Preventing Bird Disease at your Birdfeeders

Feeding birds throughout the winter is a humanitarian act. However, poorly maintained wild bird feeders may cause the birds you are trying to help, some real problems. Recently, there have been increasing reports of songbird diseases that have been spread through bird feeding.

Therefore if we attract birds to our yards, we have an obligation to do our best to offer them an environment that reflects the prevention of the potential of disease.

MOST COMMON DISEASES SPREAD AT BIRD FEEDERS
Salmonellosis is the most commonly spread disease at feeders. This bacterial disease can kill birds quickly. Symptoms include abscesses in the lining of the upper digestive tract of the birds. Infected birds spread the bacteria in their droppings. Other birds get sick when infected droppings land on food.

Other diseases that affect birds typically using feeders also include:

• Trichomoniasis - caused by a one-celled protozoan parasite. Mourning doves are particularly susceptible. Trichomoniasis causes sores in birds’ mouths and throats, making it difficult for birds to swallow or drink. The disease spreads when sick birds drop contaminated food or water at a feeder or watering area.
• Aspergillosis - a mold that grows on damp feed and in the debris beneath feeders. Birds inhale the mold spores and infection spreads in the lungs, causing bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Avian Pox - a virus that causes wart like growths on featherless surfaces of a bird’s face, feet, legs or wings. Virus spreads by direct contact, by insects or by viruses shed on food by infected birds.
• Avian influenza (H5N1) virus - much in the news, this disease has infected poultry throughout Asia, Russia, and Europe, but has not yet been identified in any birds in North America, or the Western Hemisphere, explained Jim Hermes, OSU Extension poultry specialist.

All of these diseases can lead to death either directly or indirectly, by making the bird more vulnerable to predators

MAINTAIN YOUR WILD BIRD FEEDERS
Poorly maintained feeders may contribute to the spread of infectious diseases among birds

• Place only enough birdseed into the feeder that birds can consume in two or three days. This will help prevent the accumulation of wet and molding seeds
  
• Don’t throw feed on the ground. It’s healthier for songbirds to feed at a feeder, not directly from the ground. In a feeder, the food can be kept dry, and protected from contamination
  
• Give the birds enough space. Lots of birds using a single feeder look wonderful, but crowding is a key factor in spreading disease. Do you have only one feeder? Get another if your feeder is crowded. Place feeders several feet apart.
  
• Clean your feeder and the droppings on the perching area each time you fill your feeder.
  Clean all hulls off platform feeders and out of seed trays daily.
  
• Give your seed feeders (especially thistle and tube feeders) a shake before you refill them, to dislodge any compacted seed. (Scrape when necessary). Dump out any wet clumps of old seed.
  
• Purchase feeders that are made of materials that are easier to clean, such as metal and plastic
  
• Disinfect the feeder once or twice a month with one cleaning solution (1/4 cup of bleach to 2 gallons of warm water). Completely immerse feeders for at least three minutes and then allowing them to dry
  
  When cleaning your feeders wear gloves and wash your hands afterwards. Avian salmonellosis, one of the diseases common among birds using feeders, is a strain of bacteria that can potentially affect humans and pets.
  
  clean the feeder outdoors in a bucket, rather than in the kitchen sink.

CLEAN UP WASTE
If left to decompose, hulls can harbor bacteria that can spread disease to your backyard birds

• Keep the feeder area clean of waste food and droppings. A broom and shovel work well, but a vacuum such as what you might use in your garage or workshop will help even more.
  
• Discard the seed waste with the household trash
  
• Move your feeding station when the ground beneath it becomes covered with seed hulls and droppings. Rake the old site to remove hulls and to give the grass a chance to recover.
  
• One way to minimize the cleaning needed is to use no-waste seeds or seed mixes that contain hulled seeds and to offer only the preferred seeds for the bird species in your area.

FEED BIRDS ONLY HIGH QUALITY FOOD
Moldy seed or bread or spoiled leftovers doesn’t do them any more good than it would do you.

• Keep food and food-storage containers dry and free of mold and fungus.
  Discard food that smells musty, is wet, looks moldy or has fungus growing on it.
  
• Disinfect any storage container that holds spoiled food as well as the scoop used to fill feeders.
  
• If pet or bird food recalls have been issued in your area, compare the recalled items to your supply and discard any affected products.
  
• Prevent contamination by storing food appropriately..Keep rodents out of food. Mice can carry and spread some bird diseases without being affected themselves.

CHECK YOUR FEEDER FOR SHARP EDGES WHERE BIRDS MIGHT CUT THEMSELVES
Small scratches or cuts allow bacteria and viruses to infect a bird more easily


Act early - Don’t wait to act until you see sick or dead birds. With good prevention, you’ll seldom find sick or dead birds at your feeders

Encourage your neighbors who feed birds to follow the same precautions. Birds normally move among feeders and can spread diseases as they go. The safest bird feeders will be those in communities where neighbors cooperate with equal concern for the health of the birds.


I acquired much of my information from Bird Feeder Maintenance ,Clean bird feeders to prevent disease , Keeping Feeders Clean


Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Feeding Tips for your Birds this Winter Season
9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

Feeding Tips for your Birds this Winter Season

Winter is a crucial time for the birds that remain in our area. They spend their time facing the elements of bitter cold and snowstorms. There are no insects to eat and the natural seeds are covered with snow; the berries and crab apples are gone.

Many species of birds will double their amount of feathers during the winter as a ways to reduce their body heat loss. Birds can regulate body temperature allowing them to survive in a remarkable range of habitats. Also unique circulatory system of arteries and veins reduce the heat loss. In many birds, arteries and veins in their legs lie in contact with each other in order to exchange heat and maintain temperature

Birds produce heat during the winter nights and cold storms by shivering (thermo genesis). During this process all winter birds will produce heat by consuming their fat reserves. Shivering allows birds to maintain their body temperature for up to 8- 10 hours depending on the species and their intake of energy from food during the day.

That’s why it is necessary for winter songbirds to find food early in the morning regardless of weather conditions. If the bird doest not find enough food to produce the necessary energy to maintain their body temperatures and make it through the night or a severe storm, the bird will die

Birds must search for food from sun up to dusk. Fortunately, for the birds, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 41 million Americans spend $2 billion annually filling their wild bird feeders with bird feed and the numbers are increasing yearly.


Bird Food tips

1. FATTY FOODS are important for our winter birds. Fat is metabolized into energy much quicker and more efficiently than seeds to help them maintain their 108° body temperature necessary for survival. Suet, Peanut butter, & kitchen fat
   
   SEEDS are very important. Seeds contain high levels of carbohydrates that are turned into glucose to help with the bird's high energy demands. They also are a good source for vitamins and some protein. Sunflower Seeds, Millet, Cracked Corn, & Niger Thistle offer the most for your birds.
   
   NUT MEATS are highly nutritious and provide necessary amino acids and protein the bird's body cannot produce. They also have oil and is energy producing.
   
   
2. Offer a variety of seeds and food in a variety of appropriate feeders
   
   
3. Save some money and create your own mix: 50% oil sunflower seeds (unhulled); 35% white proso millet; and 15% finely cracked corn.
   More info on bird seed preferences
   Preferred Bird food by bird
   
   If you do not want to create your own, consider the following when shopping: Quality mixes will consist primarily of sunflower seeds or hearts, peanut bits, safflower, and millet. Lesser quality seed mixes contain “filler seed” (milo, wheat, barley, cracked corn) and often inedible items such as empty hulls and sticks. Many birds won’t eat filler seed and they’ll flick it onto the ground. Premium seed may cost a little more, but quality seed actually has more edible seed per pound than other inexpensive seed mixes and in the long run you will save money on all that wasted “filler’ seed
   
   
4. Fill your feeders every day but put out only the necessary quantity that birds will eat before sundown.
   
   
5. When wet. Limit the amount seed on platform feeders to just a handful to avoid soggy clumps
   
   
6. It is important to remember that all birdseed is perishable. Properly store seed, it should be kept in a cool, dry place that is protected from bugs and rodents. Choose a storage bin that will be easy to access all winter, and one that can be easily manipulated while wearing gloves and bulky coats.
   
