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Post by phoebe on Dec 8, 2013 17:15:59 GMT
Looks good! I've heard of some people using pam on the wire grates. I wanted to research more before trying it myself.I like them personally because I don't want my birds anywhere near the poo. If they have an illness that is dormant and they start shedding it hopefully it will be contained under the wire grate till I clean up. I have heard many people who have the same opinion though and don't use the wire grates.
It might seem like a trivial concern but my daughter is a microbiologist that worked in a vaccine department (went back for a math degree is now working in that domain) and the bacteria count ingested can affect your birds health. In other words numbers count. Scientists found (and I have to vulgarize because I can't remember the terms) that when clumps of bacteria were ingested the host got sicker than lets say an individual who ingested a small count of bacteria.
A good cleaning regimen and keeping the bird away from the feces can affect your birds health.
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Post by Learner on Dec 8, 2013 17:45:41 GMT
Looks good! It might seem like a trivial concern but my daughter is a microbiologist that worked in a vaccine department (went back for a math degree is now working in that domain) and the bacteria count ingested can affect your birds health. In other words numbers count. Scientists found (and I have to vulgarize because I can't remember the terms) that when clumps of bacteria were ingested the host got sicker than lets say an individual who ingested a small count of bacteria. A good cleaning regimen and keeping the bird away from the feces can affect your birds health. I have a 2m x 1m inside flight which I felt was just too large to have a wire-mesh base. Instead I have two bottom trays that are covered with newspaper. The paper is partially changed most days and completely replaced once or twice a week. It is so much easier than attempting to keep 2m 2 of wire mesh clean. A quick hoover through sucks up all the seed shucks and fluffy feathers. The hoover is kept just for this purpose and has a heppa filter which helps keep the dust to a minimum. It works fine for nine budgies especially as they are often out in their flight during the day. That gets a hosing down and a stiff broom over it. Wire-mesh flooring = hard-work I think.
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Post by phoebe on Dec 8, 2013 18:31:17 GMT
This is true Learner! I bet your birds don't go down there much. I have one (Sunny) I don't know why he is obsessed with going down to see if there is something to eat there. He walks around and inspects and then goes back up and does it again the next day. The others have all learned that this is futile, silly Sunny.
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Post by Hezz on Dec 10, 2013 0:48:27 GMT
Too clean has a lot to do with why there is the degree of asthma, allergies, some are even suggesting there could be a link to autism! in the human population today. Because children aren't allowed to get out in the dirt and get dirty! Their immune system doesn't get stimulated. A fair bit of this can be extrapolated to our animal population ....... they are not given the chance to develop their immune systems. While cleanliness is good, I don't believe it is necessarily next to godliness. A fine line needs to be trod between too clean and too dirty. Also some birds actively seek out poo, some think this is to replace the gut flora, others suggest it's minerals or micro-nutrients they are looking for.
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Post by OP on Dec 10, 2013 8:35:23 GMT
Very well put Hezz. I have said this sort of thing for a long time now. It's not only birds that eat poo, dogs do as well, and no doubt many an animal does. Not this one though. One can be clean without being sterile. An operating theatre needs to be sterile but not a home.
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Post by starlingqueen on Dec 10, 2013 10:32:50 GMT
I agree, I have kept chickens for about 6 years now and in all that time have never had mites. I used to be on a chicken forum and these people were obsessive. They would pick up their chickens poo almost as they did it. The coops were cleaned daily and disinfected weekly. The number of them that had red mites and other nasties was crazy, there were people burning their sheds to get rid of them. I remove the straw once a week, give the whole shed a good scrub once a month. No problems whatsoever.
I always remember when my girls were at school, the leaflets about head lice. They prefer clean heads. Surly the same goes for animal homes too.
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Post by Hezz on Dec 11, 2013 1:03:40 GMT
This reminds me of a quote on a date-calendar I saw many years ago. It always give me a chuckle when I think of it: "a few fleas on a dog is good for a dog; stops him thinking about being a dog." My dog doesn't have fleas, I might add, but it really isn't the end of the world if he did pick up a few.
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Post by skysmum on Dec 14, 2013 16:35:53 GMT
Well its finally in place after some modifications. I wanted a side door that met up with my other cage so that the buds could continue to go between the two so OH has made me a new side opening using a door from an old cage. Not sure about the set up inside but will fiddle with it (for weeks i expect ). Anyway here it is. The new door
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Post by birdguhl on Dec 14, 2013 16:51:43 GMT
Looks absolutely lovely, skysmum! I love the greenery and the light as well as all the rest!
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Post by skysmum on Dec 14, 2013 17:33:01 GMT
Thanks birdguhl, just had my first problem though, old Jo fell and couldn't get back up onto the bars because of the deep base, a tilted perch is now in place until i can get a little ladder .
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Post by Hezz on Dec 15, 2013 0:46:18 GMT
Oh, dear. Poor Jo. I do love watching budgies climb their ladders, though.
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Post by phoebe on Dec 27, 2013 18:10:41 GMT
Too clean has a lot to do with why there is the degree of asthma, allergies, some are even suggesting there could be a link to autism! in the human population today. Because children aren't allowed to get out in the dirt and get dirty! Their immune system doesn't get stimulated. A fair bit of this can be extrapolated to our animal population ....... they are not given the chance to develop their immune systems. While cleanliness is good, I don't believe it is necessarily next to godliness. A fine line needs to be trod between too clean and too dirty. Also some birds actively seek out poo, some think this is to replace the gut flora, others suggest it's minerals or micro-nutrients they are looking for. Sometimes being too clean is a gift and a curse. I'm not sure what generation you belong to but I grew up hearing about how my grandfather lost his whole family. He (nine children originally) and his father were the sole survivors of a terrible outbreak. This may have been what prompted my father to marry a nurse born from the marriage of a doctor & nurse. I guess the way we grow up affects us more than we like to admit. Our home was pretty sterile. I had allergies to just about everything like you say. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918_flu_pandemicGrandfather's resting place (Me with my youngest and her cousins.
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
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George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Dec 27, 2013 18:15:18 GMT
I have allergies too, all over the place, never really put it down to a sterile environment though. I used to play with the worms in the dirt in the back garden, with my bare hands. Sorry to hear about your family tragedies though
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Post by phoebe on Dec 27, 2013 18:29:33 GMT
I have allergies too, all over the place, never really put it down to a sterile environment though. I used to play with the worms in the dirt in the back garden, with my bare hands. Sorry to hear about your family tragedies though It seemed to affect my Grandfather deeply and he was my favorite person so that made me sad. I did play quite a bit too in the dirt outside, come to think of it. We also ran through fields and came home with hives which my mother promptly treated with calamine lotion. My daughters are just normal though it hasn't affected them. It's funny because I kept burning my pots trying to make tea and my daughter got me this for my birthday and said "I know how you like things clean and this one you can see right into it to make sure it is. Now if I forget it, it just turns off and I won't burn the house down. I do like how clean it looks.
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Oct 6, 2011 7:41:27 GMT
Marianne Marlow
Administrator
George, Daisy, Iris, Billy, Peter, Chipper, Dinku, Barney, Ayla and Rocky
Posts: 28,853
Member is Online
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Dec 27, 2013 18:32:08 GMT
That is a nice kettle!
We used to get covered in calamine lotion when we got sunburn!
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