I think it is suggested to stop feeding the birds, so to stop the congregation and spread of contamination.

The situation should change after it gets colder.

I agree with elly nj; with illnesses in people, you isolate the sick people from the healthy ones to stop the spread of illness, so it would seem to be right to do the same with birds.

I just read something about avian salmonella and it is contagious. through bird feces and their respiratory excretions (coughing, sneezing). So if birds congregate and any of them are sick, odds are that some others of them will get sick.

Another article said that if you observe birds at your feeder like your chickadee (who sounds symptomatic), you should stop feeding the birds for two weeks and sanitize your feeders and baths (with the 1:9 Clorox to water solution).

Good luck with this!

Thanks for your replies, and I don't want to sound ungrateful for it, but I've done all that---cleaning with clorox, stop feeding for a week or two at a time; and I realize they spread it through feces, etc.

What I want to know is what the bird people on this forum do since Birds Unlimited suggests NOT stopping the food so the sick ones can survive with it. They also say siskins, especially, spread it by roosting so close together at night.

So....if I AM keeping things as clean as possible, and DO stop feeding for a while to disperse them, but find them again after I start back up, I still don't know if I should feed or not feed. There's no proof that feeding causes the sickness. Nor is there proof that it helps them survive better.

What do others on this forum do, how do they feel about it, and does it happen to everyone? I'm just very confused and feel like the only one with this problem but I know I can't be. I just can't find a definitive answer, online or anywhere else.

Thanks again.

Sorry you have this question to deal with.

Could I suggest you check out the Massachusetts Audubon Society's website, and what info they offer on salmonella and dealing with it. The website is www.massaudubon.org.

Maybe there will be something helpful there -

Good luck.

You might get good information from your vet. I know they're concerned with illnesses that can be spread to pets.

As someone that has dealt with 2 rounds of this, let me say I am sorry, I know how hard it is to watch. I have had to deal with dozens of finches and siskins die. I took a sampling of them to a rehabber who in turn sent them to the State for reports. I did work with the rehabber and try to treat some of them with no luck. Because it is warm and natural food is plentiful I would defiantly take down all the feeders. If it were the dead of winter (when my 2 bouts have happened) I would give different advise. Hopefully this will slow it down. They will still congregate on natural foods. One good thing is that this is happening early enough that it should run it's course before supplemental feeding is really needed. Keeping spillage under the feeders clean is also very important. As hard as it sounds this happens and there's not much we can do. It will pass and the spices will not be wiped out for good though your numbers may be down for a year or two. In the winter I went to covering the ground of each feeding station with fresh snow and cleaning each feeder daily. I don't know that it did any good. I think it just runs it's course. At this time of year I think not feeding is the best option.

A week or two is not long enough to control an outbreak. As Lisa so wisely pointed out, there is plenty of natural food for them now.

Yeah, I took them down. I'm keeping the suet and hummingbird feeders, though. That's my compromise. The siskins are essentially gone now. It's very depressing since the birds make my garden alive and now it's a ghost town. I don't know why it has to be this way when it appears other people can enjoy lots of birds with lots of feeders, except me. :-(

I am sorry that you are having to go without your friends in the garden for awhile - I know just what you mean, I love watching our birds too. Just think of it this way, that you are taking good care of them and that they will be back. You've had bad luck, that's all, and as Lisa attested, you're not alone.

Hang in there, brighter days ahead; and you did the right thing. :)

I don't know why it has to be this way when it appears other people can enjoy lots of birds with lots of feeders, except me. :-(

I'm sorry. It would be really hard for me to take my feeders down as well. But I copied your statement above to ask a question - do you know if others around you are feeding as well? It won't do any good for you to take down your feeders and keep your feeders clean if your neighbor is the one harboring disease. I think if I were you, I might visit my neighbors and discuss my concerns and try to organize a concerted effort in the area.

I hope you can return to enjoying your feathered visitors soon. I would miss them also.

Thanks, everyone. Prairie love, none of my immediate neighbors feed birds. Some way up the street might have something out but I think I'm the most consistent anywhere close by.

This is not the first time I've had this problem but it's usually in the spring or winter. I really think I've kept things pretty clean and don't think I'm the cause, just the observer of what's going on. But naturally I don't want to assist with spreading disease in any way.

And what I meant by my statement had to do with other people in the world in general, not other people in my neighborhood. But it's a good idea and I'll do a little investigating just to make sure.

Thanks again.