Continued from page 2Food and Water
Water is essential for the mere existence of any being. Fresh, clean water is necessary to maintain optimum health in our avian companions. Water dishes that have had the days "soup special" created in them need to be scrubbed and disinfected thoroughly. If your birds insist upon working in the soup kitchen, then water bottles may provide the solution to offer your birds clean water at all times. I highly recommend wide mouth water bottles for ease in cleaning all nooks and crannies thoroughly. The greatest problem with water bottles is that people fill them and do not wash them, or merely rinse them and refill them as they empty. Bacteria can build up inside water bottles, although not as fast as open dishes filled with food and fecal matter.
It is important that water bottles be washed and disinfected a minimum of every 48 hours. In addition to using a bottle brush to scrub the far corners of the bottle, there are also brushes available to help to thoroughly wash the water bottle drinking tube.
Hooded feeders and gravity feeders are a good option if you find that your birds more often than not, make a deposit in their food dishes. Some times moving the food cup to a different location may help. Common sense mandates that food dishes are not in the line of fire of fecal matter dropped from perches and swings, but often times birds like to hang on the cage wire in a certain location. Observe your birds, by placing the dish away from their regular hangout, fecal contamination can be reduced.
The purpose of this article is not intended to discuss the type of diet being fed. Many species have special requirements, and this should be learned prior to obtaining the birds. Avian veterinarians most readily agree that a well researched pelleted diet is a better base food than seed, and should comprise the greater percentage of an overall diet. However, since little is actually known about dietary requirements of our exotic birds, it is encouraged to offer a variety of produce, grains and other healthy foods as well. When feeding pelleted diets, a vitamin supplement may result in vitamin toxicity, so be sure to consult your veterinarian or the pellet manufacturer as to the need for supplements.
Air Quality
Seldom considered is the quality of the air that our birds breathe. Many people do not even notice an air quality problem unless they themselves have a reaction to bird dust and dander. History tells us that canaries were often used to test new coal mines. If a released canary flies back out of the mine and does not die of respiratory distress, it is deemed safe for humans. This test paints a clear picture of the fragility of the avian respiratory system. Even though we may not sense that the air our birds are breathing is less than ideal, it could be slowly killing them. Birds already housed in less than ideal situations may already have their immune systems compromised, and they may not be able to fight off air borne bacteria found in many of our homes, particularly the basement.
Air filtering systems are ideal for collecting bird dander, but one can expect to change the filter at least two to three times more than what the manufacturer recommends, due to the fact that many readily available air cleaners found in discount stores are not geared towards the pet bird industry. A home with several birds contains much more dust and airborne particles than the typical family of four with a cat and dog.
Some air cleaners operate at a high noise level, so if your birds are located amidst family rooms, then be sure the machine you select has a noise level tolerable by family members.
If your basement windows do not open up to allow fresh outdoor air indoors, and you have little air movement, then the air in your aviary will undoubtedly become at the very least, stagnant. At the other extreme it will likely smell of bird feces, food waste, mildew and generally contain unpleasing odors. This can be a problem even in very will maintained aviaries. During cold weather opening windows to allow fresh air can not only cause the birds to be chilled, but can be costly in energy consumption without constructing an expensive head/cold air exchange duct. There are several air purification systems available on the market that effectively reduce odors as well as airborne dust and dander particles, which may provide a better solution in improving the air quality of a basement aviary.
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