Quarantine for a new bird

Well ... I did it! Today I purchased my new feather baby! An African Grey, like I've always wanted. I go pick him/her up (not sure of the gender yet) next weekend after I get the cage set up this week. Woo hoo! Here's a pic from today:



I was wondering about quarantine procedures for new introductions? I have been doing some research, and a lot of it seems extreme to me. I am definitely concerned about the health of my new bird as well as my already established bird, and would never want to contaminate in any way or put either at risk. But wearing shoe covers and wearing smocks etc etc is just a bit crazy.

Does anyone have any advice?

Have the new bird to be checked out by a vet on the very day your getting him. If he checked out good, have the new addition as far away from extisting birds as possible. In a separate room preferred! Then keep your hands clean amd clothes changed whenever in between handling them. You should be fine doing it that way. Be sure its no less then 30 days!

Awww, your new baby is beautiful! Congrats

Just be practical about it.

Terry57 said:

Awww, your new baby is beautiful! Congrats

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Thank you!!! I'm so excited, but also a little nervous!

MikeyTN said:

Have the new bird to be checked out by a vet on the very day your getting him. If he checked out good, have the new addition as far away from extisting birds as possible. In a separate room preferred! Then keep your hands clean amd clothes changed whenever in between handling them. You should be fine doing it that way. Be sure its no less then 30 days!

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I'm going to try and take the bird to the vet as soon as I can, perhaps in the first week. I just don't want to traumatize too much because its already a nervous bird to begin with. Then at least if the vet gives me the a-okay that will set my mind at ease.

I am always skeptical about changing clothes or anything like that because I figure, if they bird is being kept in a separate room with me (will be in the bedroom for the quarantine) if there is any disease or anything to be concerned about it is going to be all over my things to begin with. That's just what confuses me?

Thanks Megapixel!

That's why you practice at being cautious! A lot of diseases are transferred by touch thus the reason why keeping your hands sanitized is such a importance. But the way we rub our hands on our clothes and the way birds like to snuggle against our clothes, wouldn't you do it just to be on the safe side? I do enough rescues to know better by keeping everything sanitized otherwise I would have my other animals sick. Once you've been through having all your animals sick then you would be a lot more cautious trust me. I had a virus break out in my birds many years ago and it cost me a fortune to make everyone better again along with some casualty.

congratulations on your new addition CassMarie.

where abouts are you in Ontario?

I too reside in Ontario and know some excellent Avian Vets.

MikeyTN said:

That's why you practice at being cautious! A lot of diseases are transferred by touch thus the reason why keeping your hands sanitized is such a importance. But the way we rub our hands on our clothes and the way birds like to snuggle against our clothes, wouldn't you do it just to be on the safe side? I do enough rescues to know better by keeping everything sanitized otherwise I would have my other animals sick. Once you've been through having all your animals sick then you would be a lot more cautious trust me. I had a virus break out in my birds many years ago and it cost me a fortune to make everyone better again along with some casualty.

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Oh I completely understand being cautious and careful. I would never want both my animals to get sick. But I think there is being too cautious about it. I'm going to try and get my bird to the vet as soon as I can, but realistically, they will have to be in the same room. The cages wont be too close together and I will definitely sanitize my hands and not have the birds interact with each other before the vet check up. I just figure like, for example, when I went to see my new bird I was holding it and it was snuggling against me, I did wash my hands etc etc. But then I went home and was playing with and holding my red belly in the same clothing. So I didn't even really think about it tbh. And when the bird was snuggling me it was close to my hair. So by that, I would also have to wash my hair every time if I forget to tie it up or something. That's why I feel like, I can be careful but I can't get crazy about it. I want to keep my birdies safe but also need to keep my sanity hahaha!

crimson said:

congratulations on your new addition CassMarie.

where abouts are you in Ontario?

I too reside in Ontario and know some excellent Avian Vets.

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Thank you!

I am in the Hamilton area. I take my red belly to the Britannia Animal Hospital in Mississauga. I am originally from Mississauga, and my old next door neighbours have 3 parrots and recommended me to go there.

What about you? Where do you take your birds?

Congrats on your new baby. Hopefully you will have many fun times/years with her/him.

The Quarantine procedure is very important, especially if you don't take your CAG to the vet the first day. I agree that the first day will be too stressful for him/her to go to the vet too. I understand your predicament where you don't want to be too stressed and careful with Quarantining because you want to keep your sanity. In May I bought a Sun Conure, and I totally forgot to bring her to the vet, and I quickly set up an appointment the 11th day I had her. They were booked for several days, so I had to wait. She died 2 days later. I had ducklings at this time, and their immune systems are weak. Despite that my Conure and the ducklings were in different rooms(I washed my hands and left my clothes), all my ducklings died.

So I am trying to say, if you keep both your parrots in the same room, and the CAG has a disease, your other parrot WILL likely have a 99.99999% that it will get that same disease as well. They should be in different rooms, and you should change your clothes and wash your hands each time you interact with the CAG. Lots of Avian Diseases also travel by dust. The bacteria and viruses shrivel up into dust and can travel to your Red Bellied Parrot.

Let's hope your new CAG is happy and healthy!

i know there are a lot of "ideals" in quarantine but i also think a lot of them are impractical. keeping birds totally away from each other without some form of air passing between them is almost impossible. i realise people have had outbreaks of diseases but i also question whether these would have been prevented by birds being in different rooms (air flows throughout your house)

when you consider bird stores probably dont have quarantine rooms easily to be set up i wonder whetehr we all go overboard on the quarantine thing. if the bird seems healthy and you believe the person/store is reputable then i isolation can be quite extreme. i dont quarantine new arrivals - maybe i've just been very lucky with it, maybe those of you who have had sickness travel have been unlucky, but i tend to agree with the OP that some quarantine procedures are over the top. thats just my 2c

Hi. I recently joined up. I have 4 macaws and a Congo Grey. I have heard that there is someone in Ontario...maybe Hamilton who quarantines birds for people. Anyone heard of such a person. I live in ontario and my birds and other pets go to the avian vets at Britannia Animal Hospital in Mississauga.