baking soda with the bedding?

Is it safe, advisable, or even sane to lightly sprinkle some baking soda on to the cage bottom before putting on the cob or paper bedding?

All my fids' cages have grates, so the birds can't get at anything that falls through, but wouldn't baking soda be lightweight and possibly be inhaled?

Why would you want to put baking soda in the cage bottom?


Corn cob is not recommended. If ingested, it can be deadly. If not kept clean, it grows mold quickly.

Baking soda is non toxic, so it should be safe as long as it is not ingested. I would also use paper instead of cob. Cob can be fatal if ingested, and is more likely to grow mold and bacteria. Paper is safer and cheaper. Good luck !

thermodynamic said:

Is it safe, advisable, or even sane to lightly sprinkle some baking soda on to the cage bottom before putting on the cob or paper bedding?

All my fids' cages have grates, so the birds can't get at anything that falls through, but wouldn't baking soda be lightweight and possibly be inhaled?

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The best thing to do is buy a newsprint pad from a art store or order a newsprint role online. It's cheap and you get a decent amount. layer it on the bottom of the cage so you take the top one off and a clean sheet is underneath. Also, parrot poo doesn't smell(unless they're ill or the poo is left for a long time and starts to grow mold), as long as your changing the liner everyday there is no need to use baking soda.

The beddings are all garbage, all they do is pose dangers and hide the parrots droppings(poo) which are often the first sign of sickness.

Thanks, y'all!

I'll see if I can return the corncob bedding and get newsprint pad...

Alternatively, what about paper towels that don't have designs printed on them?

And my reasoning for baking soda - it removes smells in general from the air. Like an air freshener but without those chemical scents that harm or kill birds yet do absolutely nothing to humans...

What I do when I go on vacation is shred a ton of newspaper and put about 4 inches below the grate. Works great and doesn't need changed for a few days.

to remove smell with ought using harmful incense, candles, or air freshener you can use two parts lemon juice 8 parts water and put in a spray bottle and mist the room it will freshen it up and get rid of the smell thats what i do for my birdroom! you can also boil lavender in water and put that in a bowl in the room takes longer but has a nice smell or boil apple peels and cinnamon sticks in some water and spray that in the room. those are all bird safe ways to get rid of smell.

MarciaLove said:

to remove smell with ought using harmful incense, candles, or air freshener you can use two parts lemon juice 8 parts water and put in a spray bottle and mist the room it will freshen it up and get rid of the smell thats what i do for my birdroom! you can also boil lavender in water and put that in a bowl in the room takes longer but has a nice smell or boil apple peels and cinnamon sticks in some water and spray that in the room. those are all bird safe ways to get rid of smell.

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Thanks!

There's not much in the way of smells, but I've seen bedding that contained baking soda (Planet Petco bedding) and used that in the past. None of the baking soda flew up from the paper bedding, but as I'm migrating to flat paper as opposed to that crumpled stuff, I thought it was good to ask...

I'll try the lemon juice/water mix. Or real lavender (not the fake stink...) since lavender has a soothing effect... If I were to purchase a lavender sprig from any given flower store, will that be okay or are there pesticides or other worries I'm not thinking of right now?

I've never used incense or candles, and only once did I use an air spray (Oust was the name, if I recall), but aimed opposite of the birds and a brief spritz, not the "10 seconds flat" they recommended for medium-size rooms. That was a few years ago as I've read since even the basic odor cleaners that don't add fake lavender stink can be bad. The air spray killed bacteria in the air and it was "ocean fresh" or something. Fake ocean stink...


Oh, I did once look at genuine lavender extract in a blue bottle for a scent... is that a sufficient substitute for boiling a real sprig, or are there other chemicals mixed in with the lavender component in that compound?

Thx!

the extract has essential oils and thats bad for them and im not sure about a sprig from the store i imagine if you rinse it well it would be ok since they arent going to eat it good luck!