Caregiver Fatigue

Caregiver fatigue is real. The more responsibility, the more frequent it comes. The feeling of being overwhelmed, exhausted, tired. The feelings of this isn’t my life… being a caregiver is the life. It can be hard.

I’ve experienced it countless times, especially with the amount I have. I’m up from 8am to 10pm at least caring for the animals. You can feel stuck cause what are you supposed to do, not care for them? That’s not an option.

A few things I always do is take an evening off. Say birds will stay in their cages, take care of them for the night, and do what you need to do. Relaxing, focusing on hobbies or other projects, self-love. It’s not selfish to do this. You need to take care of yourself to take care of them. Not taking care of yourself means you’re affecting the care they get, and that’s selfish if anything.

Another thing I will do is find the thing I LOVE doing with my birds. Taking them out places, playing catch with Alfie, snuggling with them, and just do those activities. Bring joy back into the equation instead of it all being work and caring for them. It’s okay if the cages wait one more day to be cleaned, it’s okay if they didn’t get chop done that day, one day isn’t going to hurt anything.

Lastly, I reevaluate my routine and responsibilities to find ways to make it easier. Make caring for them more efficient so you have more time for yourself or to do the things you like with your bird. Cleaning is always where I am trying to cut back, do less with it still being just as effective.

Birds are overwhelming. Animals are in general. Take time for yourself and your birds. Take a day or a weekend or an entire week. You deserve it!