Informative and SCARY article about Bird Marts

Wow this may hit home to members who belong to bird clubs. I know the one I joined has bird fairs all the time. I am not longer a member.

Thanks.

We've attended only one bird mart, and were planning to show and sell our PortaPerch at one coming up in June at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. Scratch that.

The Orange County Bird Breeders club does not have members' birds at meetings; just those part of the program.

omgosh! ok, im never taking my bird to a fair ever! thank you so much for this, i will not be taking them to any fairs now, but, if i attended without my birds would it pose a danger to them when i got home?

I went to one bird mart, and it's pretty bad sometimes. I went expecting to see some birds that didn't look good but I try not to judge since I don't know their past. But when I see a hand raised bird with the breeders for sale that looks horrible it's a HUGE concern. Many of the birds sold at this particular bird mart where only being fed sunflower seeds or some sort of sead mix. Seeing a amazon sift it's beak through a bunch of sunflower shells was a heart breaking site to me, I could only imagine the mess that bird must of been internally.

These cockatoos and macaws are not healthy at all, the scarlet has very visible banding on the tail, the blue and gold just looked horrible and didn't have bright eyes, the cockatoos looked a little greasy and their feathers had a strange look to them.

While I agree that taking your own bird, or purchasing a bird at a Bird Fair/Expo is a bad, bad, BAD idea, I don't think that them as a whole are. I think that they are a great way to get quality merchandise at a discount, raise some money for a rescue, talk with other enthusiasts who may be in your area and networking is never a bad thing. You never know when that person you met may be able to help you out in a situation.

I'd also like more of the "data" they included. Such as, where exactly was each sample taken? Not just "Raffle table" but how about showing us the lab results with the state. I realize this was to emphasize how wide-spread it is and that it's not just one state or a small grouping of states, but I personally would like more information. The tables themselves are somewhat poorly, especially the one where they talked about swabbing various areas without birds.

Also, you never know what diseases you come in to contact with on a daily bases. Seriously. You could randomly touch the same shopping cart handle as someone else who owns a bird that's unknown to you, but carries disease and said bird owner didn't wash their hands or sanitize the cart handle prior to touching it. Then you touch the handle before you wipe it down - if you wipe it down. Some of us aren't uber paranoid and wipe down every single surface of every single thing we touch. I'm cautious, but I don't go overboard. It's also why we humans are now dealing with Super Bugs that don't die off with antibiotics.

Dishgal or whoever: this thread should be moved to a more general group. Thanks for everyone's thoughts.

Personally, I'd shower and wash the set of clothes I'd been wearing before handling my bird, if I were to go to a bird mart.

While it is technically true you could pick up an avian disease anywhere, it isn't near as likely, or as concentrated, as a bird mart. It could be in the air and on any of the surfaces. It'd be like saying your chance of catching a flu from one person in the same super market as you, is as likely as catching the flu in a small room full of many sick people.

Better safe than sorry.

HalfInsane said:

Personally, I'd shower and wash the set of clothes I'd been wearing before handling my bird, if I were to go to a bird mart.

While it is technically true you could pick up an avian disease anywhere, it isn't near as likely, or as concentrated, as a bird mart. It could be in the air and on any of the surfaces. It'd be like saying your chance of catching a flu from one person in the same super market as you, is as likely as catching the flu in a small room full of many sick people.

Better safe than sorry.

Click to expand...

I agree with that for the most part. I too would be cautious, but what I'm trying to say is that nothing is ever guaranteed. The tables are too general for my liking. While it is important to keep our babies safe, to me, saying that all Bird Marts/Expo's (including ones that do not have birds at them) is just as bad as padding on playgrounds.

I was aware of all this that's why I never purchase any birds from bird fair except Malachai. I know we were taking a risk but he stole my heart instantly....Plus the lady was really finicky about anyone touching him without sanitizing your hands first. He was her only bird for sale there, there was no other birds around him. I took many things into consideration before bringing him home. I don't like most of the breeders there as I've made comments about them to others present and on here as well. We also NEVER bring any of our birds to the events. I guess we have to be more careful with the toys cause that's all we buy there.

For myself, just knowing it is in the air at these shows is enough for me. I will just abstain from going to them. It could come home in your hair or on your clothes. You would have to change clothes and shower outside to keep from bringing it into your home. It is just a risk I am not willing to take. I am not paranoid at all, I have never been afraid of germs for myself, and I never catch anything. It just doesn't make sense that we stress the importance of quarantine for new birds that we bring into our homes and then go to a place where germs could be prevalent because we know that (all breeders are not created equal) and then bring those germs home to our precious babies. These birds need to be brought in with health certificates from their aviary showing they come from an aviary that is maintained and that breeder birds are checked out by the vet on a regular basis.

