Long-Term Bird Boarding While You Relocate: 30, 60 and 90+ Days

A one-week boarding stay and a 90-day one aren’t the same product. When your bird is with us for a month or more while a permit clears or a moving date keeps sliding, the things that matter shift: routine, communication, and what happens if the timeline changes again. Here’s what a long-term stay actually looks like.

What counts as “long-term” boarding, and why it’s different

Most boarding bookings run a few days to two weeks — a trip, a house move, a hospital stay. A relocation stay is a different animal. You might be waiting on a Ministerial import permit, a flight with cargo space for a live animal, or simply a moving date that keeps getting pushed. That can mean 30 days. It can mean 90. It can mean longer if the move stalls again.

Bird Sitting Toronto doesn’t have a separate “relocation package,” a minimum stay, or a maximum one — a long stay is billed the same way a short one is, just for longer, and the monthly rate (below) is what applies once you’re past a few weeks. What does change in practice is how we plan for it: your bird settles into an actual routine rather than a short visit, and we build in the flexibility to extend if your departure date moves, because for this specific situation, it usually does.

We should also be upfront about what this article is and isn’t. It’s about the operational side of boarding a bird for months — not about permits, quarantine, or border rules. For that side of a relocation, see our guide to moving abroad with a pet bird, and if you haven’t yet decided between boarding and rehoming, start with what to do with your bird while you sort out the move. Bird Sitting Toronto boards birds and helps rehome them when they genuinely can’t travel — we don’t file permits, complete applications, or act as a customs broker, and nothing on this page should be read as immigration or import advice.

Why these timelines stretch: a quick reality check

If you’re boarding for months rather than days, it’s almost always because of paperwork or logistics, not because anyone wanted it that way. A few examples worth knowing, without guessing at numbers we haven’t confirmed:

• Under section 13 of the Import Reference Document, incorporated by reference into the Health of Animals Regulations, a personally-owned pet parrot or songbird can move between Canada and the United States with just an owner declaration at the border — no veterinary certificate, no permit — but only if the owner has personally possessed the bird in Canada or the US for the 90 days immediately before entry, and no one in the household has used this route in the preceding 90 days. That’s a narrow, specific set of conditions, and it only applies to US-origin moves.
• The same document is explicit that a parrot arriving from anywhere other than the US is not a “pet bird” under section 13, and can only be imported under a Ministerial permit issued under paragraph 12(1)(a) of the Regulations. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, current processing time for a paragraph 12(1)(a) Ministerial import permit. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.
• Flight availability for live animals, connecting-country transit rules, and destination-country import conditions can each add weeks on their own. Unconfirmed: we could not verify this against an official source — specifically, any country-specific quarantine or permit timelines relevant to your route. Please confirm with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 before you rely on it for your own bird.

None of this is something we can shortcut for you. What we can do is give your bird somewhere stable to be while it sorts itself out — however long that takes.

Monthly boarding rates for a long-term stay

For a stay measured in weeks or months, the monthly rate is the relevant one to plan around. These are current at time of writing — check /pricing/ for today’s rates before you book.

Bird size	Examples	Daily	Weekly	Monthly
Small	Budgie, canary, finch	$14.75	$90	$360
Medium	Conure, cockatiel, Quaker	$19.75	$120	$480
Large	Caique, ringneck, pionus	$24.75	$150	$600
Extra large	Eclectus, African grey, cockatoo	$29.75	$180	$720

All rates include daily photos and videos, food and water, fresh fruit and vegetables, and interaction — none of that gets scaled back for a long stay. If you’re boarding more than one bird together, each additional small bird is 50% off, and each additional medium or larger bird is 25% off. Statutory holidays and peak season carry a surcharge, and a deposit secures your dates — worth knowing if you’re booking well ahead of a move that hasn’t been finalised yet.

How a bird actually settles in over 30, 60 or 90+ days

The first few days of any boarding stay look similar regardless of length — a new bird is watchful, a little quieter than usual, working out the new sounds and smells. What’s different about a long stay is what comes after. By week two or three, most birds have settled into a routine: consistent feeding times, the same handling approach, the same voice each morning. That consistency is worth protecting deliberately when a bird is going to be somewhere for months rather than days, and it’s part of why we try to keep the same routine and same care approach running for the length of a long-term stay rather than treating each week as a fresh start.

Longer stays also mean enrichment matters more, not less. A bird that’s bored for a week is fine. A bird that’s bored for three months is a bird with new feather-destructive habits by the time you pick it up. Toy rotation, foraging opportunities and social interaction aren’t extras on a long stay — they’re the difference between a bird that comes home the same as it left and one that’s picked up stress behaviours in your absence.

Keeping diet, grooming and health routines consistent over months

A week without a nail trim doesn’t matter. Three months does. If your bird is due for grooming during a long boarding stay, that can be handled alongside boarding rather than requiring you to schedule a separate visit around a move you’re not there for: nail clipping is $30, wing clipping is $40, beak trimming is $40 (not applicable to small birds), and DNA sexing is $90, which includes a free nail clip. Extra-large birds cost more for each service — again, current at time of writing, check /pricing/.

Diet is the other continuity piece worth planning for. If your bird is on a specific pellet, seed mix or supplement, that’s worth flagging clearly at drop-off so it can be maintained for the length of the stay rather than substituted partway through — a diet change is stressful enough on its own without adding a house move and a boarding stay on top of it. Fresh chop delivery is available if you’d like the same fresh-food routine your bird gets at home to continue while you’re away, and a grooming subscription can also be set up in advance if you know the stay is going to run long enough to need more than one grooming session.

