BLEACH DISINFECTING

Disinfecting Feeding Bowls, Perches, and Nestboxes.

The most readily available, inexpensive and effective disinfectant is a solution made using chlorine bleach. This solution kills both viruses and bacteria when used properly. Mix one-half cup of bleach with one gallon of water. This solution has a short life and should be used the same day it is mixed. Also, bleach solution is effective only on clean surfaces. Hot water makes bleach more effective. Sunlight reduces the effectiveness of the bleach so it should be used in the shade or indoors. Chlorine bleach is a strong caustic agent and should be used away from birds and children, as the fumes are quite irritating to the breathing passages. Use care in handling the bleach. Wear gloves to avoid chemical burns on your hands and protect your skin with long sleeves and your eyes with glasses.

Items to be disinfected should be washed thoroughly with soap and water and rinsed well. Then place them in the bleach solution and soak them for a minimum of five minutes to kill germs and viruses. After removing the items from the bleach solution rinse them thoroughly to remove all traces of the bleach, as it will cause irritation to any living tissue that comes in contact with it. The bleach should not be used with dishwashing soaps as most soap counteracts the bleach and renders it ineffective. Wash the items first then disinfect them with the bleach solution - two separate operations. Large round dowels are desired as perches in cages for young birds. Young birds often mess up the perches by cleaning their beaks on them and by accidental defecation. Round perches are more easily scraped and washed and then soaked in the bleach solution.

Annually, nestboxes, whether metal or wood, should be thoroughly washed and rinsed before placing them in the bleach solution. Identify the boxes so they can be returned to the place where they came from. If a bird becomes sick or dies, its wooden nestbox should be disposed of. Only metal or plastic can be satisfactorily cleaned and disinfected and used again.

It is desirable to wash and disinfect food and water bowls (especially water bowls) weekly. It is a good idea to have the bowls identified so they may be returned to the same cages to lessen the chance of transmitting disease from bird to bird.

When disinfecting large nestboxes and long perches, a large container can be made using large garbage bags or plastic sheets placed flat on the ground with all four edges pulled up over a small wall of bricks or boards. Additional bricks can be placed on top of the plastic on the wall to hold it in place. Of course, one can buy a large galvanized metal trays to be used as shallow bath containers for perches and for nestboxes which can be disinfected one side at a time. Plastic trashcans are suitable for soaking many smaller items.

When using the washing machine for towels and cloths used in brooders, with baby birds, or in handfeeding rooms, use the normal wash/rinse cycle first using normal detergent. Then run them through the machine again but this time add a half-cup of bleach per gallon of water. (Remember, do not try a short cut by mixing the bleach and soap in one wash cycle.) Check the owner's manual or call the manufacturer to determine how many gallons of water your machine uses. Be sure to use the rinse cycle to remove all residues from the cloths.

Reprinted by Pretty Birds from American Federation of Aviculture

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