Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Chrys Meatyard

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a vet wrote at 2007-10-30 10:59:13
Just a quick note Psittacosis is contagious to humans.

Budgies need water but are from a very arid area so do not drink a lot.  Never put medicine in water as you can never be sure that your bird drinks enough.

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brighid wrote at 2010-01-11 03:48:35
Actually, people can catch psittacosis from birds/budgies. It starts off with cold like symptoms which don't resolve and can progress to pneumonia. Hygiene is super important when treating and dealing with the bird. Wash your hands frequently and don't kiss it. I know this as I am in the process of treating a bird with psittacosis. Keep up with the antibiotics - if what you have is powdered (to be mixed with water# it should be a long 6 wk course administered via drinking water. It is important to change the medicated water daily,in the afternoon is best as doxycycline hydrochloride is light sensitive and birds drink mainly in the late afternoons and early mornings #as they do in the wild). It is indeed harder to administer medication via drinking water, though sometimes the only option ie some states in some countries do not have an injectable variety of particular drug registered for use, therefore certain meds in injectable form are not available to some).  What is important is that the medicated drinking water is the ONLY form of hydration available to the bird for the entire course of treatment, this includes fruits and vegetables with high water content like lettuce etc which the bird may find preferable to his medicated water. Hope this helps.

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Daman wrote at 2011-10-06 14:08:19
You are giving out dangerously inaccurate information.  Psittacosis is passed to humans from birds it is not a seperate disease.  Most at risk are bird owners, Zooligists, chicken process workers, and pet shop employees.  The information is readily available all over the WWW.

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