Quarantine

[Rio Mom]

Ok... I know this has been discussed before, but I can't seem to find the thread. Of course we all know the importance of quarantine, my question is, is quarantine necessary if the second bird comes from an "only bird" home, where it hasn't been exposed to any other birds?

Also, to those of you who have gone from only having one bird to having two, how was the transition for you to go from all the attention to one birdie, to dividing it between two? Thanks for your help!

 

[Netty]

OK i will put my .02$ in on this one because i worked rescue and i will tell you this.

What we do as pet owners IS NOT a true quarantine, if it were the animals would be kept in a COMPLETELY SEPARATE airspace from your home during this period to prevent anything from going airborne and infecting present animals.

what we do is a PARTIAL quarantine in which the animals are in the same airspace, you likely aren't stripping down clothes and going for a shower changing clothes when heading to a different cage EVERY time, in most TRUE quarantine cases you would be waiting a period of hours between cage visits as well as the above.

When you are in a home environment and you are bringing in a HEALTHY bird with a vet check etc. then there is NO REASON to keep it in lock down since all your vents and ducts all go through and interconnect making a tangled web of area that goes through you entire home making no where safe from airborne disease.

If the animal is the ONLY bird the household has had AND it comes with a veterinary cert/you get it checked and get results before you bring it into your house then i see NO reason to have to quarantine it.

Unless as i stated about you have a separate airspace, allot of clothes, a change of shoes, plastic hair cover etc. for when you go to see the bird or spend time in the same airspace as it.

Putting a bird in the "next room over" is like saying i'm holding a towel up between us i can't get your cold. It doesn't make sense.

Now as for the parasite factor etc. common sense should dictate that you should be washing/sanitizing your hands between handling the new bird and the original birds, dont feeed from the same dishes, don't allow contact between the birds, don't share toys etc until a full check for any parasites can be done and all come back clean.

 

[Spiritbird]

My avian vet who is very well known and has 36 years of practice behind him says that if the bird your are bringing into your home has not been exposed to other birds there is no need to quarantine. I did not quarantine Cricket and he is fine and so is Rosie.

 

[Echo]

WELL SAID NETTY!!! It so true what you just said! That is what I try to tell people who think that just putting a bird in another room is quarantine! NOT!

No matter if the bird was the only bird in the household....where does he come from originally? A breeder? A pet store? Surely from a place where he was in contact with other birds/species. When I get a new bird, I test him for Avian Diseases and when those come back clear, then I introduce him to the others.

AGAIN NETTY thank you for explaining so well what i was thinking!!!

 

[Netty]

WELL SAID NETTY!!! It so true what you just said! That is what I try to tell people who think that just putting a bird in another room is quarantine! NOT!

No matter if the bird was the only bird in the household....where does he come from originally? A breeder? A pet store? Surely from a place where he was in contact with other birds/species. When I get a new bird, I test him for Avian Diseases and when those come back clear, then I introduce him to the others.

AGAIN NETTY thank you for explaining so well what i was thinking!!!

LOL np, I don't know how many times i have had to explain it involving rats (since myco and URI's run rampant through them)

When i went to college i had to do a project on quarantine and then based off all my research write up how to explain to clients at a vet. hospital how to to do proper quarantine and common sense bring a new animal into the home. LOL

 

[Rio Mom]

WELL SAID NETTY!!! It so true what you just said! That is what I try to tell people who think that just putting a bird in another room is quarantine! NOT!

No matter if the bird was the only bird in the household....where does he come from originally? A breeder? A pet store? Surely from a place where he was in contact with other birds/species. When I get a new bird, I test him for Avian Diseases and when those come back clear, then I introduce him to the others.

AGAIN NETTY thank you for explaining so well what i was thinking!!!

Thank you all for your help and input. The possible bird would be coming from a single bird rehoming situation, so it has not been around other birds.

 

[Echo]

It should still be quarantine and tested for Avian Diseases before being introduced to your other bird! Before he went to that single bird home, he does have to have been born to a breeder that had multiple birds then either sold him himself or sold to a pet store! Either way, that bird should be tested to make sure he doesn't have an underlying disease.

