three things fall away that a lot of owners assume they need:

• No US import permit — 9 CFR 93.103(a)(1) specifically excepts the 93.101(c) route from the permit requirement.
• No US veterinary health certificate — 93.104(a) excepts the same route.
• No 30-day US quarantine — 93.106(a) excepts it too.

What’s still required: a port-of-entry veterinary inspection under 93.105, and the signed 90-day possession/no-contact statement above. That’s the whole US side.

The Canadian side eases too, but not completely, and this is the part worth being precise about. Section 69 of the Health of Animals Regulations normally requires an exporter to (a) show a veterinary inspector or accredited veterinarian that the bird meets the importing country’s sanitary requirements, (b) get a signed export certificate confirming inspection and freedom from communicable disease, and (c) show how the transport requirements will be met. Whether a Canadian export certificate is required on this particular US route is the one point on this page we could not verify against a primary source. Some readings of the regulation treat the certificate in paragraph (b) as not applying where the destination does not ask for one; we have not been able to confirm that with CFIA, and we are not going to assert it. What is not in doubt is (a) and (c): the sanitary and transport obligations stay in force either way. Unconfirmed. We could not establish from a primary source whether CFIA requires an export certificate for this route. Treat it as an open question, not as settled: call CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 and ask about your specific bird and destination before you travel. If CFIA says a certificate is needed, CFIA is right and this page is wrong. You still need to be able to show, if asked, that your bird meets the US’s sanitary requirements and that you can meet the transport rules — you just don’t need the piece of paper with the CFIA export stamp on it.

So the accurate summary isn’t “no paperwork.” It’s: no US permit, no US health certificate, no US quarantine, Canadian export certificate: unverified — confirm with CFIA — but the underlying sanitary and transport obligations on the Canadian side stay in force, and you still need the signed 90-day statement and the port inspection on the way in. Whether your particular bird and trip qualify for this route in full turns on species and circumstances specific to you. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, your bird’s species is treated as a “pet bird” (not a species requiring a Ministerial permit) under the Import Reference Document, and that your planned port and dates meet the 90-day possession/no-contact test. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.

Where you can actually cross

9 CFR 93.203(b) lists the Canadian border ports with the facilities to inspect a pet bird on entry. Read with 93.105(b), that list is what applies to a bird using the 93.101(c) route.

Province/state	Designated ports
Ontario side	Windsor–Detroit crossing (Detroit port), Sarnia–Port Huron (Port Huron port), Sault Ste. Marie
New York side	Buffalo, Alexandria Bay, Champlain
Elsewhere on the northern route	Eastport ID, Houlton and Jackman ME, Baudette MN, Opheim/Raymond/Sweetgrass MT, Dunseith/Pembina/Portal ND, Derby Line and Highgate Springs VT, Oroville and Sumas WA

For a GTA-based trip, that puts Detroit, Port Huron and Buffalo squarely on the map — but confirm the specific crossing with APHIS in writing before you drive, because the cross-references here do not line up. Section 93.101(c)(1) sends readers to “93.103 or 93.203”, yet 93.103 is the section on import permits and fees, and the section actually headed Ports designated for the importation of birds is 93.102 — which names Los Angeles and San Ysidro, Miami, New York, Baudette and Hidalgo in subsection (a), with a longer list of limited ports in subsection (d). What opens the land-border list above to a Canadian bird is 93.105(b), which says pet birds of Canadian origin may be inspected at any port listed in 93.102 and 93.203. Separately, 50 CFR 14.17 points a pet bird at “9 CFR part 92”, which today contains disease-risk classification rather than port designations. Both pointers are stale, which is exactly why the written confirmation matters. If you’re flying instead, our companion article on driving vs flying to the US with your bird goes through carrier policy and airport-specific detail this page doesn’t repeat.

When boarding is the honestly better answer

The US-with-your-own-bird case above is the common one, but it isn’t the only one, and several situations tip the other way — sometimes hard.

