FAQ: Bowls & Feeders for birds

Many birds gather at feeders, so diseases such as salmonellosis or trichomonosis spread easily through food and water contaminated with droppings. Regular cleaning and clean water greatly reduce this risk.

The usual advice is to stop feeding for a few weeks and thoroughly clean and disinfect feeders and baths so the birds disperse. If you find several dead birds, it is worth reporting it to the veterinary authority.

Scrub the feeder with hot water and a brush, use a suitable disinfectant according to the label if needed, then rinse well and dry. It is worth wearing gloves while cleaning and washing your hands afterwards.

Throw away wet, clumped or mouldy food, as it can make birds ill. Clean and dry the feeder, and next time put in less food so that it is eaten more quickly.

It is best to put in as much as the birds eat in a day or two, so the food does not go stale or damp. Watching how fast the feeder empties will soon show you the right amount.

Rodents are attracted by food on the ground, so feeders with a husk tray, husk-free food and clearing up leftovers in the evening help. Hang the feeder where rodents cannot climb up to it.

It is better avoided during frosts, as birds look for food where they have found it before. If you go away, ask a neighbour to refill the feeder, or beforehand hang a larger supply in a dry, covered feeder.

After snowfall clear the snow from the feeder and trays, check the food is not frozen or wet, and refill the feeder every day. Feeders with a wide roof are especially useful at this time.

Bread is not suitable bird food: it contains little of what birds need and quickly gets soggy and mouldy. Bird food mixes, unsalted fat and seeds are suitable for feeders.

Yes, birds need water both to drink and to bathe, and in winter unfrozen water is hard to find. A shallow dish or bath with clean water, changed regularly, can be placed near the feeder.

A good garden bath is shallow, with sloping edges and a rough, non-slip bottom so birds can wade in comfortably. If the bath is deeper, stones can be added for the birds to stand on.

Put the bath in an open spot where birds can see danger coming, but not far from trees or bushes where they can hide. In partial shade the water warms less and turns green more slowly in summer.

The water in a garden bath is worth changing daily or at least every couple of days, and the bath should be scrubbed regularly. That keeps it free of droppings and algae and stops mosquitoes breeding in it.

The simplest way is to add warm water every day or use a heated bath made for birds. The bath can be moved to a sunny, sheltered spot, and ice should be removed carefully without hitting the dish.

No, salt, antifreeze and other additives are harmful or even fatal to birds, and they also damage the feathers. The bath should contain only clean water, and warm water or a heated dish should be used to prevent freezing.

They can if the water stands for more than a few days. Changing the water often and rinsing the bath out means mosquito larvae do not have time to develop, and the birds get cleaner water.

Garden baths are made of concrete, stone, ceramic, metal or plastic. Heavy baths are more stable, ceramic ones can crack in frost, and plastic ones are light but tip over more easily and are more slippery.

Common reasons are water that is too deep, a slippery bottom, or a spot that is too exposed or, on the contrary, so overgrown that a cat could lurk there. Sometimes birds simply need time to discover the bath.

Chickens usually get troughs, hanging hopper feeders and treadle feeders that open when a hen steps on them. It matters that the feed stays free of litter and droppings and is protected from rodents.

Chickens use bell-type and bucket drinkers from which water gradually flows into a trough, as well as nipple drinkers. Choose the capacity by flock size so there is enough water for the whole day, especially in hot weather.