It wouldn't work to allow residents to bring in their own cats or dogs because they would bond just with the resident, she said. When the nursing home buys birds, they have to be tested for psittacosis, also known as parrot disease or parrot fever. If a new resident wants to bring in a bird, the bird will have to be tested for psittacosis and quarantined for a week until the test results are back, Fontaine says. Calming Birds Fontaine says the birds are company for the residents. They help calm them and can reduce medications needed to control residents who get agitated and combative.
Residents can ask a staff member to let the birds out of the cage to fly around in their rooms.
Whispering Pines resident Amanda Cain spends time with her bird, Pretty Boy. Staff photo by Marcus Castro Amanda Cain, who had never had a bird before, picked out an aqua cockatiel with black and white wings in October when the nursing home added birds. My great- grandchildren like him, too. Residents who are alert and can play with the birds get a single parakeet or cockatiel. Residents who are not alert or capable of playing with a bird get a pair of love birds in their rooms if they or their families want them, Hipp says.