okay, i've been having a think about quarintine and im just wondering when its needed

 

well obviouly is another bird is coming from another home when it was on its own then the time it was at a different home counts as quarntine time, but im just wondering how far this extends, if you were to get a budgie from a new breeder with just a couple of budgies who lived indoors would that budgie need quarintine since it wouldnt have chance to pick anything up? then if not how far does that extend (Laughing out loud), do you get wat i mean, probarbly not its late

I guess it depends on the situation, really. If you get a new bird, generally you quarantine it for at least 30 days so that you can watch it for signs of illness or get it to the vet for actual tests for illnesses.

 

Even if the breeder only has a few birds or even one bird you'd want to quarantine it just in case something is wrong because you haven't been around for that 30 days or so to keep an eye on things. If the breeder (or whoever) is someone you fully believe monitors their birds carefully and who keeps the birds in separate cages (the only way to really monitor a single bird carefully) then I guess that could be an exception.

 

I guess the most important thing is that you know that for 30 days or more, the bird had no contact with other birds and that its caretaker was able to watch it for signs of illness. Preferably, you'd be able to drop in and see the bird during that time and note whether or not it looked healthy. Most pet stores and breeders put several birds in one cage so there wouldn't really be a way to keep track of just one single bird's droppings or behavior.

 

The only bird I haven't strictly quarantined is Phoenix and that is mostly because he and Pika came from the same breeder and were bought on the same day. I wasn't the person who made the purchase but I had Pika for over a month and Phoenix spent his time as a single bird living with a cousin who lives just down the street from me.

 

I guess the most ideal situation is to take any new bird to the avian vet for a full workup and clean bill of health. Then you only have to wait a week or so for the test results to come back and it's more peace of mind than quarantine as some diseases lie dormant for a long time or never become obvious. Some can just be shed from a bird who looks perfectly healthy.

 

Now, if more people would become avian vets and make it easier to get birds there.

(Laughing out loud), dam people not becoming avian vets!

 

so basically it depends on the situation hehe, how much does it cost to get a full health check? i think i'd probarbly do that if i got a new bird 1.because i'm the most impatient person ever and 2. because its safer

 

Edit: Opps spelt impatient wrong!

Edited June 28, 200520 yr by Andy

It varies a lot from vet to vet but mine charges $32 just for the office visit (walking in the door, basically :closedeyes: ) and then the gram stain/fecal culture stuff comes to another $60-$70 and bloodwork is around $80. Of course, you can choose to not have everything done (a lot of people don't like having blood taken from small birds) and it gets a bit cheaper that way. But to be on the safe side, bloodwork would be best.

 

That's nearly $200 for me so it's a little over 100 pounds.

 

There's also a pretty reputable company online that will test birds (as well as DNA sex them) for you. They send you kits, you take the samples (feathers, blood from a nail, or swab of the cloaca) and then you send them off for testing. It's quite a bit cheaper than going to the vet and sometimes more convenient but I'd want a vet to show me how to properly take samples before doing it on my own. It's called Avian Biotech but I'm sure there was a UK based one as well that is reputable. I just can't remember the name at the moment!

is bloodwork very risky in small birds?, and i would never dare do the stuff myself (Laughing out loud)

I've heard a lot of different opinions but honestly, it doesn't seem like it would be. They can take it from a claw just by clipping it a little close and don't really need a lot of blood for testing. Maybe a drop or two. Budgies don't have a lot of blood but I'm sure they lose a lot more when breaking a blood feather than they would when a vet is taking it. On the other hand, I'd only ever let a certified avian vet do it. I wouldn't trust a regular dog/cat/small animal vet.

seeing as both my birds have an illness and one that can be hidden and one of my birds shows no signs at all. the only circumstances where i would not quarantine is if i bought two birds from the same breeder witin a week or two of eachother.

 

even with quarantine the only way to tell if a bird has an illness is for tests to be done. i would not consider introducing a new bird unless they had had full tests done. the potential risks are unthinkable. i would advse anyone on here to have all new birds tested for aviary diseases by the end of the quarantine period and to stick to the usual rules of qarantine even after the bird has been tested.

 

if you start to cut corners you are playing with fire - just my opinion.

Edited June 28, 200520 yr by pixie25