Birds' diseases (1 Viewer)

[Jos Stratford]

Yes you can

(see post #19)

 

[Andy Lakin]

How does the cold weather affect the spread of diseases? Obviously you still need to do regular cleaning, but does it drastically reduce the rate of reproduction of bacteria as it does in food hygiene? I find the tricky part during the cold weather is any food put out often stays damp causing food to spoil fairly quickly.

 

[Jos Stratford]

How does the cold weather affect the spread of diseases? Obviously you still need to do regular cleaning, but does it drastically reduce the rate of reproduction of bacteria as it does in food hygiene? I find the tricky part during the cold weather is any food put out often stays damp causing food to spoil fairly quickly.

I think the risk is higher where the temperatures are low, but above zero. Especially for food going off, subzero effectively stops that - at about minus 5 and below, no dampness here, food doesn't go off. I guess risk of disease spread is also lower, but bird numbers tend to be much higher, so sensible to continue to maintain good cleanliness at the feeders regardless of temperature.

 

[PYRTLE]

How does the cold weather affect the spread of diseases? Obviously you still need to do regular cleaning, but does it drastically reduce the rate of reproduction of bacteria as it does in food hygiene? I find the tricky part during the cold weather is any food put out often stays damp causing food to spoil fairly quickly.

I think that the humidity level does directly impact on food going off quickly as Jos has suggested from his location. Perhaps reducing the amount in feeders may help, so that it is turnovered quickly, though sometimes I'm refilling mine during the day at times of continued sub zero temperatures, ( which isn't that often ).
When I visited Finland I was amazed at 1. How much feed was put out each day 2. The numbers of birds visiting throughout the day, constantly from dawn till dusk.

 

[Elkhornsun]

You really hate cats, but to remove them permanently? Using traps? Well, that's sadistic.

What is both sadistic and illegal in my state is to trap and then relocate any animal back into the "wild". The TNR programs are not effective in any way other than to make a few people feel like they are helping the feral cats.

It is also a bit sadistic to relish the trophies being brought back by your pet cat. It someone's pet dog killed a cat it would be viewed quite differently. A dog that is "worrying" livestock can be shot on sight and this is routinely done without a second thought.

I get 58 bird species as well as fox, coyote, skunks, raccoons, opossum, gophers, and deer passing over my property and I have no problem with these wild visitors or their behavior. A stray dog or cat is a completely different matter.