Do Birds Need Vaccines?
Caiques, like this black-headed caique, can be susceptible to polyomavirus, but they don’t need always need to be vaccinated. Unlike the numerous vaccines for cats and dogs, parrots really only have one: the Polyomavirus vaccine. (A brief description of polyomavirus can be found here.) But, as it turns out, your parrot might not even need it. “Birds only need the [polyomavirus vaccine] in certain circumstances,” said Laurie Hess, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Avian Practice), owner and medical director of Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics in Bedford Hills, N.Y. “Polyoma is a virus that we used to see a lot more of, but really the only [parrots] that tend to need it in my opinion and I would bet in many avian veterinarians’ opinions are ones that are breeders or they’re going to be in pet stores around a lot of other birds.” That’s something that Larry Nemetz, DVM, owner of The BIRD Clinic in Orange, Calif., agreed with. He said that he sometimes have people coming into his clinic, asking for the vaccine, but he always recommends testing first. “How do you know bird isn’t already sick?” he said, “Birds, like people, can carry diseases all the time. And if a bird already has polyoma, the vaccine won’t work.”
