borax

Hello everyone :) I wanted to know what alternatives there are to using Borax as this doesn't seem to be widely available in the UK. Some websites that do ship here charge too high a price to justify the size of the product IMO. I've found the following, are they sufficient? 1)...

i've heard of using borax to clean white birds. I only have one question tho. Should i let my bird bathe in the borax water herself or should i bathe her? because she usually likes to bathe herself but she also tends to drink the water before her bath (she only bathes in her water bowl)

i been reading a lot about it.. whats the rate u use per gallon and do u add anything in it with the borax ?