Hello Parronts! I help with transporting sick/injured wildlife here in Virginia and wanted to make you all aware of information shared with me by one of the wildlife centers here...this year is bad for Avian flu.

This virus is always around to some degree, but every so often a new mutation strikes hard. It is found most commonly in shore birds, waterfowl and chickens. It's also seen in raptors, corvids, and other species.

It can be transmitted to pet birds as well. It can travel on cars, clothes, shoes etc. It's also transmissable to humans although so far this time there's not been any reported cases in people.

To be very clear, it's unlikely that the average pet bird who doesn't leave the house is at serious risk. That doesn't mean no risk, though. And if you have chickens/ducks/geese you raise, it is a serious risk for those species right now.

If you spend time at parks where waterfowl or shore birds are present, are a hunter, do raise your own chickens, etc., or otherwise are coming into contact with the feces of wild birds or their remains (hunters) - please practice good biosecurity measures before going inside and handling your parrots.

How do you know if your bird(s) is/are sick?

Often there are no symptoms seen, sometimes there's a day or two of respiratory symptoms especially in chickens. If you have a bird die of unknown causes, or you observe illness and death and aren't 100% certain what the cause was, please notify the USDA if you're in the US.

You can find information on the spread and case loads in the US here: