FINCHforum

Hiii all,,
Does anyone have an OCD during dealing with all the stuff concerning the canaries, like their food or water??
I wash my hands a thousand times before touching any of their stuff worrying about them getting bacteria or any kind of poisoning from my hands,
I keep their food sooo far away from all the other food in the refrigerator,
I wash their water plate like a thousand times then dry it then wash it again every day before filling it with water, to make sure it’s 100% clean..
Is that right or I am just exaggerating??

It’s driving me crazy.
I think it’s turning into sickness!
Please help me if anyone experienced such a thing..
Thanks a million..

Alaa Yehia

I'm pretty relaxed when it comes to my birds; I'll wash their softfood and water dish out every day, but I don't usually sterilize anything.

Canaries aren't super fragile when it comes to bacteria; if they were, they wouldn't have been able to survive in captivity for hundreds of years. Washing your hands before preparing food is good practice in general, but you don't need to go so overboard with your birds. Lots of people who have birds like parrots touch them, and they don't get poisoned, so the chance that you'd kill your canaries by giving them something from your hands is very low. Think of it this way: canaries would be in contact with germs from the dirt, nearby animals, plants, etc when they were wild (and canaries in aviaries still have contact with lots of bacteria), but their immune systems do a pretty good job of keeping them healthy.

ahaaa,
this perspective as if they are living in the wild really simplifies it to me so much..
Thanks a lot..

yes, Im ocd too about it- when I became a new owner and joined this forum I read a story about a girl who had pink eye and it somehow killed all of her birds! so I actually spray my hands with alcohol before touching their food/ water dishes etc, I wash everything in very hot water- anyone who sees me doing this thinks im crazy, but in reality in the wild they are not associated with humans / nor are they confined in one space eating out of the same container, its better to be proactive then sorry later on.

There is no need to go to the lengths described to have healthy birds.

Living in a germ-free environment can actually be detrimental because exposure to small amounts of pathogens is useful in developing immunity.
Wild birds likely see far more germs than caged birds.

And~~ pink eye is not a specific infection. It is a condition caused by bacteria, viruses, atmospheric dust, air pollution, allergies or what have you. That story sounds like one of those internet fables.

Alaa Yehia

Just relax and enjoy your birds.

Keeping things clean and tidy is always a good idea, but going overboard is not good for you or your birds.

Keep in mind that creatures that are kept isiolated and away from everything natural become more fragile and susceptible to any and every little thing in their environment . Which basically means that you might not be doing them any favours .....