I get asked the question; "But is quarantine really necessary?" almost daily and the answer is ABSOLUTELY!
Quarantine is essential for the health of your birds. I'm amazed however at the high number of people who do not quarantine or don't have a clue to what quarantine is. Those who do not practice quarantine are playing Russian Roulette with their birds health and lives. It is no longer a matter of IF my birds get sick , but WHEN.
People will get away with lax quarantine practices or skipping the practice altogether for years but eventually, it will catch up with them. Because their birds do not show signs of illness immediately, the person feels his birds are healthy. Then when a disease suddenly runs through his flock killing most of his birds he shakes his head and says; "I can't imagine what could have happened."
Another misconception is that one only needs to quarantine Avairy birds. Pet birds must also be quarantined wheather inside or outside.
The ideal quarantine situation is to keep your new bird(s) in a different building from your existing flock because many diseases are airborn and can travel from room to room through heater vents and air ducts. However this is not feasible for most bird owners so the best we can do is house our new bird(s) in a separate cage, in a separate room with absolutely NO contact with your existing flock for a period of 30~45 days. This is the amount of time it takes for illness to show up in the new bird.
Birds are very good at hiding illness as they don't want to appear to be a weak link to their other flock members or to predators. It is a survival instinct. In the wild birds are food for many animals if it appears ill it will attract many predators and flock members may pick on a sick bird or chase him from the flock, so he will attempt to act normal for as long as he can. Just because you don't see signs of illness in your new bird or even in your existing flock right away doesn't mean they are not ill. Usually by the time you can visually detect signs of illness in your bird he is already very sick.
It is every bird owners responsibility to keep his birds safe...it is every bird owners responsibility to quarantine for your birds health and well being. I often hear the excuse of not having an extra cage or the money to purchase one. To that excuse I would advise the person to wait until they do before getting another bird. I also shake my head and wonder if they can't afford a cage for quarantine purposes how do they expect to pay the hefty vet bills when their birds become ill due to their irresponsible practices?
Here are some quarantine Do's and Don'ts
DO:
1. Place your new birds in a separate cage and a separate room from your exiting flock
2. Complete quarantine... 30-45 days at least, 60~90 days at most ( a couple of days or weeks just doesn't cut it and is not a good quarantine period)
3. Wash your hands before and after handling any of your birds or their things.
DON'T :
1. Break quarantine for any reason and do not cut it short. The minute you allow ANY contact between your new bird(s) and your existing flock you have broken quarantine and have placed ALL of your birds at risk! So wait on pictures with the whole flock et.. until quarantine is complete. None of this , "well I just let them visit for a few minutes then put them back in their own cages."
2. Keep your new bird(s) in the same room with your existing flock and do not put their cages side by side. This is NOT quarantine.
3. Use your bathroom for a quarantine room unless you absolutely have no other choice. Bathrooms are breeding grounds for bacteria plus they are high traffic areas.
4. Get another bird before you have the necessary quarantine set up. Don't get another bird then make excuses for why you can't quarantine.
5. Choose to not quarantine out of inconvience impatience, or laziness. This can kill your birds!
Be responsible bird owners...keep your birds safe...QUARANTINE! Thank you! __________________
__________________ Thank you Caroline23..it's beautiful!
Talk Budgies Super Moderator
but we know this topic is as touchy as grit, and wing clipping
it's really up to the owner if they feel its important Even know we know it is
we can tell people until we are blue in the face WHICH I HAVE Many times! but they're still going to do what they want to do anyway
we can't be at thier house holding thier hand
they just need to learn to research BEFORE BUYING not when you bring the animal home!
and I don't mean just going to one website and thinking they have enough information and run out and buy one
I know I researched birds for over 20 yrs before I ever bought one! and there was still information I didn't know, and still don't know.
but i hope by having this on here some of them will listen
I agree that in the end its every individules choice, but so is the choice to spend time with ones birds, to give them out of cage time, to feed them a healthy diet, to make sure they get to a vet when they are ill. If bird owners don't choose to do the things just mentioned then IMO they are irresponsible bird owners. I feel just as strongly about bird owners who choose not to quarentine.
IMO quarantine is not on par with wing clipping and weather or not to use grit. While some or many may feel that quarantine is a personal choice IMO it is a very necessary and responsible practice. If people care about the health of their birds it should become a must do not a personal choice.
This has just been really on my heart so I wrote this in hope that this may help people who don't know what quarentine is and maybe change other's minds who don't see it as a necessary practice.
You are right ATV.. alot of people are told about quarentine and go ahead and do what they want no matter that their choice could be detremental to their birds. There's nothing we can do about that. But we can hope that some will listen and come to see that quarantine is necessary, important, and the best for their birds.
__________________ Thank you Caroline23..it's beautiful!
Talk Budgies Super Moderator
This is so important. I am glad you posted this! I would add that during quarantine that the new budgie be taken to an avian vet for a checkup to include a psittacosis test and be checked over for scaly face.
I, too, am very glad you posted this Pippin's Mom! It's great
I also want to add in that vet checkup's dont cover over for a quarantine. There are several disease that can be in your new budgie that the vet might not be able to detect. This seems to be an excuse for a lot of people to skip quarantine, when it's not at all.
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