birding-aus

Feeding birds

To: Simon <>
Subject: Feeding birds
From: Carl Clifford <>
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2016 06:16:34 +0000
I think that, if you want to feed birds, the rule of thumb is, a little bit 
irregularly, and move your feeding site regularly.

Carl Clifford

> On 1 Feb 2016, at 3:57 PM, Simon <> wrote:
>
> A major concern with feeding wild birds is the potential for disease
> transmission through faecal and bird-to-bird contact. This is of particular
> concern in the countries where psittacine species are endemic (like
> Australia, but unlike the US and Europe) together with one of their major
> diseases: beak and feather disease. This disease, caused by a circovirus
> that is shed in the faeces and the dander is increasingly widespread in wild
> cockatoos and other psittacine species that commonly visit feeders, as well
> as in aviaries (this disease is threatening the breed and release program
> for the orange bellied parrot, for example). The infection can cause a
> lethal acute or sub-acute disease in young birds or a more chronic condition
> in older birds with typical abnormalities of the beak and feathers and
> suppression of the immune system, rendering the birds vulnerable to other
> infections. Chronically infected birds consistently shed the virus. The
> virus is particularly persistent in the environment, being able to survive
> outside the infected bird for months.
>
> Whilst this disease is a real threat to our parrot populations, I do not
> consider the danger should, of itself, mitigate against feeding wild birds,
> provided that proper hygiene is maintained. It is essential to remove stale,
> faecally contaminated food daily, to keep bowls and utensils scrupulously
> clean and regularly disinfected - ideally every day. Although the virus is
> resistant and persistent, it can be inactivated by exposure to common
> household bleach (5% sodium hypochlorite solution) for 20 minutes, or to
> more sophisticated, but less easily obtained, disinfectants such as Vircon
> SR. (Such a program will also help to control other infections that can
> potentially infect humans, such as Salmonella).
>
> My worry is that few bird feeders are aware of the dangers or diligent
> enough to keep up the biosecurity precautions.
>
>
>
> Simon R Robinson
>
> BSc, BVetMed, MBA, MRCVS, Grad Cert Ornith
>
> <HR>
> <BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
> <BR> 
> <BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
> <BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
> </HR>

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU