Should i be worried?

[Sean]

My next door neighbour just got a compost bin the size of a coal bunker for his garden, could this cause asperillas

[Liam Hay]

yes it will produce asper spores however this will only worry your hawk on how close it is.

[Shaun Byrne]

Is there a prevailing wind direction Sean?

If your mews is in line with the compost, either the mews moves or the compost bin!

[Sean]

well teh wind blows every direction, there about 10 metres from eachother( i aint built it yet) only thing to seperate em is a fence :o

[Mr_Colin]

Can you build a bloody great wind break so it bounces back into his garden

[Goldie]

any spores that may be blown from 10 mts away shouldn't be much of a concern. Asper is more of a problem if your hawk is is in a mews that has damp wood shavings or fungal growths in corners etc due to dampness.

If memory serves me correctly you are getting a HH and in that case it is worth remembering they are not as susceptible to asper as many other birds but never the less any precautions you can take at this stage is worth considering

[Sean]

He knows that i was making compost last year and invited me in to see it sometime so ill tell him it would be better on down teh garden lol

[Shaun Byrne]

Good advice from Goldie there Sean. When you build your mews take this into account and use materials that dont rot easily. They are a little more expensive but better than loosing a bird.

Although the compost heap may not be a problem at distance it syill might be worth having a word with the neighbour or re-designing your mews.

[Sean]

i am gonna have a word with him h4wka, but where i wanna build the mews in the best place for sunlight aswell lol, theres no winnign is there, cheers guys

[Tim Laycock]

If the Mews is not going to house an accipiter I wouldn't give it a second thought Sean.

[Sprout]

Just because it's not an accipiter doesn't mean the risk is worth it!! Goshwaks aren't the only birds susceptible, redtails, snowy owls, golden eagles as well as Gyrs are all highly prone but ANY bird is susceptible. Asper spores are in the air all the time, rotting matter esp hay etc will increase the risk. Initial training is the time of most stress on your bird so will reduce the immune response making it more susceptible so take as many measures to reduce this stress as possible. Keeping ventilation to a maximum will certainly help. Placing your mews as far as possible from the compost will help as well as trying to make sure it is not directly downwind. But just ignoring the problem because your bird is not high on the list is downright negligent.

[Tim Laycock]

:| (Shrug shoulders)