Parrot coming home for the first day

[CSLFiero]

My first inclination is to take him/her right to the avian vet for blood work. I know a lot of breeders offer a health guarantee, but does anyone actually go right to the vet after picking up their bird from the breeder? I mean, I do trust them, but I insist on being as prudent as possible since my parrot is fully as close to a child as I've ever been 100% responsible for and why tell me theirs a 72 hour health guarantee if it isn't something i should go and check out just as soon as i can?

Well, anyhoots, I've already scheduled the visit, but it's literally right after picking up the parrot at the airport since I can receive the results the next day and not have to wait over the weekend. The vets say they'd personally wait a day given all the excitement, but that things should be fine. What do you guys think about that?

[Michael]

I'd wait a day cause I wouldn't want the birds first impression of me be amidst the pain/trauma of the vet work. It is a good idea to get a vet check soon though. I'm surprised they only give you 72 hours.

[GreenWing]

Reputable breeders do advise to take a bird to a vet within 72 hours.

From my experience, blood work wasn't necessary at the Avian Vet, just a stool test and physical exam was performed. A good Avian Vet will know if your bird needs blood work.

[CSLFiero]

hmm! that could save me some money, I'll be sure to ask about the blood work and the stool sample testing.

the 72 hour thing is a legal requirement and appears to be the pet industry standard. I've looked up a lot of breeders looking for my baby over the course of the last 10 months and when they mention a health guarantee, they mention the 72 hours one almost exclusively. How much time did your breeder give you, Mike?

PS greenwing, read your thread.. tragic. hang in there friend.

[Michael]

I actually let the breeder use her vet and send me the results. I know it's a bit weird but I trusted the breeder and the vet. I didn't have my own qualified vet available at that time.

[cml]

I'd wait a day cause I wouldn't want the birds first impression of me be amidst the pain/trauma of the vet work. It is a good idea to get a vet check soon though. I'm surprised they only give you 72 hours.

Aye, but what if he isnt present during the vet check up? Sure, the parrot will not like the vet, but probably wont associate it with CFL?

Ideally I wait more than a few days to let the parrot settle in, but if it isnt possible it might be the best course of action.

I actually let the breeder use her vet and send me the results. I know it's a bit weird but I trusted the breeder and the vet. I didn't have my own qualified vet available at that time.

Doesnt sound wierd at all, I too trusted my breeder (Stitch's) and we waited a few months with our vet checkup. I had visited him at the breeder, knew how he lived and how the facility was.

I did initially trust Leroy's breeder, which at first was very professional etc, but with hindsight I shoudnt have. Remember that we had to do a lot of checkups as he had some indication of psittacine in his blood work, which after few check ups and additional blood work turned out to be nothing to worry about, but it was still very nerve wrecking as I worried about both him and Stitch. We had to do numerous tests on both birds, and re-test after a period of time to verify.

It all comes down to the individual breeder I guess, Stitch's was awesome and did everything correct, while Leroy's wasnt too good (perhaps unintentionally from being non the wiser, but still).


If you do go to the vet on the first day, be aware that the stress levels from transport etc probably will show up on the tests in some way. The vets will know more about that than me.

[GreenWing]

Good advice from the others. Congrats on your new baby, too. And thanks for the kind comment. Looking forward to seeing a pic of your new little guy.

[Pajarita]

I would wait a day or two because travelling is EXTREMELY stressful to parrots, especially baby ones and he is going to need to get a good meal and rest to get back to a not really normal but, at least, not a state of high anxiety.

Bloodwork done on babies is not only for wellness check-up but also for disease. I know of baby birds that came from 'good' breeders that were infected with PDD, Pacheco, Polyoma and Parrot Fever. You really cannot trust anybody who is running a business to tell you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth when it comes to their merchandise -and that's what baby birds are to them regardless of what they might tell you. All the "Oh, no, they are my babies! I love them!" mean nothing if they are charging you money for them (people don't usually sell their babies or grandbabies, do they?)

[Weka]

Ah, dear. It would seem that I have scheduled Skeeter's vet visit to be the same day that we are taking him home, the reasoning being a) We also have a 72 hour window, and B) I thought it might be better to get all the scary stuff over with in one go. The bird shop, which is in the next town over from us, is much closer to the vet clinic (which is in yet another town, even further off) than our house; so it would mean less overall time for him to be in the car, etc. if it was done all in the same day. But after reading this thread I'm not so sure about this plan.

Guess I'll ask the breeder and vet about the possibility of a reschedule if they concur that it'd be better to stretch things out under the 72 hours...


--Weka

[GreenWing]

Oh, it's okay -- don't worry about it, Weka. I did the same thing with Chance. In my own experience, a week prior I took the cage to the Avian vet to get her cage specially cleaned/disinfected. The day I picked Chance up, the plan was to take her to the Avian vet appointment and bring her home WITH the freshly cleaned cage.

Well, to get Chance there, I had to get a carrier -- and THAT was the tricky part. Chance HATED the carrier and, as Pajarita correctly said, she WAS stressed. However, I put some Simon and Garfunkel on, had some pistachio nuts in the carrier with her, and talked to her A LOT on the drive to and from... making a lot of whistle sounds, telling her I loved her, and at red lights I would stroke her beak through the carrier. Covering the cage with a towel is also an option if you want to avoid additional stress. I partially covered Chance's carrier myself.

Ultimately, Chance was fine and once she got (in her new!) home and cage she was SO happy and lively! For Skeeter, I'd stick a millet stick inside the carrier, and put relaxing music on, too.

I think Pois are more hardy than Greys. Tiki, my Sennie, didn't really mind drives.