FINCHforum

Hi guys. I recently got a star and an orange cheek from a bird store and their first few days here were rough. I found one bloody poop (it may have been a red seed though), and a lot of yellow ones, and they slept almost the entire day, but since it only lasted 2 days I subconsciously brushed it off as them being under a lot of stress. It's now been a week and they have perked up so much. Their droppings are fine, they are eating egg food and veggies as well as seed. Now my question is what should I do as far as quarantining? It always says to quarantine your birds for a month minimum if they show no signs of illness. If they did show signs of potential illness how long should I quarantine them? Like I said, they are looking pretty great now, but the first few days were a little rough. How long does it take for a bird to stop being contagious to other birds after they get over a sickness?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. I really hate to keep birds in tiny quarantine cages and I can't wait to give them a little room to fly, but I don't want to risk the health of my other birds.

Red seed, veggie or pellets can definitely be confused with blood in the feces. If it happened ONLY during the first few days you had them, and they've been fine for the next 4 weeks, I'd say they are good to come out of quarantine. If in doubt - keep them there for another week.

I agree with Liz. Also, any move can be stressful, so many birds will be off the first few days in a new home. If they continue to look good and eat well, the month-long quarantine should be enough.

as soon as I get new birds they are quarantined. for the first two or three days they are given time to get over the stress of the move & find the new food & water dishes. normally on the fourth day I treat them for worms and air-sac mites. on their last day in quarantine they are again treated for worms & air-sac mites. as well as treating the new birds I also treat the birds in the aviary that the new birds will be going into.
the quarantine cage then gets a thorough clean with undiluted vinegar. all perches are removed and replaced with new. food & water dishes are disinfected. all is now ready for the cages next inhabitants.