quarintine

[birdcrazy]

I was wondering how necessary it is to quarintine? I can see why you would do this if you had several birds but with just one knowing the bird I'm getting is healthy and the one I have is healthy why would I need to quarintine? especially since I live in a small house and it would be hard to keep them away from each other a my room is the only one safe from the dog. just curious if yall still think I ought to I will.

 

[Peta]

I should be saying now YES QUARANTINE, but the only ones of mine that were quarantined were my rescues, and thats because I didn't have any sort of health history.

If your baby has been or is coming with a health certificate, (health checked by an avian vet) and any other birds in your home are all healthy then I don't quarantine.

If a health certificate if not signed by an avian vet, then I do one of two things,
1. Find out the date that I can bring baby home, then see if I can get into an avian vet that day,
2. See if the breeder is prepared to have the bird checked by an avian vet.

How reliable is the breeder you are getting your baby from? Unfortunately there are breeders out there who are only in it for the money, Luckily I believe there are more good ones than bad.

All my birds see an avian vet on a yearly basis (Well bird clinic) whether they are sick or not. I've never had any problems.

In saying that people will say that you should always quarantine a new bird no matter what.

All I can say is that personally I don't quarantine my birds, except for the rescues. I believe they need to get used to other pets/birds living in the home. I know this doesn't really help you, but I would hate to say NO don't bother and something were to happen. All I can say is what I personally do.

 

[birdcrazy]

thanks that makes sense - I want to do whats right but from what I've read you just have to figure out what works for you everybody does things differently I probably won't since my room is the only one safe from the dog - i think the birdy would be far safer in there with Misty than any other room in the house.

 

[Peta]

thanks that makes sense - I want to do whats right but from what I've read you just have to figure out what works for you everybody does things differently I probably won't since my room is the only one safe from the dog - i think the birdy would be far safer in there with Misty than any other room in the house.

Exactly, what works for one person won't necessarily work for someone else.

 

[ordenrahl]

I'm sorry I'm late to this post, but I am slowly starting to become more active on the forums and am starting to go through later posts. The one of the large reasons Quarantining a new bird is important is because even with a vet check, some birds do not display illnesses until it is too late and the are very ill. Parrots are still very much wild animals and are instinctively living like they do in the wild. In the wild, it is dangerous to show weakness, so parrots are very good at pretending to be healthy. That’s being said there are a few clues that a careful observer can pick up on.

1. Parrots sleep on 1 foot. Take a look at how your parrot sleeps. Most/All parrots sleep on 1 foot. If you see them sleeping on two feet, that may be a sign of illness.

2. Weight. Some people measure their parrots every morning. A few ounces in variation is normal, but any large changes could be seen a sign of illness.

3. Crust/mucus around the nose and eyes. Birds nose and eyes should be clear of any crust and/or mucus.

4. Change in droppings. Any irregularity in the color or consistency of droppings could be a sign of a problem.

5. Clear vent. The birds vent (where the droppings come out) should be clear of any debris.

6. Feather plucking. This one is an obvious one, but it is always good to take a plucking parrot to the vet first to rule out health issues before going too deep into behavioral/environment issues.

If you have already put your birds in the same room, I would be extra vigilant in watching for health issues. I don’t mean to scare you, but your new bird could be ill and just not showing any signs yet. That’s why people stress quarantine for the first 6 weeks or so (I don’t have my books at with me here at work, so don’t quote me on 6 weeks). If there are any irregularities with the older bird, I would bring her to the vet ASAP.