quarantine question

[Tish]

I was wondering how long I should quarantine my new society finches before I add them to my flight cage?

[delray]

Tish Quarantine is very important when getting new birds.. It is crucial so you do not compromise the health of your finches. I would recommend 6-8 weeks because it is better to be safe than sorry! Hope this helps. Congrats on the new societies!

Brian

[Tish]

Wow that long, I was thinking 2 weeks for quarantine, I was way off.

[cindy]

I do 9 weeks.... this includes doing preventatives during that time

[Sally]

Everyone is different in their quarantine schedule and protocol. I quarantine differently depending on the source of the new birds. I usually get birds from breeders I know, and my normal quarantine period is two weeks. At the end of two weeks, if there is any question about the bird, I will extend it. There are some conditions that a bird can carry that wouldn't even show up if you quarantined for 6 months or more. I tend not to be a worry-wort. I have a minimal quarantine protocol, I don't believe in unnecessary medications, I kind of take things as they come. Others will quarantine much longer, use medications as part of their quarantine protocol. We're all different.

[jimenezl]

Sally Please, do share you quarantine protocol. I quarantined my four birds for about two weeks, provided Vitamins for the first 4 days, and treated for Cocci (Baycox) and Worms (Worm Away).

[Stuart whiting]

Sally

I'd be inclined to think exactly the same here ,

Very good and wise words Sally, well said

[cindy]

I use Ronex or ronivet 12%,Baycox (you can use tri sulfa and ronivet or ronex mixed together safley instead then after that only one 2 day round of baycox), wormaway, Scatt or Ivermectin 1% topically for the specific amount of doses/weeks my vet recommends)

I tend to be on the other end of being more inclined to keep them in quarantine longer... used to do the two week quarantine years ago and learned the hard way to extend it as suggested by others and my vet.

I also see way more sick birds on some of my groups that resulted in not quarantining, infecting others and not using preventatives to stop what a new bird brought into a otherwise healthy flock.

[Sally]

Sally Please, do share you quarantine protocol. I quarantined my four birds for about two weeks, provided Vitamins for the first 4 days, and treated for Cocci (Baycox) and Worms (Worm Away).

I normally quarantine for two weeks. I will do longer if I wonder about the source, but in reality, I probably wouldn't have bought the birds in the first place if I questioned the source. I always put NV powder in the water for at least 2-3 days, longer if I feel the birds need it. It is simply an electrolyte solution but wonderful for helping birds through stress. When I get the birds home, I will apply Scatt before I put them in the quarantine cage. When I am not using NV powder in their water any longer, I will put Worm Away in their water for one day.

Until I see the birds actually drinking from my water tubes, I will offer a small dish of water on the bottom of the cage. Some birds have never used a tube waterer before and can actually die of dehydration before they figure out where they can get water.

I don't administer any other medications. I watch the new birds for any signs of illness, make sure they are eating and drinking well. I know this is much less than others do, but it works for me. There are diseases that can be carried by birds with no outward signs, they can be carriers for life. The only way you can guarantee that you will never bring any disease into your flock is to maintain a completely closed aviary. That means no new birds in, EVER. No visitors to your aviary, EVER. If I had tens of thousands of dollars wrapped up in my birds, perhaps I would think differently. I tend to be fairly casual in my finch keeping. I find it a waste of my time and energy to worry about what might be, what diseases might be out there, what ifs. I realize that I will lose some birds, there is nothing I can do about that. I accept that is part of finch keeping. This is supposed to be a fun hobby for me. If I spent all my time worrying about what might be, it would no longer be enjoyable, and I would get rid of the birds.

[jimenezl]

Thanks for sharing, Sally and Cindy. I can understand where both of you come from, and appreciate the logic behind your choices. I think we can all cull some nuggets of wisdom from your explanations and apply to our own quarantine methods.
Cheers,
Luis

[Stuart whiting]

Sally Please, do share you quarantine protocol. I quarantined my four birds for about two weeks, provided Vitamins for the first 4 days, and treated for Cocci (Baycox) and Worms (Worm Away).

I normally quarantine for two weeks. I will do longer if I wonder about the source, but in reality, I probably wouldn't have bought the birds in the first place if I questioned the source. I always put NV powder in the water for at least 2-3 days, longer if I feel the birds need it. It is simply an electrolyte solution but wonderful for helping birds through stress. When I get the birds home, I will apply Scatt before I put them in the quarantine cage. When I am not using NV powder in their water any longer, I will put Worm Away in their water for one day.

Until I see the birds actually drinking from my water tubes, I will offer a small dish of water on the bottom of the cage. Some birds have never used a tube waterer before and can actually die of dehydration before they figure out where they can get water.

I don't administer any other medications. I watch the new birds for any signs of illness, make sure they are eating and drinking well. I know this is much less than others do, but it works for me. There are diseases that can be carried by birds with no outward signs, they can be carriers for life. The only way you can guarantee that you will never bring any disease into your flock is to maintain a completely closed aviary. That means no new birds in, EVER. No visitors to your aviary, EVER. If I had tens of thousands of dollars wrapped up in my birds, perhaps I would think differently. I tend to be fairly casual in my finch keeping. I find it a waste of my time and energy to worry about what might be, what diseases might be out there, what ifs. I realize that I will lose some birds, there is nothing I can do about that. I accept that is part of finch keeping. This is supposed to be a fun hobby for me. If I spent all my time worrying about what might be, it would no longer be enjoyable, and I would get rid of the birds.

Well to be onest this is one of the best write ups I've seen for an awful long time,

I feel and do exactly the same 100%,

I onestly think that a lot of people can seriously over fuss with the birds like Sally rightly says that if this was the case one would never have freinds come to visit you and the birds and you'd never allow any other birds into yer birdroom,

Where do we draw the line,

Yes sure I'll also have the necessary medication on hand both won't use for the sake of it thinking that I'll prevent this oh and also prevent that,

I will give a little bit of a booster / stress drug for a few days when bringing new stock into quarantine but after this I won't give anything else not unless I clearly see that the bird might need something specific

[cindy]

A lot of it also depends on where the birds come from.... some folks are not so lucky and buy a bird/order bird(s) in from a broker or private breeder and have them go down in a week or put them right into the establish flock have the new birds go down along with some of their established birds.... new birds can also be carrier and share with their new cage mates making them ill.

Preventative care and a longer quarantine in some situations does pay off.

[Sally]

In truth, a lot of my birds have come from brokers I trust, they were wild-caughts. I don't do anything differently for them. I figure that if they have made it through trapping, shipping, quarantine, shipping, and finally shipping to me, they have been through one heck of a lot and must be pretty tough birds!

[Stuart whiting]

Sally

Exactly, very true

[cindy]

In truth, a lot of my birds have come from brokers I trust, they were wild-caughts. I don't do anything differently for them. I figure that if they have made it through trapping, shipping, quarantine, shipping, and finally shipping to me, they have been through one heck of a lot and must be pretty tough birds!

I can only go by and discuss what I see on fbk groups.... see a lot of illness especially with gouldians, cordons, twinspots..... some arrive ill.