Contagious

[Cricket]

Ok, so as you all know, "Hey Zues" is on the mend. He goes to see the Vet tomorrow for shot #2 for the Capallaria. He is still living inside in a cage on my sunroom table. Now the complications start. I get a phone call from an old friend who now has a pigeon hanging out on her deck! He looks healthy and without any noticable injuries to speak of, but he has been hanging around since last night. We are in Ct. and the weather has been quite stormy lately. Most likely, he is off course. I told her NOT to feed him but to leave a bowl of water outside and to keep her dogs away from that area and we will give him some time to see if he leaves in the next day or so. If he doesn't, I plan on going there to capture him in order to read his band and locate his owner. She is afraid of birds so she will not get close enough to read the tag. In the meantime, my bird is probably contagious. How far apart will I need to keep these birds? My loft is still being made. It is not ready to house any bird at this point. I'd say another week and it will be completed enough to put a bird in. But not for at least a week. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks as usual.

[Reti]

Hi Cricket,

another room would be fine. The reason to keep them separated is also in case the lost piji could have something airborne, and you want to keep HZ healthy.
Please do try to catch the lost piji, he might have gotten lost because of the storm and has trouble finding his way back home. Many of those unfortunate lost guys have trouble surviving outside.
Maybe you are lucky and his owner will want him back.
In any case you should keep him at least two weeks in isolation and see how he does healthwise.

Reti

[Trees Gray]

Hi Cricket,

Thank you so much for your care and concern over this other pigeon.

Please tell your friend to go ahead and feed him, as he may just need to recoop and needs nourishment as well as water. If he is unable to fly home for some reason please catch him and locate the owner asap.