Preventing Botulism

[MandBducks]

So I freak out about everything.

I have been reading about botulism, aside from changing food daily and cleaning out waters daily, is there anything else I can do to prevent botulism?

I live in a hot dry environment so I spray down the sand in my girls' run daily and we have constant misters. I also have a ling with beak issues and she makes a mess trying to scoop her food. It would be near impossible to find it all.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Donna R Raybon]

I am not saying it can't happen, but in many decades of keeping domestic waterfowl, never had botulism. All this family of bacteria, Clostridium, need anaerobic growing conditions. That means if oxygen is present they don't grow. These bacteria are present in environment and even in you healthy gut.

Where waterfowl are at risk is when a food source gets buried under mud/water and oxygen excluded allowing clostridium bacteria to grow. Most wetland are too acidic and don't easily support growth. That's the other thing, botuli doesn't like acidic environment. In home canning that is why tomatoes low risk, green beans a risk, and meat high risk, if not processed properly. I always use pressure canner for everything I can except jams/jelly.

Now where their can be a risk, not just to ducks, but other livestock is where hay has been flooded and underwater, then water recedes and grass sprouts in the hay. I have heard of goats, cows, horses getting botulism.