Is Bird Bath Algae Bad? (1 Viewer)

[amkid247]

Currently my homemade birdbath (which consists of the bottom dish of a pot for a plant, with a small water plant in its own pot sitting in the dish to the side, and river rocks on the bottom of the dish) has a lot of algae, in it. its not like theres some algae growing on the plate itself its like waterborn algae thats actually floating in the water. should i clean it or is it fine for the birds?

 

[Peewit]

Currently my homemade birdbath (which consists of the bottom dish of a pot for a plant, with a small water plant in its own pot sitting in the dish to the side, and river rocks on the bottom of the dish) has a lot of algae, in it. its not like theres some algae growing on the plate itself its like waterborn algae thats actually floating in the water. should i clean it or is it fine for the birds?

I would not have thought so. Birds digestive systems are so different from ours, so they have the ability to be able to eat things and drink less fresh water, that we dare not ourselves.

I get algae on the bottom, and the surface of my plastic bird bath. I just clean it off with a piece of kitchen towel every couple of days. This prevents it from building up. I change the water every day do that helps keep it down too.

I do not know if there is anything bird friendly to clean the water container with, on the market, to cut the problem down with algae.

There will be other suggestions here how to tackle the problem.

 

[amkid247]

hmm well is chlorine bad for birds? ive seen countless videos of ducks in swimming pools, and i have had 3 ducks in my pool. also whenever my dad drains it (into the street) the birds drink it right up? so maybe chlorine can help? im sure the algaeside for ponds is safe b/c its outdoors and i think theres laws about harmful chemicals like that...

 

[KC Foggin]

The one thing you need to be careful of is standing algae water as it is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and in this day and age with the West Nile around, you need to keep the water changed on a daily basis. I know it may sound like a pain in the "a" but it is really healthier for yourself and the birds.

 

[amkid247]

oh yea well i dont see any little critters twirling around, and i usually dump the water out, i just dont really brush the stuff away

 

[Marion in Savannah]

I've got a bird bath that gets algae too. I make sure to dump it every day so as not to breed mosquitoes, and I use a dish scrubber and the hose to get it off every day (that's just me, because I think it's icky). I also use a dilute solution of chlorine bleach to deter it during the high summer, about once a week or so. I make absolutely sure that I stand by the bird bath while the bleach is in there, to make sure that no birds get near, and then I rinse VERY thoroughly with clean, fresh water. I'm happy not to have slimy algae, and the birds are happy too. (The daily cleaning also gets rid of bird poop, seed hulls, stray leaves, and all the other delights you find in the bird spa...!)

 

[Gingling]

There are forms of blue green algae in fresh water as apposed to salt water that are very deadly to birds and wild life. It is not real common but it can happen. Each rain drop can contain up to 30,000 algae spores.

Some algae removes the oxygen from the water and kills fish etc , others have even much worse ways of raising havoc with birds. The concentration of such deadly algae dictates the ferocity of it's effects on wild life.

One can not determine via smell or visualization alone which algae is good and which is not. Around water holes where deadly strains occur naturally , it is generally indicated by a wide variety of dead species found nearby as say apposed to a single species die off.

Metabolism rates of the species ingesting many types of toxins including chemicals can even throw off lab tests in forensics leading to algae speculation in poisoning events.

Interesting stuff.

It is best to keep an algae free bath for your birds.


JR.