Polyomavirus in birds

Polyomavirus is a deadly virus in birds.

Polyomavirus (PVD) affects many of the pet bird's body parts and organs simultaneously.
It seems to be most problematic among young birds.
Also known as Avian Polyomavirus, it causes depression, dehydration, and haemorrhaging under the skin.
 
Necropsy is the best barometer to find out what is sleeping in your flock, ideally no death goes unexplained.

The sale of unweaned birds to inexperienced individuals is perhaps the greatest crime ever. I can go on forever about horror stories from this practice and some of the people who do this continue to have problems in spite of what positions the Association of Avian Veterinarians, IAS, the State of Georgia and the State of California have taken. When was the last time you went to a pet store and were offered an unweaned pet for sale?

Guarantees need to be tailored to each person and should be a document that protects the breeder as well as the buyer. Your attorney should approve and review this contract.

Remember to always provide good written instructions and ideally have the new owner sign and date both the instructions and the guarantee, and you keep a copy. This, along with proper identification and test results, can provide you the documentation with which to prove you sold a happy, heathy, disease-free, vaccinated and weaned baby bird. 

 What to do:

1) Engage a USDA accredited veterinarian to inspect each flock.

2) Test the entire flock for psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD).

3) Vaccinate all birds for polyomavirus.

4) Test all birds for Chlamydia.

5) When appropriate, test for proventricular dilatation disease.

6) Necropsy all birds that die with full histopathology results.

7) Provide a permanent form of ID for each bird (microchip is the best in my opinion).

8) Maintain accurate records.

9) Wean all birds to formulated diets.

10) Sell only weaned birds to inexperienced recipients.

11) Provide new owners with stud book records.

12) Include a written contract with limited "guarantee" for all sales.

13) Supply written instructions regarding the bird's care.


These guidelines accomplish many things. The most important the establishment of uniform integrity in the industry. Chlamydiosis is a dangerous disease for the industry, especially with the lawsuits of late. PBFD should never be seen in domestic raised species, if you test and make sure your flock and offspring are free of this virus then we will not be selling sick birds. This practice works and most of the aviaries I service have been free of this disease for over 10 years. However, we still see this disease in our practice in birds from pet stores that have purchased from breeders who have yet to realize the fact that integrity will get them more customers.