Finches near a swimming pool?

steph · Post by **steph** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:29 am

Would it be safe to have finches in a lanai area within about 10' of a chlorinated swimming pool? I thought maybe if everything is outdoors the area would be ventilated enough to not bother the birds. I'm worried about the chlorine fumes...is there a general rule about how close birds can be to a pool?

hilljack13 · Post by **hilljack13** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:32 am

I don't know about the fumes harming them but I wouldn't take the chance. I am also assuming that they will be separated from the water to keep them from drinking.

CandoAviary · Post by **CandoAviary** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:31 pm

At my boarding kennel we would use commercial (pool) strenght chlorine bleach as a disinfectant. I would also bleach the bird room floor since it was an extra indoor boarding room with drains in the floor. Sometimes the fumes were pretty strong but not for a long period of time. I would spray the mix through a garden type fertilizer sprayer and then rinse with plain water within 5 minutes. Never had any ill effect. It left a lingering chlorine odor (just like sitting nest to the pool) for a couple of days. Only once when I forgot to dilute the chlorine and sprayed it full strenght did I have a problem. My eyes started burning and the canaries wiped there beak on their perches as if irratated. I immediately rinsed and ventilated the room. All was back to normal within 30 minutes with no lasting effects on anyone.
Outdoors I would think it to be safe.... I plan to one day build an aviary connected to the covered pool. What could be more relaxing than floating and listening to birds. Just make sure they don't have access.... they would surely drown.
Curious, are the reds still sitting on the eggs?

steph · Post by **steph** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:52 pm

Thanks for the info! I feel better about it now. We have our finches on the screen porch and are thinking about extending the screen porch to include a small pool. The birds would certainly not have access to it. Their enclosure would be about 10 feet away from the pool.

Yes! They are still on eggs, and the final egg count was EIGHT! When I checked the number of eggs before it was six and they had not started incubating yet, so they must've been waiting for all eight. According to my calculations they are due to hatch any day now! Today is day 13 of incubation, and I read it is usually 13-15 days. We'll see if anything happens. They sure have been diligent in their efforts! I will be sure to update the forum when/if anything happens