 

[melinda]

If it was me i would make sure to have the vet to do blood work and keep them in different rooms for at least a week until the blood work gets in. When we move a bird it puts stress on them and they might catch a cold or anything. I have found putting them in a room with a good veiw helps get them settled in and bonding is easier. I always make sure to wash my hands after handling new birds until the test results are in. After a week has went by most birds have been talking to each other and are ready to meet.

 

[Netty]

If it was me i would make sure to have the vet to do blood work and keep them in different rooms for at least a week until the blood work gets in. When we move a bird it puts stress on them and they might catch a cold or anything. I have found putting them in a room with a good veiw helps get them settled in and bonding is easier. I always make sure to wash my hands after handling new birds until the test results are in. After a week has went by most birds have been talking to each other and are ready to meet.

While this is true if i bird "catches a cold" it is likely to be something airborne, meaning it is already in your home and now that the bird is infected it can pass it on just from air circulation or you walking by the room it is in and into the room your bird is in. the big issue is major disease that requires medication generally speaking a move won't cause this unless you walk into a contaminated pet store and walk into their house and handle it before bringing it home.

Your bird is more likely to get sick from you going to the pet store to pick up food then a HEALTHY bird who has been kept up to date with vetting coming into your home.

Especially if said bird is from a single bird household, a bird being exposed to other birds a few years ago isn't going to make much difference i it has had vet work done between now and then.


In all generalizations quarantine is generally done when you are getting a bird from a breeder or a pet store where there is a constant exposure to other birds who may or may not have been in contact with an infected animal. It is a precautionary measure that is taken.

If the bird has been a lone bird for a few years and has NO exposure and is in good health a "quarantine" procedure isn't really required, what is required is general common sense and hygiene.

Think about it this way:
You are in your house have never been sick before. you stay in your house for a year except to go to the drs office.

You go to your friends house because you finally get sick of being alone in your house and the internet just ain't cutting it anymore, you likely aren't going to be getting them sick because there is no way that you are sick.


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Now replace that with birds. If the bird has had its "drs" appointments the likeliness of it having anything that will infect you bird is slim to none.




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Keep in mind until your own vet sees the bird it is smart to keep them separate until he does, but a "quarantine" isn't what you guys are describing at all due to the lack of anything stopping parasites and airborne contaminants.

BOTTOM LINE:
If its in your home its not a quarantine.

 

[Echo]

I agree to some point Netty. Even if the bird has been a single bird in a home, even though you are right when you say that the chances are slim that he could have a transmittable disease, I would still be cautious and test. Unless the owners only bought supplies by internet, the risk is there if they regularly went to pet stores, bird fairs and were in contact with contaminated bird without knowing it........

 

[MikeyTN]

A bird that have not been around other birds does NOT mean they're safe!!!! When they move into a new environment and when stressed, that's when the dormant virus and disease can show up when they're at their weakest! I made a mistake many years ago in trusting this lady with her bird. She took great care of him, even took him to the vet and fix his wing when it got broken. He was clean and healthy looking until I got him, he was the only bird she has, within a week he made all my birds sick and he ended up dead and it cost me a big vet bill to care for the rest of my birds. I don't take chances like that ever again!!!!

 

[Echo]

Yes MikeyTN it is what I am talking about!!!! Until you have experienced it and gotten the scare of your life, you NEVER trust or assume that the bird is healthy. Even if it has regular check ups, most vets do not test for some diseases and THEY SHOULD! I now test all birds period!

 

[Netty]

Never once did i say don't go get them tested I in fact said DO go to a vet and get them tested, the fact of the matter is :

When it is in the same air space it IS NOT a quarantine.

No matter what you do it doesn't stop bacteria and viruses from being transmitted through the air. Unless you change your clothes and shower and make sure you change your shoes(if you wear shoes in your house, I do at my moms she has chipboard flooring right now.. sliver heaven otherwise! ) etc. then you can still get contact transmission.

SO, unless you can provide a separate airspace and are willing to do 2-4 times the amount of laundry per week it's not a true quarantine it's just a cautious introductory phase.

