I have a few questions about the finch eye disease and how to prevent it from spreading.
I live in upstate NY and have been feeding birds for several years. I have never seen any indication of this disease until very recently – one Purple Finch that had it that I saw once and not again.
I took down all of my feeders and cleaned them, and did put them back up and kept track of the finches to see if any also had the disease. Yesterday we saw a Goldfinch with it, so we took the feeders down and haven't put them back up.
My question - we take the feeders in at night due to other wildlife around, so I put them out each day. I have been wiping them down with vinegar and water when I put them out and also another time during the day if there are a lot of birds at them. Will this possibly help to kill any wayward conjunctivitis virus and keep the feeders sanitary? It obviously didn't prevent this Goldfinch from getting the disease, but in general, does vinegar help to sanitize the feeders?
I also wondered if I can reuse the seed that I emptied when I first saw the infected finch. If I wait several weeks – is it safe to put that seed back into the feeders gradually once it is safe to put the feeders back up?
I live in upstate NY and have been feeding birds for several years. I have never seen any indication of this disease until very recently – one Purple Finch that had it that I saw once and not again.
I took down all of my feeders and cleaned them, and did put them back up and kept track of the finches to see if any also had the disease. Yesterday we saw a Goldfinch with it, so we took the feeders down and haven't put them back up.
My question - we take the feeders in at night due to other wildlife around, so I put them out each day. I have been wiping them down with vinegar and water when I put them out and also another time during the day if there are a lot of birds at them. Will this possibly help to kill any wayward conjunctivitis virus and keep the feeders sanitary? It obviously didn't prevent this Goldfinch from getting the disease, but in general, does vinegar help to sanitize the feeders?
I also wondered if I can reuse the seed that I emptied when I first saw the infected finch. If I wait several weeks – is it safe to put that seed back into the feeders gradually once it is safe to put the feeders back up?