Ant problem in dove food!

[TheBirdBabe]

I have an outdoor enclosure for my dove. We've been having a TERRIBLE time with ants this year.

I saw in order to keep them out of my chicken's food, you're supposed to sprinkle cinnamon in the feeder! It's been working wonders.. however I'm not sure that cinnamon is safe to use around doves!

There's limited info out there about doves, so I thought I might ask here. Here, there is so much info from so many helpful people!

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[MeanCheek]

Here is a short list of every day spices you can add to your bird's food for a blast of new flavor and added health benefits: Cinnamon: Cinnamon is high in fiber, iron, calcium and manganese. It can be used as a treatment for fungals, and other types of yeast and aspergillus.

This came up when I searched "is cinnamon safe for pigeons to eat?". If it's safe for pigeons it's safe for doves, but it doesn't say anything about pigeons, so...

I, personally, would say it's safe, but I'm not certain.

Sorry that wasn't helpful

 

[TheBirdBabe]

I, personally, would say it's safe, but I'm not certain.

Sorry that wasn't helpful

No worries! Thank you for replying!

I may try just dusting it lightly around the area that she sits first & see if it helps.

 

[cavemanrich]

We've been having a TERRIBLE time with ants this year.

I try to control ant problems with Borax. (the laundry product).
When I see anthills, I sprinkle generously some Borax on top of them.
If you can locate the ant hills in your yard,, do the same.
How this works while not being toxic..
Ants run thru the Borax. The white powder attaches itself to their feet, and bodies. Ants eat the dirt off their bodies. The boric acid part of the Borax, causes gastro-intestinal gasses inside ant. (basically a fart) Ants cant express a fart,, so they expire.
Don't put the Borax inside the dove enclosure, just where you see the source of ants marching from.

 

[drmolarmagic]

Hi, I have all my birds in an outside aviary, so we've had to deal with Mice, a rat once, slugs and yes ants,
The only solution I found is that I keep ALL food in metal cans with locking lids and I tape ant traps to the bottom of the can and they go for that instead of trying for the food, After a few rounds of traps the ants stopped. I try to remove any uneaten food at the end of each day but that's not easy with the birds so the mice get to eat well at night. We don't see them too often but we know they are there. The ants stopped long ago and I only see new ants after many days of straight rain. Then I do the ant trap thing again under the food cans. I've also dusted the floor and corners where they come in with DE which is what I dusted the chickens with a few years ago to deal with mites, that helps as well.
Honestly no matter what you do I think you are controlling and cannot eliminate pests...there are many more of them than us

 

[ColtHandorf]

Cinnamon is high in fiber, iron, calcium and manganese.

Be aware that some species of birds like softbills (toucans and starlings) require special diets with low iron content as they can have iron storage issues which can be fatal. Always research any additives that you might be putting on your birds' feed to be sure it won't cause more harm than good.

 

[MeanCheek]

Be aware that some species of birds like softbills (toucans and starlings) require special diets with low iron content as they can have iron storage issues which can be fatal. Always research any additives that you might be putting on your birds' feed to be sure it won't cause more harm than good.

I knew about the toucans and also mynas, but not starlings

 

[MeanCheek]

I knew about the toucans and also mynas, but not starlings

Oh, stupid me! I forgot Mynas are in the starling family.
I've always wanted a starling

 

[ColtHandorf]

I used to keep Amethyst starlings. Beautiful birds. And I had a friend who kept many softbills species like tanagers and manikins.

 

[MeanCheek]

I used to keep Amethyst starlings. Beautiful birds. And I had a friend who kept many softbills species like tanagers and manikins.

I've never really had any softbills, they seem pretty tricky.
The Amethyst are stunning! That purple!
I actually think the European are the prettiest though.