Let's talk about the mess!!!

Gretchen

New member
Jun 27, 2011
8
0
One of the very first things I hear when telling my friends about wanting to get a parrot (Eclectus) is - "Eeeewwww they are SO messy and your house will STINK!!!"

So - how bad is it really? I know Eclectus aren't supposed to put off as much dander and dust as other birds.... but what about feathers? Do they shed all over the place? And what cleaning products are safe to use? Most of the stuff I associate with that "super clean" smell are things like Pine-sol and Mr. Clean!!! Do those types of cleaners contain too many harsh chemicals that could hurt a bird? And what is the best way to keep the poop smell under control?

Many years ago we had a breeder pair of African Grey's and they WERE a mess - but they were non social and kept in their own room so the mess was contained to that one room. If I got an Eclectus it would be more of a part of the family. I read about people letting their birds follow them around the house and everything. I would LOVE that... but I'm concerned with getting poop everywhere!
 

xreinx

New member
May 24, 2011
342
0
Alaska
Parrots
-no parrots yet-
I do have two cats -Riply & Nano bites-
four snakes- china, dip & stick, and Grand Chahee-
Well, to reply to -EWWww , the first thing I say to anyone who says that is, ANYthing is messy if you dont keep it clean!

it dosent take but a minuet to pull newspaper and put down new ones, If african greys were messy, then NOone cleaned Daily, and they should have, birds can get sick from moldy food left around or a room that isnt vaccumed daily.

off topic, but relating to it, I love pigeons, and sure, they are messy, but no more then chickens, and chickens are messy because noone cleans up after them.

PIGS roll in their own filth to keep cool, but teach them to use a lever on a hose, and they can clean themselfs, 99% of the time after that, they will wash themselves. its a proven fact. you can teach your bird to go in one place, or even teach him to poo in a trash can, its not that hard from what I understand.

I work with animals in a shelter setting, and from experence, if you keep on top of the cleaning daily, then it wont be so bad in the long run... but if you let the filth build up.. well.. thats not healthy for either the bird, or you.

so IMO nothings a mess, unless you dont keep it clean.

I would also watch out for the cleaners. Lysol is toxic to ALL animals including humans.

Toxic to Birds - Raven's Haven

there, should answer some of your questions.
 

nofearengineer

New member
Sep 8, 2010
575
1
Parrots
Gandalf - CAG (1997-2010) R.I.P. my baby boy.
Bitty - CAG (2 yrs old? and working on spoiling her rotten)
Parrots are quite messy...that's a simple fact. They are one of nature's seed scatterers, so it's their job. ;)
Just clean up after them...you volunteered for the job, right?

As for the stink, not so much. Some parrots have a faint smell to them, but it's not unpleasant...nowhere even close to a wet dog or a full litterbox.
 

Lauren

New member
Dec 13, 2007
55
5
Ottawa, ON, Canada
Parrots
Seth - 16 y/o Blue Crown Conure

Lily - 3 y/o White Capped Pionus
ALL parrots are messy :) My lovebirds included.

Their pellets get thrown everywhere, their poop makes a mess (I have a large piece of laminate flooring under their cages which is AWESOME to have), not to mention when they're moulting I have enough feathers on the floor to build 3 other birds haha

As for cleaning I use two things:

White Vinegar - 50-50 with warm water and a squirt of lemon juice to cut down the harsh smell (not good to use if you have ants). You can use this around the birds (without spraying it in the air), on their cages etc.. without having to remove the birds or rinse afterwards

Grapefruit seed extract - is another organic 100% bird safe cleaner that I use for their water bowls. You can also add 1 - 3 drops of the GSE to their water bowl to prevent the biofilm from accumulating (too much of it does give off a bitter taste).

