When is it necessary to Quaranteen? Should I do this with my baby Green cheek when I get it? I asked the breeder this same question and she told me that she never would sell anyone a sick baby, which sort of answered my question and sort of not. Petey isn't sick but should I do it just on the safe side and for how long? Thank you!

Christine

I would but that's just me. I waited almost 3 months before I put Pita and Meeka in the same room. I was not even willing to take a chance on Meeka's health. But it's up to you~!
Goodluck with your new baby~!

My own personal opinion is yes its important to quarantine a bird for at least 6 weeks and in the process get an avian vet examination of the bird to ensure it does indeed have a clean bill of health. Its also good to have the vet exam so your bird is on record of being a patient if the event of an emergency did come up. Vets will more often than not see a bird they have record of who is sick over one that has never been seen before.

Just because a bird looks healthy does not mean they are ill and unless the breeder is running the tests I wouldnt take her word on it. Its much easier to treat one bird than an entire flock in the event that there is a problem.

This article is pretty good and discusses it all in length.

http://www.parrotchronicles.com/winter2001/quarantine.htm

There's really no other way for a breeder to answer that qx. It's a qx to ask your vet . . . or us

My first bird was an African Grey -- then just months later (I was young and ignorant ) a Moluccan 'too. And another few months later (no excuses ) a B&G. All bought as babies from 2 local bird stores. All taken for well-baby exams ASAP. A few days after the B&G's exam, the vet called with the awful news that she had psittacosis and needed to be treated IMMEDIATELY. I assured her the baby was quarantined, but she stressed the critical importance that we be scrupulous in maintaining the quarantine at LEAST thru the 7-wk treatment period and follow-up testing.

I hung up the phone and burst into tears. I didn't know exactly what psittacosis was, but the vet's tone was deadly serious, and I was horribly afraid our other two birds might already have been exposed because we'd not taken quarantine as seriously as we should have.

Long story somewhat shortened: the treatment went well and the baby thrived. The other two were well, and we learned a very important lesson about the value of GOOD quarantine. I can't begin to tell you how horrible I felt that day thinking I might have carelessly killed my other two babies. It was all too real and really worse than I can put into words. Just quarantine, please.

gail

Thank you! I was thinking of doing it anyway, just did not know for how long. Which is why I asked here ...I WILL be taking our new bird to the vet asap..That was just a given ..Anyway..Thank you all again for the helpful advice

Christine

There are two reasons to quarantine. First being so a new bird being brought into the residence doesn't bring in any diseases. and Secondly, so the new one doesn't catch anything from one of your reg birds even though none appear to be sick.

General rule is 4-6 weeks with the longer being the best. However you need to remember, that there are guidelines you must follow to properly quarantine your birds. And that means a lot of clothes changing and hand washing. It doesn't mean to just keep them in separate rooms.

And truth be known, actual quarantine in the true since of the word can't be thoroughly accomplished in ones home since most have a central heating and air system. However in general terms if done properly what needs to be accomplished can be.

To properly quarantine a new bird the bird needs to be placed in a seperate room with a door totally away from other other species of birds. You need to decide on a system..and one that will be the most effective, so you aren't cross contaminating. So its best to take care of the new birds needs first, feed water clean cage food dishes and handle the bird, BEFORE! you do mess with your other birds. Once you have all the chores and handling done of the new bird, Change your clothes and wash your hands etc extremely well and then take care of your other birds needs. Do NOT allow them to be in the same room together at any time and do not allow them to play on the same toys etc Do not interchange dishes if you have cages with the same type dishes etc. Keep them totally separate. That's the definition of Quarantine.

Hope this helps