   It is best to stock up on birdseed in the fall when many lawn and garden centers are discounting seed to make way for winter merchandise. Stored properly, seed can easily last for months, particularly seed mixes and sunflower seeds.
   
   
7. Be consistent. Do not stop feeding in the middle of winter because birds become accustomed to using your feeders as a food source, especially in very severe weather when your feeders may aid their survival.
   
   
8. Birds especially need to chow down at the end of the day to stock up on calories for the night, and in the early morning to refuel after a cold night.
   
   
9. The birds visiting your feeders in summer may be very different than those in winter. Provide the feeders and food best suited to your seasonal suite of birds.
   

Alternatives to Seed:

1. There are many recipes for making suet much cheaper than the blocks bought in stores. You can also save bacon drippings into a small container such as a yogurt cup and place in a closed bottom tray feeder. Often, butchers will sell you their pieces of fat trimmings for just pennies - or perhaps give them to you
   
   
2. Half eaten fruit that we normally throw away can be given to the birds. Apple cores are a favorite.
   
   
3. Left overs such as muffins, cake, donuts, pizza crust, potato skins,scraps of pastry, grated cheese, & rice can be placed in a tray feeder. Avoid white bread because they are empty calories. However peanut butter covered bread is great. Use the cheapest peanut butter you can find because the birds don't care. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, cornmeal or plain oatmeal.
   
   It's surprising how many birds enjoy cooked pasta. If you have left over pasta (without seasoning of course) place some in an open tray feeder and watch the birds devour it.
   
   Important to clean up these foods regularly.
   
   
4. Your feathered friends digest their food with a special organ called a gizzard. Birds tend to look for pebbles or other types of grit to help their digestion work properly. The stones remain in the gizzard and help grind the food. During prolonged periods of ice or snow cover, provide grit (coarse sand or ground shells) along with the seed. Do not mix the grit into the feed itself. Try placing it in a small dish near the feeding station
   
   
5. If possible, consider leaving leaves on the ground. Instead of raking them up, leave them or pile them up in an area. Many insect foraging birds will find tasty morsels hidden underneath this shelter from the cold and snow.
   
   
6. Birds may be wary of new foods. If you add something new to your bird-feeding station, offer it in a familiar place.
   
   

Feeder Tips

1. Winter wild bird feeders should be placed in sheltered locations out of the most severe winds. Strong winds are uncomfortable for birds and may scatter your bird seed . The east or south side of your house will probably offer the most protection from cold, northerly winds.
   
   If you have no sheltered areas, consider putting up a fence or hedgerow. Surrounding your feeders with trees and shrubs can help buffer your birds and offer a milder micro climate.
   
   
2. Add natural features to your feeding station, such as branches to perch on, to make birds feel more at ease.
   
   
3. Most successful feeding stations have different styles of feeders placed at varying heights
   
   
4. Place your bird feeders in places where you can readily and frequently see the birds you are feeding.
   
   Make sure you put up your feeders in a location that's convenient for you to attend to.
   
   
5. Put your feeder a few feet away from protective cover-Birds use dense tangles of shrubbery or trees as places to hide from predators. If your yard has no cover, create some by planting shrubs or small trees. If you live where the ground is already frozen, make a brush pile of old tree limbs.
   
   
6. If cats roam in or near your yard, be sure your feeders are several feet away from any potential cat hiding places.
   
   
7. Feeders will be most useful in the winter if they have a wide cover over feeding ports, perches and dispensing trays so seed is not buried during snowfalls or storms.
   
   
8. Clean off feeders, platforms and perches after each storm so seed is easily accessible.
   
   Stamp or shovel snow around feeders to provide easier access to spilled seed for ground feeding birds.
   
   
9. Do not fill the bird feeders every day. Less seed in the feeder will make the birds find the seed that they spilled on the ground. They do not go hungry, and you do not waste seed.
   
