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Diamond (My New Addition)

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Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Titanius » Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:06 pm

I recently got a young hand-fed pearl cockatiel who and ,from her beautiful plumage, my little cousin called Diamond so I ran with it. :thumbsup: Hmm she never really bites at my hand and likes being touched. At times she feels like a magnet. Just trying to put her down creates a scene.The two birds are like night and day pretty much at times. When Diamond's around Jasper acts like she doesn't exist but always has an eye on her and once she's gone he's screeching looking for her company. :P But, I must admit I really want them in seperate cages though I think they deserve time seperate which having them together might not be doing.


p.s Does anyone have any good suggestions for affordable cockatiel cages?
Diamond pictured below ;)
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Titanius
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Michael » Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:18 pm

Wait, wait. You mean you put them in the same cage from the start? :?
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Titanius » Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:21 pm

Yea, I literally face palmed after I read more up on it. I hope Jasper forgives me of this faux pas one day. :?
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Michael » Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:53 pm

Ok, who's going to volunteer to write an article about the major importance of quarantine for newly acquired additional parrots? This has to be at least the 3rd time I've found a forum member doing this (probably for lack of better knowledge). Even healthy parrots from reliable sources should have a one month quarantine because their immune system can be reduced from the stress of travel and new home. Pchela, you up for taking this one?

Titanius, hopefully everything will work out ok but definitely keep this in mind. Your case actually goes beyond just breaking quarantine but also the risk of attack/aggression. Cockatiels are a bit more easy going about that kinda stuff so I think you got lucky. But this is a very serious issue and some day this will create a problem for someone so we must bring this up and make others aware. I do know people that contaminated their entire flock by introducing a new bird without quarantine (even though the new bird didn't appear to be or get sick). I just want you to keep an extra close eye on both the new parrot and old as they are at higher risk of illness. Watch the food consumption, behavior, etc. If you can weigh them daily, that would be good as well. Avoid any major changes in diet for at least the first month+.

Well anyway, congrats on the new parrot and keep us posted.
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Michael
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby lzver » Fri Jun 11, 2010 6:14 am

Congrats on your new addition Titanius. My step-daughter has a Cockatiel that looks just like Diamond.

Michael wrote:Ok, who's going to volunteer to write an article about the major importance of quarantine for newly acquired additional parrots? This has to be at least the 3rd time I've found a forum member doing this (probably for lack of better knowledge). Even healthy parrots from reliable sources should have a one month quarantine because their immune system can be reduced from the stress of travel and new home. Pchela, you up for taking this one?


That's a good idea and I couldn't think of anyone better than Pchela to write it :)

This is the main reason why I'm not getting another bird right now. Natacha brought my attention to a Meyer's in the Toronto area that needs to be rehomed and I'm so tempted because she looks like a sweet bird, but with it being the summer, I can't quarantine at all at the trailer. And the birds always come with us ... I do not leave them at home. I will remain patient until fall/winter.
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Bear » Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:01 am

I just wanted t say your new addition is lovely! And don't worry too much about the super fast introduction, it's done now and they seem to be getting along fine! :)

On the subject of quarantine I don't really agree. Unless you have reason to think there is a problem with the bird or it came from a dodgy place, I don't think it is necessary. I breed dogs and horses and birds and we certainly don't quarantine any of the species before a new addition comes!
I can promise you that here in South Africa no breeders I know, from good pet shops or private ones will quarantine a bird unless they think there is a problem. Pet shops and breeders simply don't have the room. I've never heard of one incident from anyone I know where any disease has been spread through lack of quarantine. Some bird shops here have 1000 birds in and there is no way with constant comings and goings they can be quarantined, birds for sale sometimes wont even be in the shop for a week before they sell.

You could say the same for someone getting a puppy, its exactly the same situation, but no one is going to quarantine a puppy from other dogs in their house, and here is it exactly the same attitude with birds. A baby bird becomes a part of the family just as a new foal or puppy would.

I haven't put my new baby U2 in the cage with my CAG of course, but they did meet properly today after surveying eachother for a few days beforehand. I've never had one single health problem with a bird, and my new U2 had never even seen another bird let alone had contact with it, she was handraised from an egg in an incubator. I really can't imagine how anyone could give new birds and existing birds enough attention if they kept them apart for a whole month tbh. I do appreciate the sentiment and the intention but I've nver had a problem not doing it, nor has anyone I know :)
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Kim S » Fri Jun 11, 2010 11:48 am

Same thing here. I just dont have the place to quarantine them for that extended period of time.
I can put them away on my attic for weeks, but I will contaminate anyway. What do you expect me to do. Change my clothes everytime I go up there to take care of them and change back when I come downstairs? Who does that.
On top of that. Michael pointed out the importance of the month it takes a bird to recover from the travellingstress and the stress of a new home. But if I stick it up in the attic it doesnt familiarize with my livingroom but with my attic. So it will be stressed out again when I put it downstairs after a month.

On the issue of putting two birds together without an extended introduction. I know from experience that you can put 99% of the budgies together without any problems. Same thing goes for 80% of the cockatiels.
The only thing you need to worry about is territorial agression. But that is easily fixed by changing the cage before setting them both together. This prevents the first bird of the advantage of knowing the environment. Plus you get a chance to see how they interact outside the cage first while you are changing the toys and perches.