In all reality a "true quarantine" can last for MONTHS depending on what you are looking for because some things may not show up for months. All we do as pet owners is what is in our power, most people don't have a separate facility to house new birds until they are 100% sure they aren't carrying anything. A good example of NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL S%^& STILL HITS THE FAN is the one rescue in Ontario here that works with rats. they do the separate room quarantine(well they did then now i'm not sure they still do or if they cycle them through a foster) BUT anyways, same apartment different room on a completely different side of the apartment. They washed hands, sanitized hands, used different bowls, no animal came into contact with ANY of the "quarantined rats" stuff dishes were done in different sinks and bleach was used to diinfect etc etc.

one rat came in harboring the SENDAI virus (HIGH MORTALITY RATE VIRUS!!)
All normal percautions were followed everyone seemed healthy as per normal everyone was vet checked etc.
no one suspected a thing. then wake up later that week....
WHOLE COLONY INFECTED.

Not just the rats in that room but every rat in the building. the one who came in carrying the virus died and was sent off for a pathology to figure out what was going on etc. Positive test for sendai came back. They lost OVER HALF of the rescues housed there (at that point there was around 45 rats total in the rescue)

considering that there is a HUGE mortality rate with sendai they got lucky, this was one of the first sendai outbreaks in canada.

1 rat with a random disease quarantined the way that everyone here does.

As you can see it is Definitely NOT a true quarantine if it were the healthy animals NEVER would have come into ANY contact with the virus and the number of rats that died would have been greatly minimized.

Sendai is a rare virus in north america it is normally seen in Asia.

SO if I haven't got the point across yet:
IF THE NEW ANIMAL IS INSIDE YOUR HOME IT IS NOT A QUARANTINE.

You can take every per-caution in the world but unless you have a separate airspace if something gets airborne there is nothing you can do to stop it.

 

[melinda]

Quarantine in our homes isn't quarantine. The best we can do is keep them in different rooms lucky me i have window a/c and keep doors closed. i make sure that i wash my hands good and don't share supplys with birds. But if you bring a new bird into your home please take it to the vet for blood work it could save the new birds life and the birds that you have. It can even pick up metal toxins. Bottom line is you take a risk everytime you bring in a new bird it is up to you to protect your flock the best you can.

 

[Echo]

If the bird has been a lone bird for a few years and has NO exposure and is in good health a "quarantine" procedure isn't really required, what is required is general common sense and hygiene.

I was responding to this. I still house the new bird in a different building (detached garage) until all tests come back cleared. I believe we do agree on the same thing.

 

[Netty]

If the bird has been a lone bird for a few years and has NO exposure and is in good health a "quarantine" procedure isn't really required, what is required is general common sense and hygiene.

I was responding to this. I still house the new bird in a different building (detached garage) until all tests come back cleared. I believe we do agree on the same thing.

If we could all have a detached garage that would be awesome (ours here is even heated!! thank you Papa for installing that!)

A detached garage is an easy way for separate airspace in a safe way.

My friends got a new bird to add to their flock a few years ago and used it as an excuse to screen in the back porch and they kept Mika there (it is a covered over wrap around style porch) it was a safe place to put a cage while the weather was decent and a good way to avoid anything airborne getting to the other end of the house (inside) where their birds are kept.

 

[MikeyTN]

Rather it is quarantine or not, it is a safety precaution! I deal with rescuing sick animals into my home too. I've got hand sanitizers everywhere in my house along with sanitizer spray. Don't I understand the need of being cautious.....giradia, parasites, virus, etc. Dealt with them all!

 

[Aussie Ben]

Also, to those of you who have gone from only having one bird to having two, how was the transition for you to go from all the attention to one birdie, to dividing it between two? Thanks for your help!

In response to your other question - I found it rather difficult dividing my time at first. Think of everything you do for the current bird....now double it. However it just takes time and routine planning and the new bird will fit into the schedule. In my case I had two VERY different species that were different in size, Buddy the tiel (god rest her soul) and Eddie the Ekkie. Because Eddie didn't know his own strength I really couldn't have them both out at the same time, so I had to do it separately, which really stretches your time and reduces their play time. I'm sure if the new bird is a similar size, in time, caring for both of them will be easier and easier if/when they start to get along. Just my thoughts .

I've also heard of birds bonding to each other more than the owner, but can't speak from experience here.

 

[MikeyTN]

I teach my birds to be more self sufficient that they aren't clingy like some birds can be! I do have to take mine out separately except the ekkies can come out together with the too cause they're all pretty much the same size plus they all tolerate one another. The tiels have mates of their own so they rather stick with them but will step up for me if I ask them to. The parakeets doesn't care to be handled, same with Canaries. Macaw have to be out by himself cause he doesn't get along with any bird period!