• Any destination other than the United States. The Canadian export certificate and stamp under section 69(1) and 69(3) apply in full, on top of whatever the destination country requires on entry. There’s no equivalent carve-out for other countries.
• A CITES-listed species, anywhere. ECCC permitting sits in front of you, and permits are not issued retroactively — you cannot travel first and sort the paperwork out on the other side. If your bird is CITES-listed, boarding removes that clock entirely.
• A species that isn’t on the US approved list for import. The Wild Bird Conservation Act can bar entry to the US even when the animal-health side (the 93.101(c) route) is fully satisfied. Health clearance and wildlife-trade clearance are two separate gates, and passing one says nothing about the other.
• No carrier on your route will take the bird. Four of the five largest Canada-origin passenger airlines will not take a pet bird, but WestJet does: it lists “Birds (see entrance requirements)” under Pet types (species) accepted in the cabin, at one pet per guest per kennel. If driving isn’t an option for your trip, that’s a hard stop, not a paperwork problem.
• Under 90 days in your possession, or contact with other birds in that window. If your bird doesn’t clear the 93.101(c)(1) test — a recent rehome, a recent boarding stay elsewhere, a bird show — the light US route isn’t available to you at all, and you’re into permit and health-certificate territory regardless of destination.
• Short trips, or a bird whose age or health makes travel a poor idea. A weekend away doesn’t usually justify airport or border stress for either of you, and an elderly or unwell bird may tolerate a familiar routine at home far better than a car or plane cabin.

If the real issue is that your bird can’t come at all — a permanent move rather than a trip — that’s a different question with a different answer, covered in Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird. And if you’re mid-application and need somewhere for your bird to live for weeks or months rather than days, see long-term boarding while you relocate.

What boarding costs your bird — not just what it costs you

It’s easy to talk about boarding as though it’s a neutral logistics choice. It isn’t, and pretending otherwise doesn’t help anyone. Time away from a bonded person, an unfamiliar environment, different sounds and smells, and a changed routine are real stressors for a bird that’s used to you. Nothing about a boarding stay eliminates that.

What genuinely helps is continuity: the same diet you feed at home, the bird’s own toys and a familiar-feeling cage setup, and a written routine so feeding times, sleep schedule and handling stay as close to normal as possible. Daily update videos through a client portal don’t reduce the bird’s stress, but they let you see how your bird is actually doing rather than guessing from a departure gate.

Boarding rates (current at time of writing — check /pricing/ for today’s) run by size, since a vacation-length stay is usually measured in days or a week rather than months:

Bird size	Per day	Per week
Small (budgie, canary, finch)	$14.75	$90
Medium (conure, cockatiel, Quaker)	$19.75	$120
Large (caique, ringneck, pionus)	$24.75	$150
Extra large (eclectus, African grey, cockatoo)	$29.75	$180

All rates include daily photos or video, food and water, fresh fruit and vegetables, and interaction. A second bird boarded alongside the first gets 50% off if it’s small, or 25% off if it’s medium or larger. Statutory holidays and peak season carry a surcharge, and a deposit secures your dates.

One question we won’t guess at: does a boarding stay count as “contact with other birds”?

Here’s an honest gap. The 93.101(c)(1) route depends on your bird having had no contact with poultry or other birds for 90 days before you travel. If your trip plan involves boarding your bird for part of that window — before a later US trip, say — whether a professional boarding stay counts as disqualifying “contact” under that clause isn’t something we’re going to resolve for you, and we’re not going to guess in the direction that happens to suit us. If this timing applies to your situation, Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, whether a boarding stay counts as “contact with poultry or other birds” for the 90-day statement under 9 CFR 93.101(c)(1), and whether facility biosecurity practices affect the answer. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird. before you book around a US trip.

Getting your bird travel-ready, whichever way you decide

Some of this applies regardless of whether you take your bird or board it, because a trip disrupts a routine either way.

• Use a carrier your bird has already spent time in at home — the first time in a carrier shouldn’t be the day of travel.
• Keep the carrier temperature-controlled; birds are far more sensitive to heat and cold swings than most mammals.
• Pack familiar food rather than switching diets right before or during travel.
• Build in stops on a driving route for fresh water and a check on the bird, and keep the carrier out of direct sun in a parked car even briefly.
• If you’re crossing into the US, have the signed 90-day possession statement with you, and know which designated port you’re using before you leave.

Take vs board, at a glance

	Taking your bird (qualifying US trip)	Boarding
Paperwork	Signed 90-day statement, port inspection — no US permit, no US health certificate, Canadian export certificate: unverified — confirm with CFIA	None — you’re not crossing a border
Cost	Travel cost only	Daily/weekly boarding rate by bird size
Stress on the bird	Travel, new environment, temperature/noise exposure	Separation from you, new environment, changed routine
Works for	Qualifying US trips with owner and bird travelling together	Any destination, any species, any length of trip
Doesn’t work for	CITES species, non-approved-list species to the US, no carrier available on that route, under 90 days’ possession	N/A

Frequently asked questions

Is taking my bird to the US really paperwork-free?

