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.

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