Questions About Boarding Your Bird

Birds of every size, from finches and budgies up to African greys, amazons, eclectus and cockatoos. For large macaws, please contact us first.

Not sure which size your bird is? Find it on our pricing page.

We charge per bird, per day, by the size of your bird — from $14.75 for a small bird. Longer stays are charged at a lower rate per day — the discount is already factored into your quote, so there is nothing to ask for. Every price is on our pricing page.

Statutory holidays add $5–$10 per bird for each holiday in your stay.

Book early and you always pay the ordinary price. Only last-minute bookings in our busiest weeks — the Christmas and August holidays, when we are close to capacity — cost 5–20% more.

Yes, when they share a cage: each extra small bird is 50% off, and each extra medium or larger bird 25% off. Birds in separate cages are each charged at their own rate.

No. Your bird can stay for a single day or for as long as you need, depending on availability.

Tap Book A Stay and fill in the quote form: your dates, your birds and any extras. You see your price straight away and book it yourself online.

Three things confirm your stay:

• The Booking Form: your bird, its routine, and your drop-off and pick-up times.
• A Deposit: any amount holds your dates.
• The Stay Agreement: care, vet consent and pick-up, signed for every stay.

Then your confirmation and drop-off details arrive by email and in the free BST Mobile App, and the app reminds you the evening before drop-off.

• When You Book: a deposit of any amount, by e-Transfer. It holds your dates, comes off your total and is non-refundable.
• At Drop-Off: the rest, by cash or e-Transfer.
• Drop-Off Today Or Tomorrow? Then the whole amount is due when you book.

Plans change, and that’s okay.

• Changing Your Dates: text us as soon as you know. About a week’s notice is ideal, but we’re flexible, and your deposit moves to your new dates.
• Cancelling: the deposit is kept, as it is non-refundable.

Most dates can be arranged the same week. The exceptions are the Christmas holidays and the August holidays, which fill weeks ahead — and booking early there also means you pay the ordinary price.

Our family home at 4578 Gatineau Avenue, Mississauga, ON L4Z 2R8. Birds come to us from all over the GTA, and your booking confirmation has everything you need for drop-off day.

No — your bird comes to us. Every bird stays in our family home in Mississauga, and we don’t do in-home visits. If getting here is hard, our avian shuttle can collect your bird: book it with your stay and we confirm the times with you well ahead.

Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, and Sat & Sun 9am–3pm. You pick your drop-off and pick-up times when you book.

Open 364 days a year, weekends and holidays included. On Christmas Day we’re still here caring for every bird — it’s the one day we don’t take drop-offs or pick-ups.

Yes. The BST Avian Shuttle drives your bird between your door and our home — one way or both. Add it on the quote form, which prices it for your address.

The avian shuttle is planned well in advance: book it with your stay and we confirm the pick-up and drop-off times with you ahead of the day.

No — it's our family home, so we don't do in-person visits or tours. You can look around the bird room on the 360° tour in the free BST Mobile App.

Text us as soon as you know. Extra days are charged at your bird’s usual daily rate, and there is no penalty for extending a stay — we just need to know, because the space after your dates may already be booked.

Yes, if you can. Your own cage is the one familiar thing your bird arrives with, so it is the best way to make it feel at home. If yours is hard to move, rent one of ours instead.

Pick a cage on our Cage Rentals page — when you book online you will see which cages are available for your dates, and the one you pick is added to your quote.

Standard perches, food and water bowls, and a few toys. Bring a favourite toy or two as well, so your bird has something of its own to play with.

Please send your bird’s own food, the one it eats at home. If you would rather not, we supply a seed and pellet mix for $2 per day.

We give your bird the fresh fruit and veg you send, every day. If you would rather we supplied fresh food, add our fresh chop for $2 per day, or fresh fruit slices as a daily treat for $1 per day.

Yes. Tell us about it when you book, and bring written instructions with you at drop-off.

Yes, please. Put your bird’s name on its food, its blanket and anything else you bring, so it all stays together.