   
10. Platform feeders should be emptied and refilled daily to prevent mildew and spoilage
    
    
11. Clean your feeders regularly with hot water, and let them air dry completely. Also keep areas under and around the feeders clean. Always keep the bird feeders clean and free of bacteria
    

I got much of my information from:
Bird feeding Do's & Don'ts , Top Ten Bird Feeding tips, Winter Bird Feeding Tips, How to feed your Birds Cheap, Feeding Birds in Winter, Successful Winter Bird Feeding, & Winter Bird Feeding and Survival for Wild Birds

Don't forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned wind chimes, Poly Recycled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Peanut Feeder for Birds
9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

9 Bird Foods every Backyard Needs

No matter where I go target, walmart..I see bags of bird seed for my wild bird feeders. So I decided it was time to do a little research to see if I have been buying the right Bird Seed. I am sure you get confused by all the choices like I do.

Bird Seed Preferences

1. Sunflower Seed
   
   
   
   • black oil seed is preferred
     
   • striped seed is a favorite of large beak birds
     
   • hulled seed is the favorite of greatest number of birds
     
   • considered by most #1 choice for your backyard birds
     
   • higher percentage of meat, nutritious source of high quality protein
     
   • softer outer shell makes it easy for smaller birds
     
   • boasts a high concentration of oil. Birds will spread the oil over their feathers to keep them buoyant, dry and warm.
   
   Birds that like black oil sunflower: blackbirds, buntings, northern cardinals, black capped chickadees, mourning dove, finches, goldfinches, grackles, grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, juncos, nuthatches, redpoll, sapsucker, siskins, sparrows, tanagers, titmice, towhees, wrens and woodpeckers. Birds that like striped sunflower: northern cardinals, grosbeaks,blue jays, nuthatches,titmice, woodpeckers


2. White Proso Millet
   
   
   
   • White millet is the favorite food of most small-beaked ground-feeding birds
   • least expensive bird seed but may be difficult to find
   • scatter it on the ground
   • outer shell of white proso millet is easily opened by birds with small beaks but is hard enough to protect it from the weather
   
   Millet is a favorite of buntings, doves, juncos, native sparrows, tanagers, towhees, quail, and bobwhite. Birds that prefer sunflower will eat this as their second choice.


3. Medium Cracked Corn
   
   
   
   • is about as popular with ground-feeding birds as millet, but it is vulnerable to rot
   • avoid fine because will turn to mush and coarse because it is too large for small beaked birds
   • good source of both oil and starch
   • can be used to tempt larger birds away from more expensive seeds
   • Feed small amounts, mixed with millet, on feeding tables or from watertight hopper feeders
   
   Birds that like cracked corn: painted buntings, crows, jays, juncos, mourning doves, quail, pheasants, sparrows, and towhees


4. Nyjer Seed
   
   
   • high in calories and oil content
   • most popular seeds to feed goldfinches
   • so tiny and light you can blow away a handful with a gentle breath
   • Sometimes referred to as "black gold" due to a higher price caused by importing and sterilizing costs
   • should be offered in a specially designed feeder with tiny ports that prevent spillage. Feeders with ports located below the perches - known as "upside-down feeders" - are a good investment. Goldfinches and pine siskins are quite acrobatic and don't seem to mind hanging upside-down to feed.
   • Contrary to its popular nickname, nyjer is not a thistle. It will not germinate and invade backyards and gardens.
   
   Birds that like Nyjer: chickadees, finches, grosbeaks, grosbeaks, juncos, mourning doves, redpolls, siskens, and sparrows


5. Suet and bird puddings(beef fat and seed)
   
   
   
   • solid fat rendered from beef and venison combined with other ingredients
   • attracts insect-eating birds
   • quick source of heat and energy for birds
   • Place the suet in special feeders at least five feet from the ground to keep it out of the reach of dogs
   • Suet cakes come in many pure suet, suet-peanut butter blends and suet mixed with a variety of seeds and nuts
   • No winter feeding station is complete without a suet feeder
   • Do not put out during hot weather as it can turn rancid
   
   Suet attracts: Blue Jays, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, Yellow-breasted Chats, Chickadees, Finches, Northern Flicker, American Goldfinch, Grackles, Grosbeaks, Juncos, Ruby Crowned Kinglets, Mockingbird, Nuthatches, Orioles, Redpolls, American Robins, Sapsuckers, Pine Siskins, Sparrows, Starlings, Tanagers, Titmouse, Thrushes, Towhees, Wrens, and Woodpeckers.


