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Can we talk??? ..... Quaratine Procedures......

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Annamacaw

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I am sort of afraid to ask this because I know it could be a touchy subject....

I have a friend who is an Infection Control Nurse and we got on the subject of the new birds beong in Quaratine...it got me wondering about how people handle quarantine???

What procedure do you follow before you move your new birds in the same space with your current birds?

I have done what my AV recommends .... Q for 45-60 days in a separate building and then take them to the AV and she checks them over and then does labs to test for infectious diseases, if they are healthy and the labs indicate no exposure to any of these diseases.... I can't remember what all she tests for???

But the point my friend made is that if you are going to test for all these diseases, why not just run all the labs when you 1st get them????
 

Holiday

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If you are going to test for all these diseases, why not just run all the labs when you 1st get them????
I think some people do :confused:
 

kastelling

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Not all diseases have tests, so the quarantine time is also for close observation of health, etc....

Sent from my MB501 using Tapatalk
 

waterfaller1

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I have a CBC, and wellness check when I first get them. I think they also did a gram stain, and maybe a couple other things? I still qt, take care of the qt bird last, change clothes, different room, do not mix bowls, etc..
 

Annamacaw

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I do like the Quarantine time for getting to know them and building a relationship....

Makes sense that they could have a disease that doesn't have a test, but I guess if you ran the tests at the start of quarantine, if they did have something you could test for then you would know if they were positive for prior exposure.....

I am not trying to not quarantine, just trying to better understand what we do and why we do it????
 

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I do the tests in the beginning actually but still follow through with the quarantine. Why? Because a lot of the time, the stress of the new environment and changes and whatnot can make something latent or dormant resurface. Moving to a new home can be super stressful-- new people, new "roommates," new environment, sometimes new diet, new cage, etc. Sometimes even when they test healthy at the beginning of the quarantine, all of the stresses can make them more susceptible to disease or weaken their immune system (think about all of the new germs and the new air space and whatnot) -- and over time it might take their toll. 30-60 days is a good time frame to wait for any latent disease to emerge in my opinion.
 

allison

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I agree that it's because there are some diseases that have no test but I think you could test them before or after Q. I don't think it makes a huge difference unless the bird is exposed to a new disease shortly before or during Q that takes a while to incubate. But then there are diseases like PDD that have no acurate tests and can go into remission for months or even years with no signs, spreading at any time.
 

LittleGems

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But the point my friend made is that if you are going to test for all these diseases, why not just run all the labs when you 1st get them????
I imagine the reason your AV recommends waiting is to allow for incubation time - if the bird had been exposed to a virus just before you brought it home, the testing likely would not show it. Waiting a while gives the bird a chance to incubate any virus it might have been exposed to. If you don't mind spending extra money I suppose you could test on day 1 and then again before releasing from quarantine. But if you are just going to test once it does make sense to me to not do it right off the bat, if they are securely quarantined away from other birds.
 

Lokums

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I take a new bird in to the AV, get all the tests she recommends, then keep the new one in a separate room for however long the AV says. Don't take new bird out of said room, don't bring new bird in. Don't do a separate building since I have only one building.

Mike
 

Annamacaw

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I agree that it's because there are some diseases that have no test but I think you could test them before or after Q. I don't think it makes a huge difference unless the bird is exposed to a new disease shortly before or during Q that takes a while to incubate. But then there are diseases like PDD that have no acurate tests and can go into remission for months or even years with no signs, spreading at any time.
PDD terrifies me.......
 

Big Blues

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We do the tests first and then use the following 45 - 60 days for any results or further signs of health issues in addition to a transition period for bonding, observing food intake and behavior and then for preparing to introduce them to our flock.
 

JLcribber

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But the point my friend made is that if you are going to test for all these diseases, why not just run all the labs when you 1st get them????
When a bird is in it's original home/environment, it may have some underlying disease but because they are in their regular home/routine the stress levels on the bird are somewhat normal (for what they're used to anyway). When the bird is rehomed/rescued/quarantined it is put into a totally unfamiliar environment (and made to feel unsecure) the stress level goes up. This is the time when any underlying sickness/infection/disease tends to rear its ugly head and more likely to show up on a test.
 

Annamacaw

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So, what are the thoughts about the stress when they are moved from Quarantine into the same room with the rest of the flock?

I know mine are all aware that there are other birds around, they hear each other and maybe even call to each other....but I think they will all be shocked when they move in together :eek:
 

JLcribber

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So, what are the thoughts about the stress when they are moved from Quarantine into the same room with the rest of the flock?

I know mine are all aware that there are other birds around, they hear each other and maybe even call to each other....but I think they will all be shocked when they move in together :eek:
Whenever "any" new bird is added to a flock, it changes the dynamics of the "whole" flock. This is the reason we want to use a "slow" introduction so we rock the boat as little as possible. Things will still change with all of them but hopefully not too much and not for the worse.
 

Zeb

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I keep the new bird in a space where the others don't go, like a spare bedroom or whatever. In the mornings, I take care of them ( touch their cage, etc ) LAST.....when I get home from work, I take care of them first and then shower & change.

I get them a vet appointment usually in the first week, and I like to watch them for 2 months or so......but I also consider where the bird came from. A single bird home, where the bird was healthy and stable, I might "release" from quarantine earlier once the vet OK's it.
 
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