Yes it is better to quarantine.
Yes it is better to let the birds get to know eachother before you stick them together.
But don't patronize. State the pro's and cons and let people make up their own minds.
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby LiaraTivona » Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:10 pm

Yes, when introducing my budgies, my fiance accidentally let the younger one fly onto the cage of the older one. I'm surprised she didn't go crazy over her territory. In anticipation of the new bird, I've been working on getting her to let my hand touch the things in her cage, rather than just visit to pick her up like some 1950s boyfriend. Maybe its working? When we put them together, we are going to use his cage because its bigger and he's less accustomed to it as belonging to him, though the doors and design aren't as nice.

Anyway, beautiful new bird. Good luck in your friendship. :D
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby Michael » Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:24 pm

Kim S wrote:Same thing here. I just dont have the place to quarantine them for that extended period of time.
I can put them away on my attic for weeks, but I will contaminate anyway. What do you expect me to do. Change my clothes everytime I go up there to take care of them and change back when I come downstairs? Who does that.
On top of that. Michael pointed out the importance of the month it takes a bird to recover from the travellingstress and the stress of a new home. But if I stick it up in the attic it doesnt familiarize with my livingroom but with my attic. So it will be stressed out again when I put it downstairs after a month.


You got it backwards. For exactly this reason you don't stick the new parrot in a different place. You do that to the old parrot. And this way you can do it gradually because you have your original parrot(s) for a longer time and have more freedom to move them around to new places slowly. Plus they benefit from change ups so they don't get too dependent.

Since I'm expecting to get my new Cape, I've been progressively transferring Kili to a different area until I'm done with quarantine. So nearly two months ago, I started moving Kili's cage to my living area during the day but putting her cage back at night. This way she had time to get used to the space. Then when I went away on vacation, I left her in living room area full time. When I got back, I planned to leave her in new area full time. The only problem was that she could see me when I'm home and she would get noisy and demand attention. So I bought a divider and put it up behind my couch/tv so she couldn't see me and so that when she sleeps, the light from TV doesn't hit the covered cage directly. You can see a bit of this new temporary set up in my recent video. I moved her lights, timers, and air purifiers along with the cage.

The new Cape cage on the other hand, at first I kept in a distant corner so Kili could see it but not go on it. Then as I had Kili living in the new area more and more, I started moving the Cape cage progressively into her original spot. The reason I had to use so much precaution with moving the Cape cage into the vacated area was because Kili had a habit of flying back to her cage and she wasn't used to the fact that her cage was no longer there. I didn't want Kili to land on the Cape cage and claim it as her own territory. In fact I want her to stay off of it so there wouldn't be any issue between Cape and her. It has been working quite well and she has landed on that cage all of about 5 times in 2 months and usually flew right off. I used a technique similar to training her not to land on Cape tree to keep her off the cage as well.

Thus I will let the new Cape settle right into it's long term cage and area while I keep my more senior/experienced parrot in an alternate set up until quarantine is complete. Then I can easily move Kili back to the old area. As for maintaining quarantine. I would say the strictness of quarantine can be gradually reduced in the process of the month it lasts. The first week it is quite strict where only one parrot is out at a time. They don't share any perches or anything else and stay completely apart. Hands should be washed between parrots and maximum cleanliness kept. Beyond half way though, hand washing can be reduced and eliminated between parrots, then start introducing them to each others stuff/areas at first and then eventually introduce to each other. It's a gradual process to help ease in both the microbial and behavioral natures of both parrots.

The reputation or past health of either parrot does not in any way relieve the importance of quarantine. One parrot may be the host for a relatively harmless bacteria that it is immune to while the other could take ill from it. It is just as possible for the original parrot to get sick from the new as it is possible from the new one to get sick from old.

And to the people who say they have too many parrots to make quarantine manageable, they are the most irresponsible of all because they have a large flock to protect. If bringing in one diseased bird contaminates and kills their entire flock because of neglecting quarantine, they are inhumane and terrible owners. I heard of a bird store around here that had it's entire stock of babies die because of an unquarantined diseased parrot. I have heard other stories where owners knew about quarantine but were complacent and didn't do it and got their other parrots sick as well. I cannot stress the importance of quarantine enough. Just because 90% of the time you get a completely healthy parrot and get away with it, doesn't mean the risk is worth taking for the one time a diseased incomer contaminates the entire flock. Everyone knows that parrots are incredibly good at hiding illness so basing an assumption that it is safe to avoid quarantine because it looks healthy or even vet checked is insufficient. Who gets their entire flock checked as well just to avoid quarantine? Furthermore, babies seem most susceptible to illness.

Making excuses to avoid quarantine is counterproductive. Quarantine is a precautionary measure and costs far less than having a vet bail out the entire flock if everyone ends up getting sick. It is relatively simple to do but the risks of not doing it are tremendous. Everyone, please quarantine newly acquired parrots for at least one month and slowly/progressively introduce them to the flock.
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Re: Diamond (My New Addition)

Postby MandyG » Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:40 pm

Bear wrote:You could say the same for someone getting a puppy, its exactly the same situation, but no one is going to quarantine a puppy from other dogs in their house, and here is it exactly the same attitude with birds. A baby bird becomes a part of the family just as a new foal or puppy would.


You are correct, you would not quarantine a puppy. But you would also never let a new, non vaccinated puppy interact with a dog that did not have all of its shots up to date. And if you did you would be negligent. You don't have the option of vaccinating your parrots the same way (at least not to my knowledge).

It is your own decision whether or not you feel that your current (or new) parrot's life is worth gambling with, but I do feel it's necessary to stress the importance of quarantining so that others that stumble upon this post will at least be able to make their decision with all of the facts.


Back to the original post. Congrats on your new cockatiel, she's absolutely beautiful. I'm glad that your two are getting along as well as they are!
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