• 7am: we uncover the birds and see to their food and water.
• 9am–7pm: out of the cage in turns, about 4–6 hours in all, with breaks back home for meals and a rest.
• 7–8pm: supper, then every cage is covered for the night.

About 4–6 hours a day, between 9am and 7pm. Exactly how much depends on how your bird gets on with the others. Whether that time is with the flock or on its own is your choice.

Only if you want it to. Birds that get along have their time out together, always supervised. You choose when you book — time out with the other birds, or on its own — and we ask again for every stay, so you can change your mind.

The birds have the whole lower floor of our home. You can see the floor plan in the free BST Mobile App. Out of the cage they play on a playstand, beside a water fountain they love. See their play area on our Instagram.

Food is changed every day, and the water is fresh filtered water, kept fresh all day — which matters, because every bird here thinks pellet soup is a delicacy.

Yes. Every cage is covered with its night blanket between 7 and 8pm, after the evening meal, for a long, quiet night.

Samantha and Amir, in our own home. Samantha founded Bird Sitting Toronto in October 2021 and still runs it day to day; she is certified in Bird First Aid & Care and wrote Parrot Parenting, our book about keeping parrots. The people who take your bird in are the people who look after it every day.

Your bird gets out-of-cage time every day and real attention from Samantha and Amir, in our family home — and you get photos and videos of it every day in the free BST Mobile App.

• What We Ask For: a recent vet visit with a clean bill of health.
• Extra Testing: we may ask for it if your bird is not domestic, or has been exposed to pathogens or a high-risk environment. Polyomavirus and chlamydia tests are no longer required.
• No Recent Vet Visit? We still board your bird — it just mixes less with the others.
• On Arrival: we check every bird over ourselves.

Yes — by mouth, on the skin or in the water, at the times your vet set, for $10 a day per bird, however many doses that is. Bring it in the container it was dispensed in, with the label on, and tell us the times you give it at home.

Every minute out of the cage is supervised. Cameras watch the birds whenever we are not in the room, and they watch for escape artists too: if a bird works out its cage door, we know right away. The temperature, humidity and air quality are monitored, and the air is cleaned by a HEPA filter.

You hear from us straight away — not at pick-up. We consult your own vet if you have told us who it is, or an avian vet in the Toronto area if not. Our emergency page sets out exactly what we do, and who pays for what.

Every day you get photos and video of your own bird in the free BST Mobile App (iPhone and Android), and by email too if you like.

If you drop off before 4pm, your first update arrives by 7pm that day; after 4pm, it comes the next day. We are at home with the birds all day, so if you ever want to know how yours is doing, just ask.

Only if you say yes. The booking form asks whether we may post your bird on our social media, and if you answer no, we don’t. You can change your answer at any time — just tell us in writing.

We would love to hear how your bird’s stay went. Please leave a review on our Google review page.

We clip nails on most pet birds, small to large, and trim beaks on medium and large birds only. Wings are clipped only if you ask. A visit takes 15–30 minutes. XL grooming prices apply to large birds such as African greys. We do not groom macaws or cockatoos.

If your bird is already staying with us, just ask and we will do it during the stay. Otherwise, pick a time in our grooming calendar, or text us and we will find one.

No, it is priced on its own, and the price is the same whether your bird is staying with us or comes in just for it: nail clipping $30, beak trimming $40 (medium and large birds), wing clipping $40 and DNA sexing $90, a little more for extra-large birds. See every grooming price.

Yes. A yearly plan gives your bird 5 nail clips, 5 beak trims or 5 of both, paid once and booked whenever it needs them, for less than the same visits one at a time — from $115 a year. See the grooming plans.

There is no schedule — trim them when they start catching. If your bird's nails snag on fabric or on your hand, or the tips have gone needle-sharp, it is time. Some birds need it every couple of months and some go a year.

Usually you don’t need to. A healthy beak wears itself down on perches, toys and food, and one that keeps overgrowing is worth asking an avian vet about. We trim beaks for medium and large birds only.

Two options: a light trim that keeps some flight, or a full trim that takes as much as is safe so your bird can only glide down. Tell us which one when you book.

See both trims on our wing clipping page.