Ekkies (eclectus) if I am not mistaken, have a different skin and feather type than say Cockatoos or Amazons. They are a very greasy bird and don't have as much dander. With most, if not all birds (parrots included) you will always have the white down feathers (or grey in my amazon's case) floating around, the odd large feather and when the big moult happens LOTS of feathers :p

For odor - my lovebirds have this addicting smell to them, so I huff them regularly (LOL), Loto the BF 'zon, STUNK when I got her, I spritzed her every day for 2 weeks and she now smells like maple syrup... mmmmmm bird huffing

I find the larger the bird, the easier it seems to be to keep them in one area to poop (ie: certain area of the house, a piece of toilet paper etc...). My lovebird Skittles if she's sleeping on me or snuggling, will NOT Poop on me unless I hold her over the coffee table - and I put a piece of toilet paper there). Marley my youngun on the other hand, poops, sleeps in it and when it's dried.. eats it... ewwww

Oops forgot to add:

Good news, there isn't really much of a poop smell from parrots unless there's an illness or you leave the poop sitting for weeks on end. ( I was sick for 2 weeks a month or so ago, and couldn't clean the cages, so there was a bit of a smell, but a good scrub with vinegar and fresh newspaper took care of that)
 
Last edited:

suebee

New member
Jan 13, 2011
2,394
3
put it this way i am having a laminate floor put into front room! sofa is leather, any poop, just wipes off!

there is no smell other then from the food/pellets

my routine is, instantly wipe up any poop nut does outside of cage, hoover room end off night, clean an move cage, oh nuts fav place is on the curtain rails, so any accidents, i just change curtains as i have a spare set :)

my homes my home but not a show home, its not dirty just lived in
 

wuvzbirdies

New member
May 5, 2009
238
0
Toronto, Canada
Parrots
Congo African Grey: Russell Peters (R.I.P. my baby)
I have many non-bird loving friends who say the same thing, they just don’t understand how I could love and love taking care of a parrot. I only have African Grey experience, my guy Russell passed away at this past Christmas, at first it was a challenge to keep the mess at bay.

Feathers were only a problem during molting season; I took care of that by getting a dustbuster and vacuuming everyday to get all of the down feathers that fell that day, I also dusted daily because Russell was very dusty.

Poopie smell should not be an issue if you clean the birds cage daily, every day I would lightly wipe down his cage inside and out and then once a week thoroughly disinfect it but because I changed his poopie paper daily it was controlled, no one ever complained of smell in my house.

The proper cleaning products are extremely important, I’m afraid your Pine-sol and Mr. Clean will have to find new homes. Stock up on vinegar, lemons and baking soda. Attached is a list of bird friendly cleaning solutions. BIRD SAFE SPRING CLEANING

You can potty train your bird to only poop in a designated spot, I never mastered that with Russell so I don’t have any advice on it but I do know it takes consistency and patience.

Good luck.
 

antoinette

Supporting Member
Jul 6, 2009
13,114
Media
9
18
Sunny South Africa !!!
Parrots
African "Grey"
"Mishka"
Male
7 Years old
One of the very first things I hear when telling my friends about wanting to get a parrot (Eclectus) is - "Eeeewwww they are SO messy and your house will STINK!!!"

So - how bad is it really? I know Eclectus aren't supposed to put off as much dander and dust as other birds.... but what about feathers? Do they shed all over the place? And what cleaning products are safe to use? Most of the stuff I associate with that "super clean" smell are things like Pine-sol and Mr. Clean!!! Do those types of cleaners contain too many harsh chemicals that could hurt a bird? And what is the best way to keep the poop smell under control?

Many years ago we had a breeder pair of African Grey's and they WERE a mess - but they were non social and kept in their own room so the mess was contained to that one room. If I got an Eclectus it would be more of a part of the family. I read about people letting their birds follow them around the house and everything. I would LOVE that... but I'm concerned with getting poop everywhere!


All birds are messy.....
As for the poop everywhere, potty train the bird, it's a simple procedure, could take a few days to master.

DSCN3514.jpg
 

suebee

New member
Jan 13, 2011
2,394
3
awww ant, an lol at how miska is lookin at you :) an yes nut mostly goes over her cage, but accidents will happen lol
 
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Gretchen

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Jun 27, 2011
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Thanks for the replies! I LOVE the potty chair!!! TOO funny!!!

How often do they molt?
 

