Now that we are experiencing some rain up the east coast of aus i thought i would say to every one that has outside avaries to be careful , with the moisture in the air and the temp going down the birds will be open to illness such as coccidiosis and enteritis , make sure your birds have somewhere to shelter from the wind and rain , when the rain stops try and dry out your avairy , make sure your grit isnt wet remove if possible before the rain and replace once it has stoped , remove all droppings that have gotten wet especially from the avairy floor, make sure the seed is dry and fresh , most of all keep an eye on them they can go down hill quickly so quick intervention can save a life .

P.S. I slightly acidify my water during rain spells by using cytric acid crystals , one teaspoon to the litre and then from this mix 10mls to the litre given to the budgies , its natural and keeps the droppings tight during wet weather, warding off infection and allowing the natural immune system to stay strong.

If you have slightly acidic water anyway then you wont have to worry .

I use my fish tank tester kit to test the water ph.

Happy birds

Nice topic to remind people to the checks to do after rain. My food is kept up high and at the back of the aviary where water can't reach.

 

I have not heard of the use of these crystals do you use it daily or only for a period of time (eg. 1 week)

Good advice. Thanks lonebudgie

I use some acid liquid - special for parrots. You put it in their water too (10ml for 1l of water). It's really cool. I didn't know you can use some crystals too.

It's very good info about the rain

You can get citric acid crystals from any health food shop. I use it once a week as a control for nice tight droppings and every day while raining , its very safe and can be given to breeding birds and birds with young . you can give it continuously if the droppings are large.

I agree with Lonebudgie, wet, droppings & seed are bad combinations with birds. I have built all my aviaries so that there is no possibility of access from rain. I know the birds like to get wet in the rain, but I deprive mine of this pleasure, because of the danger of wetness in the aviary. Wetness equals trouble.

Yes i know the trouble with wet ground I want to upgrade my floor with pavers to help with this, it will still get wet in areas but should dry faster.

 

I'm going to look out for these crystals to try them.