Question about visiting neighbors who have birds

[Mrspy]

Hey guys, i've been shown on this forum that quarantining a bird is very important and that if you don't do it your bird might die. Well what do you do when a friend who owns a parrot comes to visit you who also has a parrot? I mean what do you tell them "you can't come unless you get completely new clothes on and wash yourself"? I don't think everyone's going to do that. So I was wondering, what do you do when you're in that situation? Thanks

 

[Aussie Ben]

Good question, never had to think about it myself. I would assume that if both birds have been through the appropriate quarantining process at their own homes, they could be assumed 'healthy' and there would be no problem. However, if one bird is obviously sick then you would not let them mix as that would be asking for trouble. But if both birds are healthy, I see no problem. Thats the whole reason for quarantining, imagine your friends bird is a new addition to your home - It has effectively already been through a quarantine with your friend. His house is the 'other room' with no shared airspace. We are also assuming he has had the bird for more than 30 days. It will be interesting to hear from members who have done such activities.

 

[Mrspy]

Thanks for the reply.

But what if the owner HASN'T quarantined? I'm sure there are many begginners out there that don't even have a clue what they're doing with their birds......

Like parakeet owners.

Because I know a friend in paticular who got a bird from us and I know for sure that she never quarantined. But I don't think any of her birds have suffered any diseases. We gave her the bird in '07.

Thanks

 

[Aussie Ben]

If the bird is healthy I really see no problems. Quarantining is for new birds and it illuminates the possibilities of illness being passed along while they are still 'unnoticeable' in the bird. If they have had it since 07, then they have technically done a quarantine, not for their birds (they were lucky), but for your bird. Their bird has been happily living in their house for 3 years and is healthy right? As long as they know, to the best of their knowledge that the bird is healthy and hasn't been exposed to disease, then there should be no problem (same goes for your bird too btw - 2 way street).

As we explained in that other thread, quarantining is something to be done on a new bird that has been bought home from a breeder, pet shop, rescue or somewhere that you can't be sure what the bird has been exposed to or what its 'normal behaviour' is. In controlled environments, where you know the origin of the bird and its surroundings, all should be well. Having said this, caution should always be taken, just use your common sense.

 

[Mrspy]

Ok thank you very much. That about answers my question. Next time I see my friend i'll ask if they've gotten the bird checked at the vet. Just in case.

 

[HRH Di]

Unfortunately, this is a difficult question and really applies not only to our birds, but our furry family and children. We really can't live in isoalted bubbles. That's not good for anyone. This is a question parents and guardians have wrestled with since time began. We can only take the best reasonable precautions. It's up to each of us to decide what's reasonable for us and our fids/family.

Our only near-by friends who have birds got thiers from the same breeder we got Jade and Ruby from. Since all 4 birds bere hatched there and hadn't been exposed to any other birds but the ones in her aviary and since we got copies of her msot swabbing results with each bird that came home, we feel pretty confident that all households concerned are "clean" from that stand point.

 

[Spiritbird]

Like AD said we do not want to put our birds in a bubble but we do need to be careful. If someone was visiting my home who also had birds I would request they wash hands, leave shoes at the door and wear clothes that were not the ones worn while handling their own birds. Rosie will not let anyone else touch her just yet. This is something I am working on now. Does this make sense to you??

 

[Mrspy]

Yeah it does. So be cautious but don't get so stressed over wanting the everyone to be sanitized when near the bird that you just can't take it anymore?

One last question I had. (i'm trying not to be to paranoid about this but I wanna get it taken care of before I get the bird) Peeps cage is in our bathroom(don't worry, it's like one of the non-used bathrooms and very big so there's a lot of room for him to breath ) But people do use the bathroom and so they're in the same room as Peeps. Now I've stationed my conure at the complete oppossite part of the house(Peeps is in the loft and the conure will be in the tv room in our basement) and the conure will be in the tv room. We watch movies so will it be bad for someone to use the bathroom upstair and then just come downstairs without doing anything(i bet they wash their hands(I HOPE))to watch a movie? Would it expose the conure? Because if this is a problem I have a plan B and I can move the bird into my older brothers bedroom. Fortunetaly I picked the best time to get the bird because one of my older brothers left and the other one is getting read to go to college. So then I can move the bird into there. The room won't be ready for maybe 10 days after I get the bird so i'll have to wait a little bit. I just want to know if it will be a problem for the conure to be in a place that everyone goes, and then Peeps is also in a place that almost everyone goes. Thanks guys(this is probably the last question I have about quarantines )