What kind of salt to use in bath for pigeons?

[scottischicken]

What kind of salt (iodine, sea salt, etc.) do I add to the bath water for pigeons in order to eliminate feather lice?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't know!!

I had never heard of this before, but it seems like a thing.

I looked at Foy's and they sell salts to add to the bath water, of course it doesn't say what "kind" on the products, just bath salts.

I give my Pigeon just plain water to bath in, well... she has a water "tub" and then she gets into her water bowl daily, she's a double dipper

For lice I just carefully dust her with a Permethrin based poultry dust. Seems to work.

 

[007Sean]

I have never heard of this either, so I did a quick search, there are many distributors and online stores where you can find many different brands. Here's a few, hope this helps!

 

[cavemanrich]

When I kept pigeons,, that only got a regular water bath, outdoors during warm weather. They chose to go at their own will.
What is the main purpose of the salts???

I read the OP about Feather Lice, but are there other reasons??

 

[Wyorp Rock]

When I kept pigeons,, that only got a regular water bath, outdoors during warm weather. They chose to go at their own will.
What is the main purpose of the salts???

I read the OP about Feather Lice, but are there other reasons??

A few things I read on a few different bath salt products on Foy's were:
Stimulates the down molt and removes skin flakes.
Ensures flexible, strong feathers.
Makes feathers soft and flexible.
A natural disinfectant.
Cleans feathers and helps rid birds of parasites.
Silky smooth feathers.
Relaxes muscles.

Well. I guess you'd just need to read the description for each and determine what you want it to do.

 

[Qwerty3159]

A few things I read on a few different bath salt products on Foy's were:
Stimulates the down molt and removes skin flakes.
Ensures flexible, strong feathers.
Makes feathers soft and flexible.
A natural disinfectant.
Cleans feathers and helps rid birds of parasites.
Silky smooth feathers.
Relaxes muscles.

Well. I guess you'd just need to read the description for each and determine what you want it to do.

That’s interesting. I also had no idea there were so many different kinds of salts for the pigeons

I’ve only ever used water or some borax mixed in to control feather lice. Borax worked like a charm for prevention and control on the pigeon’s body.


In short, borax is easy to come by, I’m not sure pigeon salts are worth the money if theonly goal is to rid them of lice

 

[Qwerty3159]

Some more information on Borax:

Recommended dosage seems to be one tablespoon per gallon. The small box it’s normally sold in will last you a long time. I would dilute it further for the pigeons bathing themselves vs me dipping them.

Don’t encourage the pigeons to drink the borax water, make sure they have plenty of fresh water to drink beforehand. They shouldn’t like the taste or try to drink it more than once.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

That’s interesting. I also had no idea there were so many different kinds of salts for the pigeons

I’ve only ever used water or some borax mixed in to control feather lice. Borax worked like a charm for prevention and control on the pigeon’s body.


In short, borax is easy to come by, I’m not sure pigeon salts are worth the money if theonly goal is to rid them of lice

Some more information on Borax:

Recommended dosage seems to be one tablespoon per gallon. The small box it’s normally sold in will last you a long time. I would dilute it further for the pigeons bathing themselves vs me dipping them.

Don’t encourage the pigeons to drink the borax water, make sure they have plenty of fresh water to drink beforehand. They shouldn’t like the taste or try to drink it more than once.

I had heard of using Borax, but haven't tried it.

Thanks for the info!