[QUOTE
I agree with that for the most part. I too would be cautious, but what I'm trying to say is that nothing is ever guaranteed. The tables are too general for my liking. While it is important to keep our babies safe, to me, saying that all Bird Marts/Expo's (including ones that do not have birds at them) is just as bad as padding on playgrounds.[/QUOTE]

They did an environmental testing. Bird or no bird, general or poorly table is unrelevant. If PBFD was present on anything, even a lousy piece of paper, means that it is in the air as it is airborne. Which also means that anybody present there also has it on them and can spread it to everyone out of the place.

But yes there is a risk everywhere, I agree. At the vet for example.

Echo said:

[QUOTE
I agree with that for the most part. I too would be cautious, but what I'm trying to say is that nothing is ever guaranteed. The tables are too general for my liking. While it is important to keep our babies safe, to me, saying that all Bird Marts/Expo's (including ones that do not have birds at them) is just as bad as padding on playgrounds.

Click to expand...

They did an environmental testing. Bird or no bird, general or poorly table is unrelevant. If PBFD was present on anything, even a lousy piece of paper, means that it is in the air as it is airborne. Which also means that anybody present there also has it on them and can spread it to everyone out of the place.

But yes there is a risk everywhere, I agree. At the vet for example.[/QUOTE]

Yes, I realize that. But do you also realize that just going out on a nature hike, you can pick it up too? Birds are out in nature! And they also carry these diseases that we can then take home to our pets. Does that mean we shouldn't hike anymore? Or take them with us when we do (yes, I have taken Loki on walks and hikes)? Or give them outdoor cages where they could come in to contact with other, non-"tame" birds?

I'm not saying we shouldn't take precautions, what I'm saying is that there is such a thing as going overboard. It's like cutting off your nose to spite your face. It's like how sterilizing every little thing that comes into contact with your infant, from wiping everything down with antibacterial this and that, and constantly using hand sanitizer can actually do more harm than good. It doesn't necessarily work. I say, go to them. Enjoy yourself! Buy a toy or two, buy some raffle tickets. Then, wash your hands, change your clothes (maybe even take a shower and wash your hair if it makes you feel better) and sterilize those toys before you go near or give the toys to your babies.

And yes, despite how clean and sterile a Vet's office can be (just like a doctor's office), you can still pick things up there.

I agree totally with all you said. Sometimes I think we get a little overcautious on quarantine as well. If you purchase a bird from a reputable breeder that shows evidence that her breeders have been tested twice a year by a vet then I don't think the quarantine is as important at least not to an extreme of 30 to 60 days. I was mainly talking about people who quarantine over extended periods of time and then go to bird marts it is such a contradiction of what they believe. More than likely those people don't go to bird marts. Ultimately everyone has to make their own decisions about what they do. As for hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap it IS more harmful because it creates super germs. I never use hand sanitizer. I am not a germ freak at all.

dishgal1 said:

I agree totally with all you said. Sometimes I think we get a little overcautious on quarantine as well. If you purchase a bird from a reputable breeder that shows evidence that her breeders have been tested twice a year by a vet then I don't think the quarantine is as important at least not to an extreme of 30 to 60 days. I was mainly talking about people who quarantine over extended periods of time and then go to bird marts it is such a contradiction of what they believe. More than likely those people don't go to bird marts. Ultimately everyone has to make their own decisions about what they do. As for hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap it IS more harmful because it creates super germs. I never use hand sanitizer. I am not a germ freak at all.

Click to expand...

I hear that! I had a premie and the first words out of the pediatricians mouth was "Do NOT go overboard with hand sanitizers and antibacterial soaps and cleaners. They do more harm than good! Expose her!". I think being cautious, about anything, is a good thing. I think being overly cautious, or even contradictory isn't.

I didn't quarantine Sugar because, as my Vet said "You've already taken Loki to where the bird is. He's already been exposed to anything she has at this point, so a quarantine makes no sense" when I took her in the day I got her. I got her the same place I take him to get his wings and nails done. And I did it with my Vet's blessing.

Our avian vet says the same thing. If they come from a reputable breeder then you don't have so many worries. When you see the vet check from her aviary that her birds have been tested then everything will probably be good. I think we are on the same page here. Hope you didn't think I was arguing> Just wanted to post that informative article in case people didn't see it and unknowingly went to a show and later found out they wished they hadn't. What a person does with the info is strictly their own business.

dishgal1 said:

Our avian vet says the same thing. If they come from a reputable breeder then you don't have so many worries. When you see the vet check from her aviary that her birds have been tested then everything will probably be good. I think we are on the same page here. Hope you didn't think I was arguing> Just wanted to post that informative article in case people didn't see it and unknowingly went to a show and later found out they wished they hadn't. What a person does with the info is strictly their own business.

Click to expand...

I was also playing devil's advocate We are definitely on the same page.

For me a little virus and bacterias here and there is fine. I believe in exposures to have the body system fight and tolerate the infections. The more you shield the body from exposing to the virus and bacterias the more you'll get weak and the more you will easily catch them. Immune system must be exposed o learn how to fight the intruders. As simple as going to bird store makes you vulnerable to be exposed to viruses and bacterias which you an carry and transmit them to your pets. For me it's just a little precautions but not totally freak out about birdmarts and such.