quarantine??

[Dani#2]

How is this subject viewed on this board??

Who recommends it?

Who ignores it??

I feel it's best to keep my mouth shut until I know if this is a "hot" topic or not.

[greyburd]

As far as I know....this is a topic that is not ignored around here. MOST members will suggest that you quarantine new birds coming into a new environment. A good (reputable) breeder will suggest the same. There are way too many risks that could end up cost you way too much money if you don't quarantine. Most people will quarantine from 30 - 90 days.

[Dani#2]

oops, sorry, i was posting the same time you were. I was just wondering about it.........before I started something I shouldn't have.

[Machelle]

I feel it is very important. Definitely a must.

[Dani#2]

Then I think more needs to be emphasized on it.....maybe there is somewhere on here and I'm just not seeing it.....I don't want to point anyone out.....but......it's too late anyway.

[Monica]

Quarantine is a big issue, and everyone should quarantine any new birds.... for obvious reasons such as a new bird being sick or carrying diseases. However not everyone, including myself, have the space or otherwise, to properly quarantine. Many people can't do a proper quarantine with one central air system going throughout the entire house (so air is shared between rooms), or because they don't have an extra room to quarantine in, or for whatever other reasons that might be out there.

With all the birds I have taken in over the years, I haven't noticed any that just died because another bird was brought into the home. Of course viruses or other illnesses can take time to grow and mature maybe in a birds body, but this usually results in more than one bird passing.

Of course birds can also catch something from bad food, toys, cages, or whatever it might be that we bring home for them and don't properly clean or disinfect. All I'm saying is that you have to see both sides of things... and of course then there are people who just don't know any better.

[jimpierce7]

I wish more people would have mentioned it before I brought Sophie home. I got lucky and didn't have a problem. It was something that just never entered my mind. As soon as I mentioned she was home someone asked if she was quarentined. As I live in a tiny (425 sqft) apartment I built a partition.

[Tiki]

Quarantine isn't a "hot topic" likely to upset anyone. Most of us who have multiple birds do quarantine the new birds from the old birds. The one lesson I learned the hard way is that you also need to quarantine them from each other. Tjinimin came to me with Megabacteria and when I got Manikay two weeks later, I let them visit each other. I was very lucky, Manikay didn't catch it and Tjinimin was cured with a prescription from the avian vet. I also had to treat Chaska, even though she didn't have direct contact, she was in the same room in a different cage.

[dislater]

Absolutely, quarentine is a must in good bird management. Never take the chance exposing your birds to a disease or sickness. Always wash your hands between handling the new bird in quarentine and your other birds. I would go so far as recommending having a smock or jacket you wear over your clothes while to handle or care for the bird in quarentine that you remove and leave in the quarentine area, before you go interact with with your other birds. di

[Tiki]

OK, I see why this topic was posted (from another thread). There will always be newbies to birds who don't know about quarantine and will put a new bird with an old bird. When this happens, the potential damage will have already be done. There are things that can be done like one of our members suggested like cleaning the perches, getting vet checks, separating them right away.

What I don't want is to see anyone jumping down the newbie's throat, that just causes hurt feelings, guilt and they will probably leave the board when they should stick around to learn more. So please do offer advice in the spirit that they may not have known better and they want what is best for their birds.