Virkon & soaking seed

[waxbill lover]

I have a question in regards to the Virkon S. I went to my farm supply store in town and bought the only packet I could find (the stuff is recommended by Mike Fidler on a youtube video intro to sprouting seeds for birds) and its just "Virkon" no "S" on the end of it. It has the same packaging as Virkon S, but it says on the back "may be harmful if swallowed or inhaled", and theres some instructions to use masks, goggles, and chemical resistant gloves when preparing it

... Is this stuff actually safe to put into the bird seed when you're soaking it? I'm afraid I'm gonna kill all the birds if I use this stuff! Obviously you rinse the seed after soaking it, but i'm just paranoid and wondering if anyone else has used "Virkon" vs "Virkon S"? Attached is a picture of the package.

Thanks

Brady

[Robin.V]

Personally, I havent heard of using Virkon while soaking seed before. We use it religiously at work on all the duckery equipment, and have never heard of any dangers or concerns.

When soaking seed, we always have used a small drop of domestic bleach on the first soaking, which is then rinsed thouroughly for at least 2 days before giving to birds. We never had any problems using domestic bleach in several years, although this year we are using vanodine, an iodine based disinfectant which is less alkalie than bleach, but we are finding no difference in the birds acceptance of the food or the growth of fungi spores before sprouting.

Here is a previous thread on sprouting seed, with a couple of peoples methods, including my own
http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7243

[Ursula]

I use Sparkle for soaking seeds. It's safe because you can even safely put it in their drinking water. But I rinse the seeds anyway before feeding it to the birds. And I never had any spoiled soaked seeds, it always turns out great. I soak for about 8 -12 hours in water with sparkle, then drain off the water and let the seeds sit on the counter for another 24 hours. Then I rinse them and put them in a plastic storage container in the fridge. The amount I make lasts for about a week and it never spoiled. For soaking I use a glass bottle with a wide opening.
I use sparkle in the fountain too. It lasts a long time because you need only a few drops each time.

[nixity]

Yes, it is completely safe.

This question would be similar to asking why bleach is safe to swim in (and occasionally swallow) in a swimming pool, but is caustic undiluted and can cause burns on the hands if you're in direct contact with it for an extended period of time.

The dilution rate at which you use the VirkonS to sprout is not caustic or harmful - but if you feel concerned over it, then simply rinse the sprouts well before you feed them

I never have had a problem using it - and I know at STGF they will clean the fountains (I believe at the disinfectant dilution rate which I THINK is 2% but I can't remember) and simply dump the fountain out and refill it with water without rinsing.

[waxbill lover]

Seed is soaking...used half of an 1/8 of a teaspoon of Virkon to soak my tub of seed with. Hopefully it works. I still plan on rinsing the seed again before I give it to the birds. Paranoid of poisoning the little guys!

[kcdozy]

I have been using it for 2 years and love it. I soak the seed in water all day and when I get home from work I add 1 tsp of vikron-s to each litre of water. I let it soak for 1.25 hours in the solution and then drain but never rinse it. Let it sit stirring once in awhile until it chits about 36 hours then refridgerate.
I also make 2-3 gallons of solution and put all my water tubes and food dishes in it overnight once a week. In the morning give the dishes a quick rinse in a bucket of water and they are sparkling clean and disinfected.
Rich