Daily video updates when you’re a continent and a time zone away

This is the part that matters most once you’re actually gone. Every boarding client gets access to a client portal with daily update videos of their bird — and for a long-term stay, that daily video is often the only contact you have with your bird for weeks at a stretch. A short clip each day of your bird eating, playing or just being itself does more to settle nerves on your end than any written update could, especially when you’re checking it from a time zone eight or twelve hours removed from Mississauga.

It’s worth building the time difference into your expectations rather than your worry: a video posted at what’s evening here might land at breakfast time wherever you are, or vice versa. It’ll still be there waiting for you — it just won’t necessarily arrive when you’re awake to see it.

When the move slips again: extending a long-term stay

If there’s one thing that’s near-universal about international relocations, it’s that the date moves. A permit takes longer than expected, a flight gets rebooked, a lease closes later than planned. None of that is unusual, and it doesn’t need to derail your bird’s care — but it does need a phone call or message to us as soon as you know, so we can confirm your bird’s spot for the new dates and take a fresh deposit if the extension is significant. The earlier you tell us, the less likely you are to run into a scheduling conflict with another booking.

There’s no cap on how long a boarding stay can run, and no penalty rate for extending one — the same monthly rate applies whether it’s your first month or your fourth.

Bringing your bird home — or on to the next country — once the paperwork clears

When your permit comes through, your flight is confirmed, or your move is finally locked in, the practical end of a long boarding stay is usually the easiest part: a drop-off and pick-up shuttle is available if getting to Mississauga isn’t convenient, and your bird comes home in the same routine it’s been kept in the whole stay.

What we can’t do is help with the part that got you to that point — filing the permit itself, corresponding with CFIA, USDA, or your destination country’s agency, or advising on what documentation you actually need. That’s genuinely outside what a boarding business does, and it matters that we say so plainly rather than let you assume otherwise partway through a stay. For the border and import side, see our walkthroughs on crossing the Canada-US border with a bird and bringing a pet bird into Canada.

When a long boarding stay stops making sense

Occasionally a relocation timeline changes so much — a permit gets denied, a move gets shelved indefinitely, a destination country turns out not to be workable for the bird at all — that boarding indefinitely isn’t the right answer anymore. If that happens, rehoming is the other thing we do, and it’s worth knowing it’s there rather than defaulting to an open-ended boarding stay that isn’t actually solving the underlying problem. Our guide on boarding, staged relocation and the rehoming question walks through how to think about that decision if it comes up.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum or maximum length for a long-term boarding stay?

No. Bird Sitting Toronto doesn’t set a minimum or maximum stay — you book for as long as you need, and the monthly rate applies once a stay runs into weeks or months. If your timeline changes, let us know and we’ll extend from there.

Do I get a discount for booking a long stay?

There’s no separate long-stay discount — the published daily, weekly and monthly rates are what apply regardless of how long the stay runs. The one discount that does exist is for boarding multiple birds together: 50% off each additional small bird and 25% off each additional medium or larger bird.

What happens if my move gets delayed and I need to extend the stay?

Tell us as soon as you know your dates have changed. We’ll confirm your bird’s spot for the extended period and, if the extension is significant, take a fresh deposit to secure it. There’s no penalty rate for extending — it’s the same monthly rate throughout.

Can I still see updates on my bird while I’m abroad?

Yes. Every boarding client has access to a client portal with a daily update video of their bird, which you can check from anywhere. Just factor in the time difference between the Greater Toronto Area and wherever you’ve landed — the video will be there, even if it doesn’t post at a convenient hour for you.

Can grooming be done during a long-term boarding stay instead of scheduling a separate appointment?

Yes. Nail clipping, wing clipping, beak trimming and DNA sexing can all be arranged during a boarding stay rather than requiring a separate visit, and a grooming subscription can be set up in advance if the stay is expected to run long enough to need more than one session.

Can Bird Sitting Toronto help with my import permit or paperwork while my bird is boarding?

No. We board birds and, if a bird genuinely can’t travel, help with rehoming — we don’t file permits, complete applications, liaise with any government agency, or act as a customs broker. Any border or import questions need to go to the relevant agency directly, not to us.

What if my relocation falls through entirely while my bird is boarding?

Your bird can stay boarded for as long as you need while you work out next steps. If the situation changes enough that an open-ended stay no longer makes sense — for example, if a move is shelved indefinitely — rehoming is also something we can help with, and it’s worth discussing with us directly rather than defaulting to one option.

Does my bird’s diet stay the same during a multi-month stay?

Yes, if you tell us what it’s on. Flag your bird’s specific pellet, seed mix or supplements at drop-off so the same diet can be maintained for the full length of the stay. Fresh chop delivery is also available if you’d like fresh food included throughout.

If you’re facing a relocation timeline that’s still moving and need somewhere stable for your bird to stay in the meantime, you can get a quote for a long-term stay on our booking page.

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.

Check these numbers before you rely on them. They were correct when this
page was last reviewed, but government phone numbers, email addresses and web pages change
without notice and we have not re-verified them today. If a number does not connect, find
the agency through its own official website rather than trusting what is printed here.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) — import/export of live
  birds, health certificates, quarantine: 1-800-442-2342
  · 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
• USDA APHIS Veterinary Services — US import permits and port
  inspection: aphis.usda.gov/pet-travel
• US Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement — CITES
  and Wild Bird Conservation Act: 1-800-358-2104

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 clients ask constantly and nobody else has written
it properly for bird owners.