| keetkeeper |
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Reply with quote | #1 |
I remember months ago a news report of a parrot diagnosed with bird flu.
I think it was overseas... but still ya gotta wonder -- what are the risks, if any? |
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| M.L. Leinneweber |
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Reply with quote | #2 |
I think you are asking the wrong question -- what I think we need to consider are the ways pet birds could be exposed to avian flu. 1) My pets don't go out. 2) They don't get exposed to raw fowl or wild birds of any kind. 3) No one who comes into my personal space handles my birds. 4) I don't handle anyone else's birds nor do I handle wild birds. 5) I am always careful to wash hands and cabinets after handling poultry. It seems to me that my birds have very little exposure to catching this flu. If they don't catch it, I can't get it from them. I think the other thing that we need to be concerned about is hysteria in the "non-birdperson" populace. I am quite concerned about the possibility of hasty, ill-considered laws (or condo rules) that might impact pet bird ownership. M. Leinneweber |
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| Nancy |
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Reply with quote | #3 |
Go to the website of the American Federation of Aviculture and look up the article by Gary Lilienthal on this matter. Don't panic. |
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| Tami |
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Reply with quote | #4 |
M. Leinneweber has it right on. I wouldn't even be concerned about ours handling my bird is they washed their hands first. Hysteria is our enemy. And I've never heard of a domestic bird getting bird flu. It's only wild birds. You don't let your bird fly wild aroung NYC and mingle, do you? Don't worry!! And if anyone looks at your bird and has any concerns, try to educate them that your bird is not a danger, is not exposed to wild birds and you don't feed it raw poultry. I just want people to wash their hands first because I don't know where they've been and I don't want them transmitting germs to the bird! |
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| Moreta |
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Reply with quote | #5 |
That parrot was not a pet bird but an imported one that was kept in quarantine with birds from countries that already had bird flu. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4374992.stm Pet birds can catch bird flu if they are exposed to infected birds, like being kept outside in open aviaries in places where there is already bird flu. If they are kept indoors they are not normally exposed to infection. Moreta |
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| bird girl |
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Reply with quote | #6 |
M.L. (excuse the abbrev.) has it right..I just would like to add that we need to educate the folks that do not have parrots ,finches etc. I don't know about anyone else but already people are asking me if I am afraid of the avian flu. I am advising them that my birds stay in .They dont hang out with poultry or just outside . I am very particular about who handles them and they have to wash first . People panic. Let us all work on educating anyone that asks |
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| Bandit |
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Reply with quote | #7 |
Risks of bird flu in our pet parrots is slim to none. We currently have no known cases in the United States of bird flu in humans or animals that originated here. All the people seen were traveling out of the country when they became symptomatic. The bird in England that had bird flu had been imported into England through Asia just days before the diagnosis. More about that in an article in a back issue (maybe March 2006 of Parrot Magazine which is a British publication). |
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| Randy W. |
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Reply with quote | #8 |
According to the experts on a program I listened to yesterday, the bird flu is very difficult to contract from person to person. The reason being that the virus is not transmitted by the normal coughs and sneezes like the usual cold/flu virus. The receptors that the virus attack are in the lower parts of the lungs and not the bronchial tract. This would indicate that most birds transmit the disease via billing during mating or maybe even shared food and water receptacles. Birds such as chickens and fowl that are all kept under one roof with poor ventilation will be more at risk of infection and spreading the disease. The chances of a wild free flying, flu carrying wild bird infecting someones pet bird are minimal. If the bird is so sick, it would never make the migration back here alive. If you see a sick bird on the streets then don't touch it and call the correct authorities. This cold weather will I'm sure help prevent transmission since birds are only just thinking about going to nest so are not billing and cooing etc! Birds with heavy yellow discharge coming from the nostrils and gasping for breath could be suspect of some sort of infection, but not necessarily Avian bird flu. Heavy tail pumping indicates that the bird is breathing poorly. I can see a wave of people discarding pet birds that they've had for years if the scaremongers carry on like this. Anyone who is not certain, simply don't add any new birds to your collection! This info was gleaned from the program which was aimed at the general public and translated to lay mans terms.
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| Alexis Gray |
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Reply with quote | #9 |
My thoughts are that the minute the bird flu hits this country, I will swear off all poultry...wont want it near me or my bird...Just a thought.
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| gary polson |
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Reply with quote | #10 |
We recently launched the: Pet Bird Bird Flu Information Center http://virtualpet.com/birdflu/petbirds It supplies information on the history and current status of avian influenza in pet birds, plus tips on how to improve the safety of your birds, and the latest news of bird flu in pets. gary polson polson enterprises |
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| Brenda |
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Reply with quote | #11 |
My husband just got my kids three baby ducks for Easter against my wishes. They are obviously outside birds and are currently in our shed under heat lamps. Are they at risk of catching the bird flu because they are outside. We don't live near any lakes, but we do have other birds in the yard just like anyone else does. We plan to clip their wings when they are old enough.
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| veggie man |
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Reply with quote | #12 |
My advice is to release them when they are older with a colony of other ducks. You are doing an injustice to the ducks by clipping their wings so they cannot fly. Why do you want to keep ducks that are meant to be feral on your premises without being able to fly. If you want pets for your kids, go to a local shelter and look for a pet. |
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| Clide |
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Reply with quote | #13 |
I don't see anything wrong with clipping the duck's wings providing you live on a farm with shelter for the birds. Many times domestic ducks and geese will not even attempt to fly away from where they were raised. I grew up on a farm and we often times put ducks and geese in the mix with our chickens.
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| Jafar |
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Reply with quote | #14 |
I don't think clipping a bird's wings compares to putting it in a cage for the rest of its life.
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| Dee |
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Reply with quote | #15 |
Both are bad - any animal that has to be altered, should not be a pet. Clipping and caging both are morally wrong. |
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