The secret to maintaining a large aviary with many species and specimens is to maintain a strict schedule for various protocols. Disinfecting the aviary is one of the most important protocol.
I very regularly keep getting messages from other avian hobbyists asking me various questions. One of the most common question is:
“What are the medications that you use on a regular basis”?
Answer: why would anyone use medications on a regular basis? Do you take a tetracycline every week even if your fine? When you are sick do you consult a doctor or ask your friend about what has to be done? (OK I can not answer a question with another questions…).
Most people get confused between supplements and antibiotics and probiotics. It is extremely important to know the meaning and the importance of the above.
Supplements are different kinds of additives that are mixed in water or wet food (I prefer wet food) to sustain the birds health and vigor… Examples are calcilux, fertivit, vimeral, ostrocal, liv 52, aniplex… Etc. They are mostly vitamins and calcium and minerals.
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(c) Versele Laga
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Probiotics are live bacteria that are found in the intestinal walls of birds that help in digestion and upkeep of the birds health… They are also called natural flora of the gut. Curd/buttermilk is a good probiotic as it has lactobacillus that is found in the gut of a bird… There are also other commercial probiotics for poultry and avian consumption.
Antibiotics…. I hate these… The very name says anti-bio-tics… They are chemical compositions that kill “specific” bacteria and fungus. In most cases we do not know if the bird is suffering from vial or bacterial or fungal infections… Soo most people start to shoot into the dark by using some random broad spectrum antibiotics…. Never knowing the damage they are doing to the bird or the environment. Most people don’t know what dosage to administer… Soo high dosages of antibiotics can be fatal to the bird.
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Doxycycline is being frequently used as antibiotics
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Apart from that if you don’t go sequentially administering the antibiotics you may end up having a resistance in the target bacteria or fungus. That is a bigger problem than your think.
Soo coming back to the point… Medications should only be administered if you know the disease and the microbe you are targeting. And if you HAVE to use antibiotics, the dosage and composition has to be as advised by the vet only.
We at raaga aviary believe that “Prevention is better than cure.” We once lost a large flock of African lovebirds due to viral pox. It was my negligence… And I lost eight generations of breeding success.
We use disinfectants almost on a daily basis… At least 3-4 times a week.
We use kohrsolin, virkon s and potassium permanganate in chemical disinfectants (we spray one disinfectant in a day only… We do not mix all the disinfectants).
Kohrsolin TH: 3 ml per liter of water and spray.
Virkon s : 5 grams mixed in a liter of water and spray.
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Virkon S is well known disinfectant
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Potassium permanganate: one packet (5gms) in a 50 liter bucket and spray.
Important: Water and food bowls should be taken out of the aviary while spraying.
Spraying should be done on the bird, in the aviary and around the aviary including perches and the roof.
Soo why do we use soo many different disinfectants!!!!
That is because we presume even if a certain virus or bacteria has developed resistance to a particular disinfectant… The other disinfectants will kill it.
Apart from chemical disinfectants we at raaga aviary also use traditional disinfectants.
We grind neem leaves, basil leaves and mix turmeric powder into the paste and dilute the mixture… And spray all over the aviary. At times we don’t even remove the food bowls as it is OK for the birds to consume them. In fact it is good if the birds consume a small quantity of the above.
Neem, basil and turmeric are supposed to have anti viral, and tumor causing properties. Aloe Vera is also a good natural product for cleansing the bird off toxins
We have never had a health problem after we started using this protocol.
I hope you guys too adopt the method and have great success in breeding.
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Title photo: (c) Lubomir Tomiska
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