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Caging Birds : Section 2
HYGIENE, SANITATION AND BIRDS
These notes are about cleanliness, "elbow grease" and disinfection. Their purpose is to help you minimize the risk of disease to your birds and yourself, to save you money and
heartache
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the term "hygiene" concerns "principles of health"; "sanitation" is the "improving of sanitary conditions". "Sanitary" refers to "the conditions that affect health especially with regard to dirt and infection; free from or designed to obviate influences deleterious to health".
- Good Hygiene
To me good hygiene is about the concepts of minimising exposure to and the accumulation of infectious agents of disease (such as prions, viruses, Chlamydia, bacteria, Megabacteria,
Mycobacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and arthropods) in designated areas (such as the cage or aviary, and the food preparation and storage areas).
A major component of good hygiene is physical cleanliness - keeping cage and utensils clean, free from accumulations of faeces, feathers, dust and rotting or mouldy litter.
Minimising transfer of agents of disease between one place and another is also important. Think of the roles of hands, clothing (especially shoes), rats, mice, cockroaches and wild
birds such as sparrows, pigeons and Indian Mynahs spreading agents of disease.
Remember one bird dropping from a heavily infected bird under some circumstances could initiate many different infectious diseases in an aviary of birds, especially if the birds are
inbred, malnourished, over-crowded or otherwise dis---eased.
For more indepth knowledge on this topic click on "buy this section" below or log in to make an appointment with Dr Ross Perry.
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