Abstract
W hen it comes to pathogenic microorganisms affecting aviculture there are three groups:
• Those bird keepers who have experienced the problem.
• Those who will soon experience the problem.
• Those who are not honest about the subject.
The concern, and often fear, that is generated by these health problems is greatly increased because we cannot see these pesky little troublemakers. You cannot swat them with a fly swatter nor capture them in a trap and discard them. They are like the thief-inthe-rright that causes your imagination to struggle to create an image of them and a way to deal with them. This indirect relationship often brings about indirect solutions. We just want to get rid of them no matter what it takes, which usually means to kill them! Ironically, making war on unseen microorganisms usually creates invisible effects that can be worse than the microbes themselves.
Safe Chemicals?
How many times in your life have you been told that the use of some chemical product was "safe," only to be told later that it is dangerous after all? You might have lost count. The fact is that almost all lethal agents are dangerous.
Perhaps if such a tool could be used with surgical precision, the gain would be greater than the loss. However, spraying one's environment with toxic chemicals (disinfectants) or dosing one's bird with them (antibiotics) is scarcely surgically precise. What's more, the repeated application of these substances compounds the loss. It is undeniable that no matter how many times you rinse the treated items and areas, no matter how hard you scrub the treated surfaces, and no matter how much probiotic you give your bird, the effect of toxic chemicals is cumulative.
It becomes a matter of "beginners
luck." The longer and harder you try to kill microbes with these poisons, the worse your problems become. The most common disinfectant recommend by avian veterinarians is bleach. Besides being toxic, caustic, highly corrosive, and not really very effective against some common pathogens, the potential for bleach to combine with certain organic substances to form "trihalomethanes" makes bleach extremely dangerous. Trihalomethanes are one of the most carcinogenic compounds known to man. Also remember, Chlorine gas was the poison gas of World War I. Ozone gas, on the other hand, has over 100 times the oxidizing power of bleach with none of the hazards.
Some years ago I was impressed with a study done by a Minnesota hospital which was experiencing an ongoing problem. More and more patients were becoming ill from microbes that they did not have before entering the hospital. Their investigation showed that not only were the increasing amounts and types of disinfectants that they were using unable to reduce the numbers of microbes, the microbes were becoming resistant to these chemicals and the antibiotics used against them. By reverting to their practice of 30 years ago of sanitizing with soap, water, and elbow grease, they dramatically reversed the trend.
This became our model at the China Prairie Breeding Facility, and led to the complete elimination of toxic disinfectants and antibiotics. This practice, combined with our sprouted diet, meant we rarely saw a problem with pathogenic microbes.
Consider that parrots in the wild drink from contaminated puddles, do not eat sterile, processed foods, and do not receive antibiotic treatment. Why is it that generally they look and behave better than they do under our care? Clearly they possess an inherent ability to deal with pathogens; and that inherent ability is an adequate immune response. Anything we do to cornpro-
mise this ability leads to disease and I firmly believe that chemical toxins are a leading cause of compromised immune systems in captive birds.
What to Do?
So what do you do when the microbes get the upper hand? First you evaluate all the possible causes for the imbalance. Then you go after the critters. Fortunately we have viable tools at hand to dispatch the invaders safely, and start over with a clean slate. Ozone gas is one of them. Before we look at the effectiveness of ozone, let's look at how ozone is made and at the consequence of using ozone to kill microbes.
Simply put, an ozone generator breaks apart the two oxygen atoms of an oxygen molecule (02) into separate 01 atoms. These individual atoms immediately recombine with other 02 molecules to form ozone (03), thus greatly increasing its oxidizing power. Microorganisms that evolved in an 02 environment can not withstand this oxidizing action. Now here comes the best part: ten minutes after the generator is turned off, all of the very unstable ozone reverts to pure oxygen as the extra oxygen atoms seek out partners. There is no residue left behind. You can use ozone (properly) as often as is needed without any cumulative effect.
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One could call ozone natural as it is produced in nature by the sun and by every lightning discharge. Do not confuse this ozone with the ozone in city air pollution that is complexed with compounds of nitrogen and other toxic substances. Man-made ozone must be produced with a generator capable of clean output. Man replicates natural ozone by two methods: (1) Ultraviolet Ozone Generators (replicates the sun) and (2) Corona Discharge Ozone Generators (replicates lightning).
References
chinaprairie.com