FINCHforum

I read on a website that 1 drop of bleach in 1 liter of water every 2 weeks is a good way to prevent bacterial diseases.

That sounded weird to me, any idea if that's accurate?

It's an interesting idea--I'll have to do some research on it. On another forum, a member who is one of the experts says he cleans cages with 2 tsp. bleach to a gallon of water, wipes it down and then just air-dry. He also uses bleach to disinfect his sprouted seeds, which I used to do--I'll have to try to find where I had that written down. It's certainly a lot cheaper than using some of these water cleansers, though some people really don't like using bleach at all, considering it a poison.

It's one drop to one ounce of water for three days, as recommended by Robert Black ("Problems with Finches"). I've heard of it as a cure rather than prevention, though - the point is to kill all of the bacteria in the gut. That's why I wouldn't use it as prevention. Many would then recommend following it up with a probiotic.

there are alot of breeders and keepers of birds who do use bleach in the water for cleaning and for drinking.they think given in small amounts the birds would build up a tolerance to the bleach. my self personally would not use it mainly because i dont like the smell of bleach myself so i would not give them bleach .i prefer putting my water fountains and dishes in baby sterilizing tablets..or in denture tablet water 2 of these in the water will get rid of any dirt...i usually put clean dishes and fountains up and clean the old ones and then dry them and put them away for the next time

ken

Ugh... that sounds like a bad idea to me. Would you dose your own water with bleach?

I use saniclens in the water. It's also good for soaking seeds.

Bleach in the water is used a lot with chickens. However, as I understand, it is to keep the water clean and free of algae and not to treat the chickens.

I have used it for some time in the water for chickens and it certainly keeps the algae from growing. The chickens never seemed to know the difference. I forget how much we use but it is a small amount. I have not used it for my caged birds although I am thinking about using bleach in the outdoor aviary where the water gets a lot of light.

I know we all preach about keeping the water clean and fresh but I have wondered about algae. We know algae has some value in humans and it is eaten in many different forms. Has anyone have information on Algae and our birds?

Well.... It's just like chlorinated tap water. It should kill most bacteria and algae and all that good stuff.

Algae in itself shouldn't be horrible, unless you're talking about cyanobacteria which can actually be toxic (think red tide).

Chlorine is also just as toxic to larger animals, it just takes more of it before we notice. I still don't like the taste of water with too much chlorine in it though.

hi all
heres a link that might explain a few things

ken


http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/6463/spirul.html

I think the whole "bleach in the water" thing was started by Robert Stroud (AKA Birdman of Alcatraz). Stround was nothing like what was shown in a movie made about him, and here is some interesting reading about him: http://www.alcatrazhistory.com/stroud.htm

Basically he murdered several people and one day in prison found an injured bird. Since he was not allowed human contact the guards and prison official's let him setup some bird cages and he used his time to do some informal research, even devoloped some treatments and basically laid some of the ground work for modern avian medicine.

Bleach (Sodium hypochlorite solution, more info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hypochlorite)

Household bleach's are usually 3-6% sodium hypochlorite (where as swimming pool chemicals can contain as much as 30% sodium hypochlorite).

I use bleach when I'm disinfecting dishes and drinkers, you wash the dish(s) drinkers etc. with soap and water then use the bleach solution as a final rinse step allowing the dish and drinkers to completely dry (I usually wait overnight). It's an easy and mostly effective way to kill all the "nasties" living in/on those dishes.

As far as adding bleach to the drinking water? I'm not so sure on that one... I use filtered water for all my birds since I really don't know what might affect them out of the tap.

If your brave and curious, you should conatct your local water supply company and ask them for a water report. It will list all everthing coming out of your tap at home, and don't think it's "pure" H2O ;)

i know for a fact that my water is full of flouride without my consent!


ken

I am staying well clear of tap water here as it contains too many chemicals, I won't even use it to make a cup of tea for myself. I give my birds mineral water straight out of a bottle and stick a few drops of vitamin supplements in it. Their bath water is also from the bottle. I use boiled tap water to clean their stuff but will give everything a final rinse with mineral water with an anti-bacterial agent.

Nothing but the best for Riff & Raff.

Hey Ken, can you post a pic of your fountain? I am interested in getting something like that as my birds love baths, they average about 3 each a day.

Geordie

hi geordie
i am sorry for misleading you,i always call them fountains but they are infact clip on bottles that fit the cages..but the ones i get are blue ,like the ones in the picture..because algae does not form as quickly inside them

ken


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-50CC-DRINKER-BL ... dZViewItem

Ken,

It's pretty amazing when you read one of those water reports, chemicals like flouride, heavy metals, etc. Sure, the water *usually* meets the government requirements, but still.... LOL

When I used to keep my saltwater aquariums I was constantly testing the water from the tap, and you would be surprised how much the water quality varries day to day even. Back then I had my own RO/DI filter to make "pure" water to start with, then I had to add back in Salt and other trace elements to the water to make it fit for the fish tanks.

Now I just use an activated charcoal filter (there are many brand names out there). The activated charcoal does a good job of filtering the tap, and makes the water good for my birds to drink, as well as for my family to drink (my wife won't make tap water tea anymore, she must use filtered water for it to taste right).

Another interesting factoid, is that most resturants and hotels are installing, or have already installed charcoal filters so that soft drinks and tea's taste OK.

Rottielover, I also kept a marine tank at one point (nano that didn't go so well) and I know the pain you must go through to get the water levels suitable. Even freshwater tanks aren't that easy as you still need to deal with chlorine/chloramine and so on.

Hey Ken, can you post a pic of your fountain? I am interested in getting something like that as my birds love baths, they average about 3 each a day.

Geordie, I'm thinking of buying a mini fountain too, something like that:

I'm not sure though if stuff like that is safe