New bird quarantine

[Taprock]

So we are a bit unexpectedly bringing home a new bird. So Quarantine....How far apart do I need to keep them? Can They be in the same areas at different times?

 

[Mallory]

Realistically, quarantine can be as strict or as relaxed as you feel is safe. Honestly, your birds will be exposed to each other on some level without severe safety precautions. Airborne/aerosolized liquid when the bird sneezes, feather dander going through the air, germs on you and your clothing and many other factors are impossible to control. Some level of quarantine is always a good idea, however I think it should be varied depending on the bird's past and the likelihood of disease transmission.

That said, when I bring a new bird home, they do not make contact with my original birds for at least two weeks. I use F10 to sterilize play stands in between old and new birds, and I do not share anything between cages unless it is cleaned first. I also wash hands between birds at this point. Unless I am nervous about the bird's health status, I do not worry about keeping the bird in a different room, changing clothes or anything drastic like that. For me, with parrots it is a balancing act between getting the new bird comfortable and involved and keeping your original birds safe.

 

[Anansi]

My advice would be a 3 month quarantine in separate rooms. It's true that a real quarantine would require separate air systems and all of that, and most of us don't have the resources to do so, but we can still minimize the risk of transmission.

As a parront who has lost a beloved parrot to disease, I cannot stress enough the importance of quarantine... even to the limited extent that we are able to enact it.

Keeping them in separate rooms and changing out of the clothes and shoes you were wearing while interacting with the new bird will help minimize the risk of transmission, as bird dander or fecal matter won't travel with your clothing. You'd also need to wash your hands at the very least, if not your hair as well.

Probably sounds like torture. And truth to tell, it is. But we owe it to our birds not to rush this step. The potential consequences make it worth the bother.

Now of course, if you know the prior owners and KNOW the bird was never exposed to other birds, you could relax your quarantine requirements considerably. But short of that situation, I'd personally lean toward a full 3 month QT.