"What is the minimum quarantine time period for a new bird and why is this"?

To quarantine a new bird is not only for the protection of your presently owned birds/flocks but also for yourself. A disease like psittacosis (aka chlamydiosis, parrot fever, ornithosis) is among the Zoonotic diseases (diseases of animals that can be transmitted to humans), and are not unknown. Many new birds brought into the home around the older flock may not show any ill symptoms at all. They can be latent carriers and spread it to others which can be devastating to one bird or an entire flock.

If you presently own birds that are healthy and live in an environment which is considered to be "disease free", their system will not have the necessary amount of active immunity to fight off diseases from a new bird brought in from a totally different environment where dissimilar germs and bacteria reside. New birds can become stressed by being taken into a new home (among other reasons), and the stress can cause the bird to emit germs that under normal circumstances it would not. Not only should the new bird be quarantined...it should be quarantined in a separate room. The spread of psittacosis and other diseases can be spread via inhalation of dust from feathers or droppings and can be enhanced by being in contact with sick birds shedding the organism.

A new bird should be seen by an avian veterinarian within three days of acquiring it and should receive a complete check-up at the first visit with regular check-up's following at least once a year after-wards.

Quarantining new birds is a difficult thing to do because we want our birds to be together and hopefully become friends and be a part of our families. We tend to feel sorry for them because they can't be around the others or get in a rush to want to pair our birds and breed them. To quarantine for a few weeks is a small price to pay for our present birds/flocks and by not doing so, we put each bird we own and ourselves at risk.

Minimum quarantine period...

Avian veterinarians, breeders and hobbyists, will differ in the minimum quarantine period category. Some believe it should be ninety days, some believe sixty days and others believe thirty to forty-five days. A sixty day minimum should be the least amount of quarantine time considered and through experience I have learned that it does not matter where the bird/s are purchased from or how reputable the person/s is/are because disease can strike at any time or any place. Disease can even be passed to birds through their owners. No one can say that a bird is "disease free" because even avian veterinarians cannot guarantee that. When selling birds, a quarantine period should be suggested from the sellers to the buyers as a precaution and concern.

Everyone has his/her own particular reasons as to why they enjoy owning birds. One thing is for sure...these feathered bundles depend upon us as their caretakers and we should provide to the best of our abilities for them when it comes to their health, foods, and environments. THEY are the innocent ones that give us love, smiles and new baby chicks and I think they deserve only the best of care. Please! ALWAYS quarantine new birds.

until next week..........

Sharon a.k.a. -Feathers