Are we too clean with the pigeons?

[blackdog]

got told by a good fancier a few years ago that we can be to clean with our birds and that is why we pick up all sorts of ailments so easy, rather than let them get imune to them, whats your thoughts on this.

[OLDYELLOW]

in season it pays to clean birds out as they can bring out home from a race basket , however if closed up for winter they should come to no harm as no cross contamination from other lofts

[Guest]

got told by a good fancier a few years ago that we can be to clean with our birds and that is why we pick up all sorts of ailments so easy, rather than let them get imune to them, whats your thoughts on this.

yes i beleive we can be too clean . natural immunity is spoken about on here often , thats the best way to go ,find a balance  you and the birds are happy with.                    andy.

 

[chickadee]

That is what Valiant told me as well, I used to clean and scrape everyday, sometimes twice. Cleaned my drinkers out every day and bleached then once a week. Since visiting a few members and non members lofts I have seen some cracking healthy birds in not so clean conditions, a few have been scary yet had birds in great condition. I was told it builds up the immune system, so I only clean 3 times a week now, Mon Wed and Friday  

[pjc]

I think you'll find a lot of fanciers wean there youngbirds away onto deep litter etc and don't clean them out, I know I don't as the youngbird build up natural imunity. The main thing is for the loft to be bone dry, any damp will cause problems!

[jimmy white]

many differ on this subject, if racing your birds, i would say keep clean as much as poss, [bone dry droppings are "clean" but damp droppings lying over 24 hours,, a haven for desease] personally i like to scrape the perches /boxes/floor  each day, ,,in winter have easybed under the perches , but still scraping the loft out each day, and taking the worst of the muck from the easybed,,[on dry days lightly spray the loft with virkon s,,, my thoughts are not only to keep the loft clean, but to bond with the birds, hopefully producing less stress by having tame birds, that know me well, only my opinion

[pjc]

Very good point Jimmy, while in the loft cleaning you are spending time with the birds and you will also spot problems earlier, hear a bird sneeze etc etc

[schouwman71]

i clean every day,when ime at work the missus does it,you can spot anythink that may go wrong with your birds like this,plus i dont like soiled dropping,theres a few fanciers that only clean out once a week near me,my birds look 100% healthier than theres so it tells me ime doing right,not them,also when racing starts there the ones that seem to struggle getting there birds right.

 

les

[Beanz]

Germain Imbrecht said on his Video that pigeons should not be kept in hospital conditions, I think he is right.

 

 

                                                            Paul

[Guest BRYANBROCK]

quite right i totally agree

 

                                                           ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)

 

[Guest Hjaltland]

Who wants to be wading through sh!t everytime you visit your doos, certainly not me. Good hygiene = good husbandry.

 

How diseased do you want your birds?

[OLDYELLOW]

theres for and against cleaning and not cleaning as been said before its getting the right ballance and what suits you , damp or wet droppings arent any good for the birds , dropping omit amonnia so it needs to dry out pretty fast amonnia plus hot loft can cause gases to build up in the loft which will impair the birds ability to perform toxin levels raise in pigeons and reduces there performance  , i have used both extremes and have returned to scrapping twice a day , the reason fotr this is you can see the droppings and maintain the health of your birds harder to do in deep litter imo , plus dont have contaminated feed or water from faeces still damp and no gases building up in your loft reducing your birds performances

[Hogni]

It´s not a question of black and white, the loft plays the biggest role in this, if you have a good loft with good ventilation you should not clean to much, i don´t clean and i have not gotten sick birds since 2006.

 

Then again if you have much humidity around your loft and inside i think you better clean regularly.

[just ask me]

i honestly belive a lot will depend on where we got our birds from we have all seen the big fancy lofts some now have automatic cleaning  or a fancier that full time cleaning drinkers the floor and so on well i don't belive u can take these into a environment where the loft is not cleaned as there constitution and imuinine system is not as strong how long would it take taking birds to excel  from this clean environment to a deep litter system my own opinion would be generations  could be wrong or course that why im not overly clean but do clean out  but always when buying in look for lofts that are not to fancy  

[chickadee]

i honestly belive a lot will depend on where we got our birds from we have all seen the big fancy lofts some now have automatic cleaning  or a fancier that full time cleaning drinkers the floor and so on well i don't belive u can take these into a environment where the loft is not cleaned as there constitution and imuinine system is not as strong how long would it take taking birds to excel  from this clean environment to a deep litter system my own opinion would be generations  could be wrong or course that why im not overly clean but do clean out  but always when buying in look for lofts that are not to fancy  

 

I think it is like when we go on holiday, if you are used to a clean environment and a limited experience of foreign bodies you get sick easier that those that are used to fighting off foreign bodies. Most diseases that effect humans and animals are introduced through types of vaccinations so that your body builds up it's own immune system, if we go any area that has a high risk any disease they can immunise against, you are either recommended to take them or it is compulsory in some countries.  :-/

[vanreets]

I ONLY CLEAN 1 AWEEK