Lab Station
A good working relationship with your Avian Veterinarian will help guide you and verify your results.
An unoccupied room or other isolated space that is well ventilated might be used to set up your lab. A hard smooth floor is easy to keep clean.
Adding an addition onto your home or aviary building to incorporate a lab is an option. The size and what you choose to put into this from the basics to the very elaborate would depend on your situation, size of aviary and finances available. A building or shed might be another idea. Another option might be an inexpensive camper that could be converted to meet the needs of a lab.
Cabinets with doors will keep supplies clean, dust free, and out of the way. These will also keep reference books and material clean. Smaller items like boxes of slides, sterile swabs, inoculating needles, loops and wax pencils can be kept neat, clean, and handy if kept in drawers.
A well-lit table or desk area and electrical outlets are necessary for the microscope, incubator, etc.
Lab Station
1. A sink is necessary, and separate from household operations in order to avoid bacterial contamination.
2. Equipment needed is a microscope with oil immersion lens, and immersion oil for microscopy.
3. An incubator with accurate temperature control to use for growing bacterial cultures.
4. Bunsen burner or other means for heat fixing slides.
Supplies for Gram Stains
1. Kit for gram stains
2. Microscope slides (those that are frosted on one end are easy to write on.)
3. Cover slides
4. Wax pencil
5. Sterile swabs
Supplies for Cultures
1. Agar plates for growing bacteria, yeast, and mold
2. Sensitivity Plates
3. Antibiotic discs
4. Inoculating loops
5. Inoculating needles
6. Various color charts
7. A system for identifying the bacteria grown
A spray bottle of a recommended disinfectant available will provide easy clean up and disinfecting.
A cover for your microscope will help keep it clean and dust free.
A final note
Remember that you are working with live growing bacteria. It is imperative that you keep your working area and your hands clean and disinfected.
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