lilfaery

Just a couple of personal "thanks to you" comments here. Thanks Libby. I'm okay with it all. Just felt a bit bitten with my first real post is all. But yeah, it's all good. One of the great things about our country at least is we don't get hauled off and shot for having an opinion - errr well most of us don't anywho. hehe. And Dave, thankyou too. For the record, I agree with you about the "experts" thing too. I even disagreed with the treatment a vet gave a baby cockatiel a while ago. While I was a novice, I felt I did not have the right to question his methods, but my baby tiel died and it tore me apart. Later, I was to hear from a serious handrearer/breeder that in her opinion, the vet not only did not do the right thing, he did the wrong thing for my bird, (and this was an Avian vet also). Hard as that has been to learn to cope with, it taught me a valuable lesson. So... I concur with your comment about the "experts". hehe, do you know the definition of expert?? Answer: A has-been drip under pressure (ex spurt). haha I only have 6 budgies at the moment yes, but I have 57 birds in all with babes in boxes and nests. I've had a very good season, (Libby bought 8 of my little King Quails that came from one clutch), and all my birds are healthy and well cared for. I've handreared weiros, and budgies and am currently hand-rearing a dear little canary that fell out of the nest 3 times. The third time was enough for me. I always do what I feel is right for my birds and will continue to do the same as will everyone on this forum and elsewhere. Cheers, Shauna

I certainly do not wipe each and every leaf and crevice with the bleach solution. As I posted, I soak the whole thing in a bath of the mild bleach solution, (as prescribed in many areas online if you wish to research it) and then soak rinse them a few times with a final wash down with plain water. I know that by doing this, I feel safe over what my birds are getting in their environment. The birds in our outside aviaries have a huge amount to deal with if we have frequent visitors in wild form. (And yes Dave, they are open to everything outside - there is no stopping this for aviary birds unless our aviaries and walkways are completely covered). This is one of the reasons I chose not to leave exposed wire on top of my aviaries. This avoids the overhead drop of feathers and droppings from wild birds. I wash down the tops of my aviaries with clean running water during dry periods, and the rain does it in the winter. However it does not completely stop the problem due to the open wire being an invitation to many birds to hang on and 'chat' to our birds. This also avoids the problem of their becoming weak due to sterility overkill. By the way, I leave water out for all the native birds which is refreshed daily, and contains a garlic clove in each bowl. They drink it and bathe in it, so it obviously is no problem for them. That way, they are hopefully worm free and fairly healthy. The water is infused with the garlic and it goes to work when they drink it. I suppose it might help with mites etc if they bathe in it too - not sure about that one. I know a few fresh eucalyptus leaves dropped into the nest boxes will keep the birds mite free. I have had a good season with this method, and no nasties in the nest boxes. Anyway back to the bleach. I also soak things in it for the birds to chew, like the honkey nuts and bits of branch that I place on the floor for them to walk on and chew etc. Leaving them in the weak solution (10%) for 10 minutes will usually do the trick. Then rinse off very well and allow to dry thoroughly. There have been many replies hitting back at my suggestion and one even quite nasty one. For THAT person, you don't know anything about me, or my birds. You don't have a right to judge me based on one post I have made, which was in fact my first large post. You know, this IS an open forum, and Alicia asked a question to which I put in MY opinion. I thought that was allowed here. Alicia can make up her own mind I am sure, now that she has a lot more information than she had when she first posed the Question. I stand by what I have printed and what I was told by the qualified vet. Kaz I totally respect Tim Oldfield too. I know he is the best here. Cheers, Shauna PS Thanks Libby. I am so glad the little quails are all doing well and are happy. That was what I wanted for the little sweeties. They are so cute. Glad your own little girl now has a family again. Love, Shauna

Hi Kaz, There are quite a few places online you can google if you like, that list bleach will kill PBFD in the environment if a bleach solution is used to wipe over non-porous surfaces. The same goes for Psittacosis. However, since it is a strong smell you would have to ensure your birds are clear or there is a strong breeze to clear the fumes away so as not to cause them respiratory distress. I ere on the side of caution anyway. Certainly both are dreadful diseases that one wants to avoid at all costs. The problem is, it is really hard to avoid it if it is carried in by native birds unbeknown to us. Bleach is a good antiseptic and I recommend it mainly because it has multiple uses and it is environmentally reasonable, in that it breaks down in the water within a short period of time and is therefore far less harmful to the environment than some of the other cleaners put out for our many household chores. I put it in my loo, washing machine, clean my sinks with it, soak the bird bowls and stuff in it etc, as well as using it to steralize the branches. Just make sure everything is rinsed multiple times to remove any trace of the bleach after use. So far, I have been okay and I frequently change the branches in with my canaries, quails and finches, and in the parrot aviary too. I am certainly no expert Kaz, but I think using bleach (for eg) will provide some protection from things like worm eggs and various grubs and stuff that could perhaps upset the birds in some way. Then you can let the Eucalyptus leaves do their work in the nestboxes and aviaries to kill off the red mites. I just like to use natural where possible, but if not possible, then I try bleach and rinse very well before use. I wiped down my whole aviary inside including the walls and shelving etc with a bleach solution when one of my birds had a bad case of diarrhea. I did a bit at a time and then rinsed with fresh clear water three times as I could not remove all the birds. It worked a treat and none of the other birds got sick. I was of course medicating them as well for the problem. I usually research a lot when I have some issue or read about some issue that interests me, so I try to use the best for my birds at all times. Cheers Kaz

Thanks Dave For the reply and for not laughing alicia Hi Alicia, With all due respect to Dave and everyone, but I would be treating any branches you put in with your birds - at least with a very weak bleach in water solution, then rinsing very well under a running hose and drying in the sun. The reason I do this, is because the native (wild) birds are some of the biggest contact mechanisms for our kept birds to get diseases, worms etc. The wild birds landing on the trees or aviary or eliminating nearby, can allow bacteria, viruses, worm eggs etc to infect our birds. As you can imagine, you might not see all the droppings on a leafy green branch you put into your aviary, but it could be a killer to your birds. I generally half fill my bathtub and pour about a cup or two of bleach into it, and allow the branches to soak in there for a few minutes, making sure they are all submerged. Then you need to soak-rinse them off really well and put them out in the sunshine to dry well before giving them to your birds. I have come to this conclusion after reading and speaking with bird breeders and my vet. Some diseases my vet has seen in aviary birds that were linked back to infected tree branches were Psittacosis and PBFD, as well as worms and scaly face. In my opinion, it is too risky to NOT clean them off first. I'm not saying others are wrong, this is just my opinion. Cheers, Shauna

Why, Budgie size, of course! (Sorry, couldn't help it!) Cheers, Shauna