6. Peanuts
   
   
   • out of the shell and usually roasted but not salted.
   • best in wire mesh tube feeders, mesh bags, or hopper and platform feeders
   • high-protein boost to winter-weary birds and help insect eaters
   • squirrels and chipmunks love nuts, too, so nut feeders must be as squirrel-resistant as possible
   • Peanut hearts -are overrated as bird food and often attract starlings
   • Offer only as many as the birds will eat in a few days in warmer weather
   • Build your own wild bird feeder for unshelled peanuts see here
   
   Birds that like peanuts: Cardinals, Chickadees, Doves , Finches, Grackles, Jays, Juncos, Starlings, and Titmouses.


7. Live Food
   
   
   • Mealworms (beetle larva) and wax worms (bee moth larva)
   • a real treat to most birds during winter
   • High in protein
   • they are not slimy, they don't bite, they are easy to store and easy to feed from a tray feeder
   • bluebirds and robins, which rarely visit feeders, enjoy live food.
     
     
   Birds that love live food: blue jays, bluebirds, cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, purple martins, robins, sparrows, titmice, woodpeckers, wrens


8. Safflower
   
   
   • white seed, slightly smaller than black sunflower seed
   • an oil seed that makes a fine minor ingredient in a quality seed
   • great thing about safflower seeds is that squirrels don't like them. Neither do grackles, blue jays, or starlings
   • not many birds actually attracted to this seed, but the absence of less desirable birds at feeders offering safflower that makes it so popular
   
   Birds attracted to safflower: cardinals, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, and grosbeaks


9. Fruit
   
   
   • a summer food but across the sunbelt and on warm winter days in the north you will find birds attracting to fruit
   • Raisins, craisins, sliced apples and oranges and bananas
   • Scatter on an open tray or impale on small brances or nails
   • Attracting fruit-eating birds can take time and patience
   
   Birds attracted to Fruit: woopdpeckers, jays, robins, bluebirds, catbirds, orioles and mockingbirds

If you want to know by bird their Favorite food.. go to Birds Preferred Food

I have gotten most of my information from the following sources: Selecting Seeds , Bird Seed Preferences of Common Feeder Birds, ,Wild Bird Seed Preferences, Winter bird Feeding , Top 10 Wild Bird Foods

Dont forget to check out my website for many things for your backyard. Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:

February is National Bird Feeding Month
Prevent Birds from Colliding into your Windows
Peanut Feeder for Birds

All posts this month will be on birding feeding

Last week I wrote about February being National Bird Feeding Month. Therefore I have decided since we experiencing one of the snowiest winters in history that I would focus on only the needs of birds this month. I would think that birds in my area must be in shock..Normally coming to south jersey means one maybe two mild snow storms a season.. Not over 54inches!!

I wonder if birds decide to go further south when weather changes like this. Yet they would find similiar weather in delaware, and virginia. Or do they just bunker down and deal with it. If anybody knows let me know.

I think it is important to take special care during these times to keep your birdfeeders and birdbaths filled with fresh water and seed.

I'll tell you that I truly am enjoying the snow even if my backyard birds are not..It is so beautiful and calming.

It is Time to Plant your Seeds Indoors

In addition to focusing on keeping my backyard birds happy by continually filling wild bird feeders and keeping water in my garden bird bath from freezing.

I like to spend time paging through and ordering from my catalogs in January and February.

Knowing it is time to start thinking about planting seeds I have found several sites with great information on planting below:

Starting Seeds Indoors from GardenGuides.com

February Feature: Seeds from Garden Paradise

How to Start Seeds Indoors: What You'll Need and When to Start from About.com

How to Plant Seeds Indoors from Herb Garden Seeds

Starting Seeds Indoors from Demesne


Dont forget to check out my websites for many things for your backyard. my website Spring is around the corner!Wooden Outdoor furniture, Outdoor bench, Decorative Birdhouses, Wild bird feeders, garden birdbaths, tuned windchimes, Poly Recyled Furniture, Outdoor Lanterns, Garden Water Fountains, and much more.

Other posts that may be of interest to you:
8 Plants that Flower in the Winter
16 Bugs gardeners should love
Care for your Poinsetta and it will Bloom Next Year