Feeding garden birds

Hygiene

The food that we provide can have a very positive influence on the bird populations using our gardens, helping them through the lean times of winter and supporting adult birds that are busy finding food for their young. We also have a responsibility to ensure that the food we provide does not harm the birds that we are trying to help. This can be achieved by adopting some sensible precautions and by making sure that we do not provide foods that are inappropriate. Hygiene is also important, since the spread of disease can be facilitated by the crowding together of birds at feeding stations.

Some simple guidelines

1. Ensure that you keep surfaces on which birds feed clean. Ideally, brush surfaces daily to avoid heavy faecal contamination.

2. If you feed on the ground, do not put food in the same place every day but move it around.

3. Provide food at several sites within the garden so that large numbers of birds do not gather in the same place.

4. Move hanging feeders periodically and keep the area beneath them clean of droppings, spilt food and seed husks.

5. Clean feeders and bird tables on a regular basis, ideally using a recognised cleaning agent designed for the purpose. Rinse feeders thoroughly after cleaning and ensure that they are dry before refilling with food.

6. Ensure that any water you provide is clean, and that bird baths are cleaned and disinfected regularly.

7. Some bird diseases can be passed on to humans, so it is essential that you should observe scrupulous personal hygiene.

A leaflet on infectious diseases of Garden birds - minimising the risk can be obtained by sending a large SAE to UFAW, The Old School, Brewhouse Hill, Wheathampstead, Herts, AL4 8AN or viewed on their website.

Suitable cleaning fluids and brushes are available from CJ Wildbird Foods Ltd.