Clean water....anything else may harm your birds

Yes, just keep the water clean... Make it part of your normal daily or weekly routine. But, consider that birds are bathing in lakes, puddles, ...just about anything that holds water...so the water doesn't have to be kept pristine.

what about domestos not only will it keep the bird bath clean but it will leave the birds with a healthy glow!

I've heard that if you put a copper penny in the birdbath that it will retard the growth of algae.

It's worth a try.

No matter what you do, you're going to get junk, after all, birds pee and s--t in the baths, and that can contaminate the birds that drink it. Periodically, you should empty it, add water and chlorine (bleach), let it sit for a while, and then clean out the basin, flush it and add clean water. I usually drain the water in my birdbaths once a week and add clean water. Sometimes, especially in the summer when the water goes bad quickly, I will add a spoonful or so of bleach per gallon. The bleach evaporates so it won't sicken the birds.

I do not recommend putting anything in your birdbath to keep it clean. Every other day you should empty the bath, scrub it with a brush and rinse it well. Refill with fresh water. If the alga builds up quickly, you can use ten parts water to one part bleach solution to clean the birdbath. Be sure to rinse well and place fresh water in the bath.

Cleaning and replacing the water is also important to prevent the spread of West Nile disease. Mosquitoes are attracted to stagnant water. Many bird lovers are putting a fountain or a new device called a "Water Wiggler" in their birdbaths to prevent stagnation.

A few years ago I red in a Birds & Bloom magazine to add about a cap full of bleach to the water in the bird bath.