Waterfowl Dander a Threat to Parrots?

[MarcusCAG]

First of all, since we have two new boys in quarantine here right now, my mind is obviously on uber-cleanliness and keeping germs and dander and things to a minimum, to protect both halves of our flock. That being said, today I received a little package in the mail from my mom. She sent me something for our feathered boys, which was very nice of her, but in the back of my head I'm wondering now about possible contagions transferring between her little flock and mine: She has little baby ducks that she's rearing to live in her yard, and right now they're basically being kept in the house. Anyway, I Googled different phrases in a number of interesting ways but I haven't really found a straight answer... I know that the one post here on Avian flu brings out that parrots won't get that particular disease from poultry and waterfowl, but are there other diseases that could be transferred through dander and such that I should be aware of and protect against whenever my mom (or anyone else with non-parrot birds) gives me something in the future? Thank you...

[Jingles]

not sure, but hope you find an answer!

[Dave007]

Did someone actually tell you that diseases could be spread from dander? Dander is a protective powder that certain birds produce which protects and waterproofs their outer feathers. That's why it's difficult to soak down a bird to the skin which needs bathing more so than the outer feathers. It also causes dry skin if the bird isn't bathed periodically. It can cause areas in a bird room or other rooms to be constantly dusty.

The 05 Avian Flu wasn't spread by feathers. The actual cause was extremely tainted and dirty food, unsanitary conditions and the spread of it was caused by different types of poultry stepping into the tainted food, eating it in the different poultry centers which contained thousands of different poultry animals. The Flu happened because those birds ate the food--then the poultry was shipped to many other countries, hence the spread of avian flu. There was one parrot that died. It lived indoors a large poutry center and wound up eating the tainted food and died. The different types of infected poultry didn't all die. They were destroyed because people ate the diseased poultry and got very sick or died. The disease didn't show itself until hundreds of people died or were seriously sick.

Diseases don't spread because of dander. Dander is a protectant.

The only ones that suffer from the dander are people who have serious allergic reactions to the dander ( COPD---Asthma--Chonic Bronctis) which is why people may need to sell/adopt out their birds. The same people can have the same reactions from dander which is present where cats live in the home. So, I doubt that mom is sending you anything that will hurt your bird even though she has ducks unless she has the AFLAC!!!!! duck. Then your insurance rates will go up.

Edited May 10, 2011 by Dave007

[Jingles]

good info to know! thanks dave!

[MarcusCAG]

Did someone actually tell you that diseases could be spread from dander?

 

No... I've been paging through my parrot books since your post ^^ because I remember reading something that, to me, implied that diseases were transmitted through dander. Apparently I was wrong. I suppose whatever particles the text was referring to had to do with, um, "aerosolized feces" or whatever the term is. They were talking about how you should wear a smock and slippers and such whenever you're with quarantined birds, and wash up well afterward so that nothing sticks on your clothes that can potentially infect your other birds. So I was just wondering if something microscopic from my mom's ducklings maybe could have slipped into the package she sent me and somehow infect my flock.

 

I just don't want to make any mistakes that might harm our boys somehow, because I might be ignorant. And I know I'm probably sounding really ignorant now, anyway, but I'm trying not to be ignorant by choice. And in terms of our new boys: We haven't been wearing smocks because we don't have any, but whenever one of us comes out of our bedroom (where our new boys are) we jump right into the bathroom across the hall, shower, and only then go into Marcus' and Beaker's room. I realized our dog sleeping in the bedroom with us could conceivably spread "particles" around the house on her fur whenever she hangs out in other rooms, so before we go in to see Marcus and Beaker we just shower again (our dog and the cats aren't allowed in their bedroom) to make sure we're clean. My husband is being very cooperative with all this... I feel like it's a three-ring circus sometimes, all I'm doing is showering and cleaning the house anymore and trying to keep everything as 'sterile' as possible (not possible, really, I know!) but I've been spraying undiluted vinegar in the air periodically too (it supposedly kills airborne germs at full-strength, and I use it to clean the boys' cages so I figure it's safe that way) and have been really trying to keep on top of everything. Because I don't want to make a mistake somehow, I'm feeling obsessive about everything but whether it's ducklings or other parrots I just want to make sure about it all.

 

And again, thank you for your input and the information you so freely share here...