Bringing home a new parrot? Make sure it's healthy. The lives of the birds you already own could depend on it.

IN 1995, WE WENT from a zero-parrot family to one with four “feathered kids”. First came the parakeets from Petco, Petey and Paulie. They were so much fun, we decided to get a bigger, “talking” parrot, a Quaker we named Carlos. Before the year was out we had added Charlie, a Congo African grey.

Before each purchase, I read everything I could get my hands on about the species, so we would be prepared to take good care of our new bird. It never occurred to me that by failing to quarantine each new family member, we were playing Russian roulette with the health of the birds we already had.

Why quarantine?
Quarantining means keeping a new bird completely separate from others for at least six weeks, during which time you should be able to decide whether it’s healthy.

Practicing quarantine correctly can be a hassle, to be sure. But it’s well worth the inconvenience when you consider the possible consequences of failing to do so.

Unlike dogs and cats, parrots are capable of carrying any one of up to 11 types of infectious viruses. It doesn’t matter if your new parrot looks and acts healthy. Many avian diseases lie dormant until activated by stressful situations, such as going to a new home.

While we humans only have to worry about catching chlamydiosis (more commonly known as psittacosis or parrot fever), a flu-like illness that responds to antibiotics, the family parrot can easily contract an incurable disease from a newcomer to the household.

Never introduce your parrrots at home to a new bird until you know it's healthy. (Photo of Peewee and Zaza, Goffin's cockatoos, courtesy of Foster Parrots.)

During my seven years as a parrot rehabilitator, I’ve cared for a lot of sick birds. About 15 percent of the 170 parrots I’ve found new homes for have arrived at LARRA ill.

Some of these birds have carried devastating diseases. The polyoma virus and psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) destroy the feathers and eventually kill their victims through secondary bacterial and fungal infections.

Proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) is a fatal wasting illness that may also cause seizures and motor problems. There is no treatment or vaccine for PDD.

Pacheo's disease is a highly virulent form of the herpes virus that often kills Amazons.

All of these diseases are spread through the air and many, including Pacheo’s and polyoma, can hide undetected until it’s too late to protect your other parrots.

Even the more manageable chlamydiosis can go undetected until the condition becomes serious; only a fecal or blood test can diagnose it.

By carefully following quarantining procedures, I haven’t experienced a single incident of contamination.

The price of carelessness
People who don’t screen aren’t as fortunate. Some folks add a new bird only to have it die later as a result of hidden illness.

Their other birds continue to appear well, but every day these owners have to worry that a dreaded disease will rear its ugly head again.

At the very least, you may be setting yourself up for expenses you could have avoided.

A friend who once added a Moluccan cockatoo to her household without taking any precautions later discovered it had chlamydiosis.

She wound up spending $500 to treat the newcomer and all four of her other birds, including a Goffin’s cockatoo, an orange-winged Amazon, a Quaker and a cockatiel.

You might get lucky, like we did with our four parrots. All turned out to be healthy. But why risk suffering the anguish of knowing you allowed a beloved pet to contract a chronic or fatal disease?

By quarantining, you can greatly reduce if not entirely eliminate the health risks of adding a new bird to your avian family.

First: a trip to the vet
Not all new parrots present the same risk to your birds at home. Birds from chain pet stores are among the most likely to be ill. On the other hand, a parrot that was the only bird in a previous home for several years is probably healthy.

Birds that come from a rescue organization that practices good quarantining should also be okay. Ask for vet records.

LARRA takes detailed histories and consults with a vet on all incoming birds. We observe strict quarantining practices before releasing a newcomer to the mix. However, if the bird has a low-risk background, we often skip the medical exam.

If your new parrot seems well and comes from a “safe” environment in which it has not recently been exposed to strange birds, then you, too, may be able to get by without seeing a vet.

However, I always advise new owners to get a “well-bird” baseline exam no matter where they got their bird. You’ll have your new parrot for a long time and you want to start off on the right foot. Moreover, the best time to establish a relationship with a vet is when your bird is healthy.

Make an appointment with an avian vet for the day you pick up your new member of the family. That way you can take him straight to an exam before bringing him home. Reputable pet stores and breeders will allow you to bring an ill bird back for a refund if the vet finds anything wrong.

A well-bird exam should cost $100 or less for the physical inspection, a fecal smear and a standard blood panel. Expect to pay more if your new bird is ill and requires further tests or medication. You should get test results within a week.

Equal but separate
Even if your new bird passes a routine exam with flying colors, quarantining is still important. Some viruses can hide for weeks or months before making an appearance. In the meantime, the bird sheds the virus and infects others.

People often tell me they have a bird in quarantine. When I ask where, they tell me, “In the bedroom,” or, “Downstairs.”

Although their hearts are in the right place, this type of “quarantining” is akin to building a dam with Swiss cheese.

Keeping birds on opposite ends of the house isn’t enough because they still share the same air, through your home’s heating and cooling ducts.

To quarantine properly, a separate building or space with its own ventilation is crucial. This ensures your pets won’t be breathing the same air as a newcomer that may be shedding a deadly airborne virus.

A non-bird-owning friend’s house makes an ideal quarantine station. Your garage or other type of attached room will suffice as long as it has a separate entrance and you completely block off any air ducts.

Wash after meals
Make sure every member of your family knows the importance of leaving an attached quarantine area via its exit to the outside, not through a door that leads directly inside your house. This prevents contamination caused by air wafting in from the quarantine space. We keep the door between our house and garage door locked so we don’t forget this rule.

Because disease can spread from a bird’s infected feces and dander, meticulous personal hygiene is also important. After tending a quarantined bird, wash hands and arms up to the elbow and dry with a fresh towel each time.

If you hold the new bird, change into a fresh shirt and pants before returning to the house.

Keep quarantine food and water bowls and toys separate from those of your pets’. Use separate sinks to wash utensils after each use or, better yet, disinfect them in your dishwasher.

You should even keep your quarantine garbage separate from the household’s regular trash.

Don’t park your car in your garage while it’s being used to quarantine a bird, and make sure you air out the area first if you recently used chemicals or aerosols.

Heating the quarantine space
If you use your garage to quarantine during the winter, you’ll have to heat it.

To keep warm the LARRA birds we quarantine at our house during the cold months, my husband makes a "quarantine tent" in our garage out of a tarp attached to a pulley hanging from the ceiling.

We use a space heater inside the tent, with a thermometer to monitor the temperature, and drape the outside with plastic to seal in the warmth.

I used to feel sorry for the parrots camping out in our garage tent. I would wait anxiously for the six weeks to pass.

Then my vet reminded me that quarantining provides a quiet transition. We get to know each new bird gradually, and they come to look forward to seeing us when we come out to visit with food and treats.

We keep a chair and magazines in our tent so we can hang out with the quarantined parrots and keep them company.

Baby monitors also can keep you connected with the newcomer. You can hear what is going on when you are not with a new parrot, and the bird can hear household sounds. A radio may also comfort a parrot in exile.

Watch for changes
Each day, prior to feeding the quarantined bird or cleaning its cage, visually examine it for any problems. First observe the bird from 10 feet away so you don’t prompt it to assume a "flight or fight" posture.

Watch to see whether it’s sleeping with fluffed feathers, inactive on the cage floor or favoring one leg, for instance. Consult with your vet if you think you see anything wrong.

Remember, preventing illness is easier than treating it. Regardless, you can’t put a price on heartbreak if a family parrot suffers an illness or dies because you failed to take the necessary steps to protect it.

ParrotChronicles.com. Published 2001.