No — lighter, not free. There’s no US import permit, health certificate or quarantine, and Canadian export certificate: unverified — confirm with CFIA, but you still need the signed 90-day possession/no-contact statement, a port-of-entry inspection, and you still have to be able to show your bird meets the US’s sanitary requirements and that you can meet the transport rules, since those two Canadian obligations aren’t part of the carve-out.

What if my bird hasn’t been with me for 90 days?

Then the light 93.101(c)(1) route isn’t available, and you’re into the fuller permit and health-certificate requirements regardless of destination. Boarding is the more practical answer until that clock has run.

Can I fly with my bird instead of driving?

On WestJet, yes — it lists birds among the species accepted in the cabin. Not on Air Canada, Porter, Flair or Air Transat, each of which limits pet carriage to cats and dogs. See driving vs flying to the US with your bird for the detail.

Does this article apply to countries other than the US?

Not the light route. Any other destination requires the full Canadian export certificate and stamp, plus whatever that country’s own import rules require.

My bird is a species I think is CITES-listed. Does any of the “lighter” route apply?

The animal-health route described here doesn’t decide CITES status one way or the other — that’s a separate permitting system. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, your species’ CITES status and whether an export/import permit is required for your trip. Please confirm with Environment and Climate Change Canada at 1-855-869-8670 or cites@ec.gc.ca before you rely on it for your own bird.

Will boarding my bird before a US trip interfere with the 90-day statement?

Possibly — this is the one open question in this article we’re not going to resolve for you, since we’d be guessing in our own favour. Confirm it with CFIA and APHIS before you plan around it.

Is a short weekend trip ever worth taking my bird on?

Often not. For a trip that short, the disruption of travel can outweigh the disruption of a familiar boarding routine, especially for an older or less healthy bird.

If your bird needs somewhere stable to stay while you travel — or while a permit or a longer relocation sorts itself out — get a boarding quote.

Related guides in this series

• Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days
• Importing a Pet Bird to Canada: The Complete CFIA Guide (2026)
• Moving Abroad and You Can’t Take Your Bird: Board, Rehome, or Wait
• Taking Your Bird from Canada to the United States: Driving vs Flying
• Bringing a Pet Bird to Canada From Outside the US: Why You Need a Permit
• Will Your Bird Be Quarantined Coming Into Canada? What the Rules Actually Say

Who to call before you travel

Confirm every requirement below with the agency itself. These are the people who
can actually authorise your bird’s movement — we cannot.

Every number below was checked against the agency’s own website on
27 July 2026. Government phone numbers and web pages still change without notice.
If one does not connect, find the agency through its own official site rather than trusting
what is printed here.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import and export of live
  birds, health certificates, permits: 1-800-442-2342 from
  Canada and the US, or 1-613-773-2342 local and
  international, 8 am to 7 pm EST Monday to Friday except holidays. CFIA names
  services related to travelling with pets as something its area offices handle —
  for the GTA that is the Mississauga animal health office,
  289-247-4100, 8 am to 4 pm
  · inspection.canada.ca
• Environment and Climate Change Canada — CITES permitting — export and
  import permits for CITES-listed species, and what documents exist for repeat crossings:
  1-855-869-8670
  · cites@ec.gc.ca
• Canada Border Services Agency — what happens at the border itself,
  declarations and inspection fees: 1-800-461-9999, Monday to
  Friday 8 am to 4 pm local time. Press 0 to reach an agent; CBSA’s published
  service standard is to answer within 20 minutes
• USDA APHIS — the US pet-travel hub, with separate paths for import,
  export and interstate movement, and the list of which birds count as pets at all:
  aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
• US Fish & Wildlife Service — CITES and Wild Bird Conservation Act
  permits, applied for through the ePermits portal at
  fws.gov/permits. The agency
  contact centre is 1-800-344-9453
  · info@fws.gov

What we can and cannot help with

We cannot help with paperwork. Bird Sitting Toronto is a bird
boarding and care business. We are not a customs broker, an immigration consultant, a
veterinary practice or a legal adviser. We do not file permits, complete applications or
deal with any agency on your behalf, and we cannot guarantee any outcome at any border.
Everything on this page is information only.

There are two things we can do. If your bird cannot travel with you
— because the paperwork is still in progress, the airline will not carry it, or the
timing simply does not work — we can board
your bird in the GTA for as long as you need, including by the month. And if it
becomes clear the bird genuinely cannot come with you, we can help you
rehome it to a good home rather
than leaving you to sort that out alone.

We publish this guide because our boarding clients ask us about it constantly, and
because the answer is genuinely hard to assemble from the primary sources.