Proper Quarantine Procedure

Printed with kind permission from Peter Sakas, DVM.

The owner of a new bird should be instructed to isolate the bird for at least 30 days away from any other birds. Even if the bird has been given a clean bill of health by an avian veterinarian, some conditions may be undetectable or may be incubating, only to develop at some later time when the bird is stressed. In addition to the risk of the new bird transmitting a disease to other birds in the collection, the new bird, being stressed by being placed in a new environment, is also more prone to picking up diseases that are already present in birds in the collection. Such diseases may be subclinical in the healthy, unstressed birds but cause problems for the new arrival with its lowered resistance. The 30-day period is suggested because disease conditions will generally become apparent in this time frame, especially since the bird is being stressed by placement in the new environment.

Contrary to the belief of some people that isolation is important for only larger birds, isolation is important for small birds as well. It is not unusual for small birds to carry such serious diseases as chlamydiosis and Mycoplasma infections as well as parasitic infections, such as giardiasis, that are readily transmissable to the other birds in the collection. Not only should the isolated bird, large or small, be kept in a separate room from other birds, preferably in a room with separate air flow but the owner should be instructed to wash the birds utensils separately from those of the other birds and wash his or her hands thoroughly after handling the isolated bird.

Even if all of these precautions are taken, it cannot be guaranteed that a new bird will not be a source of disease for other birds in a collection. Birds can, for example, be carriers of chlamydiosis but show no outward signs of the disease. Other diseases, such as proventricular dilation disease (PDD), can persist undetected in a bird for long periods of time and cause outbreaks years later. Until more research is conducted and more diagnostic tests are developed, however, the 30-day isolation is an owner's best defense against risk to the birds in his or her collection.