Garden Birds Health and Hygeine

Disease

Without maintenance, your garden bird feeders can soon become a breeding ground for disease and infections, such as Salmonella, that will pose a potentially fatal risk to your visiting birds and possibly affect your own health.

Rotation

You should not put out any more food than that which can be easily consumed by your visitors during a period of no more than two days.

Separate feeders

Wherever possible try to avoid creating a single feeding station in favour of several smaller ones. This will help to keep the risk of infection lower.

Cleaning

Regularly clean the bird table or feeders, ideally every day or two, by using warm water and a weak detergent to get rid of dried leftovers and droppings. 

Rubbish

Large quantities of food on the floor around a table can attract rats. 

Droppings

Ensure that the feeding area is not directly beneath places where birds may perch and contaminate the food with their droppings.

Personal Hygiene

Wear rubber gloves when cleaning the feeders to avoid contact with any bacteria of infections that can be spread from the birds to either you, your family or your pets. Always wash your hands after filling feeders or again wear rubber/disposable gloves .

Cleaning Equipment

Ensure that all equipment that is used for cleaning the bird tables and feeders is dedicated solely for that purpose and not used around the house for other cleaning jobs. For the best level of protection for both you and the birds, you should ideally store the cleaning equipment outside.

Aflatoxins

Aflatoxins are colourless, odourless and tasteless toxins that develop as fungus on peanuts, especially in humid and temperate environments. The toxins can be especially harmful to birds, often with fatal consequence.