AmazonServant

New member
Jun 24, 2011
55
0
The mess can get pretty bad, but it's certainly manageable if you set aside a few minutes each day for it. I change the paper in my bird's cage and in her play-stand every other day - she has a grate at the bottom and never goes down there, so I don't have to worry about her scavenging in filth. The poop doesn't smell unless your bird is sick or you let it build up by not cleaning. The feathers are only really annoying during molting, but it's nowhere near as bad as having a shedding dog. It's fun to find pretty feathers on the floor, and the smaller ones I just clean up with my dust buster at the end of each day. Feathers can make a room look at bit messy, but they're charming and relatively easy to clean up. I highly recommend getting a dust buster. Before I got mine, I just kept my larger vacuum out at all times, and it was an eyesore, not to mention annoying to maneuver. The dust buster just sits next to the cage, ready to use every day for a 30-second cleanup around the floor. I also use it when changing the cage liners, because feathers and pellet crumbs tend to fall through the newspaper when I remove it. Cleaning up bird poop can get annoying, but it's far less disgusting than picking up dog poop.

Cleaning the cage can be pretty annoying, not too easy on your back. I'm planning on getting my bird a new perch stand just for meals, because non-pellet food makes a huge mess in the cage and I think it would be easier to clean up if I got my bird to do most of her eating outside the cage on one specified perch. I use diluted vinegar to wipe things down, and baking soda on a toothbrush to get the more caked-on grime off the bars of her cage.

So anyways, yes, birds are messy, but they're not un-hygienic to have in your home. It offends me a little when people hear I have a bird and make comments about how it must be disgusting or diseased. I'd never make a comment like that about someone's dog, and we all know how messy and gross dogs can be! I think that the reason you get people making so many comments about birds being messy is that traditionally birds are more decorative pets. People often get birds because they're pretty or they like victorian-style bird cages. And then when the bird creates an amount of mess appropriate for a living creature, the reason for having a bird - decoration - is outweighed by the unsightly mess it makes. But for people who get a bird because they want a cheerful companion, I don't think the mess level is unreasonable or significantly worse than with other pets.
 

xreinx

New member
May 24, 2011
342
0
Alaska
Parrots
-no parrots yet-
I do have two cats -Riply & Nano bites-
four snakes- china, dip & stick, and Grand Chahee-
I have to say I have never had trouble cleaning up after a bird, sure it gets icky if you put way too much fresh fruit in the bowls and Leave it for 3 to 5 days. but I clean the birds cage every day, its Vary simple, take out the newspaper, put new in. do a quick vacume.

My aunt was a personal maid, her clients had birds, a lot of the time when I went with her, I would look in and see the owners changed the paper themselves, then my aunt did a quick vacume around the cage. she said they were never as messy as she thought they would be. though she still didnt like the bird (one managed to unlock itself one time and chased her around one clients house)
 

darkling

New member
Apr 13, 2011
284
1
Alabama
Parrots
RIP Pi - Sun Conure 02/06/11 - 09/10/11
Yeah, Pi poops wherever she wants. We're working on that one.

Hannibal (a greenwing macaw) had a distinct scent. I loved it and thought it smelled like fruit. My mother HATED it and refused to come over while I had him. She said he stank. Not his cage, which I cleaned every morning, but himself. So I guess its a matter of perspective.
 

mrob

New member
Mar 22, 2011
207
0
New Zealand
Parrots
Gizmo:Male RS Eclectus
R.I.P Merv Hughes: Cockateil
Booger: Alexandrine
yep, they are messy....especially with eccies, not much seed but more soft fresh food whcih goes off quickly, and can attract flies in summer. Its easy to keep on top of though - i feed mine twice a day outdife the cage over newspaper, then get rid of the newspaper. Stops build up of fruit and crap in the bottom of the cage, and i change the paper every day in there too.

In Regards to the smell, eccies have a distinct odour. When i first got mine it smelt very strong to me, now, i LOVE it. But it wasnt too nice at first.

You can get used to anything though! Once you get a bird you work out the best routine that suits you and the bird and you dont even notice it. It is a lot more work tahn a dog or a cat though. But also very rewarding:D
 

Eclectica

Member
Oct 8, 2006
412
Media
7
3
South Africa
Parrots
Dory - Cockatiel
Parrots are messy...period, just like every other being, including humans, lol.

A bigger cage helps a little as the poop doesnt congregate in one spot, hehe. But i found cleaning twice a week works for me, as Kodie is out all the time and poops on the side panels mostly, very decorative btw, lmao!!!

He is actually very clean for a parrot, doesnt mess outside of his friut/mix/veggie dish, so i guess im lucky there. Pellets on the other hand, picked up from one bowl, dipped in water in the other, that can become smelly if he messes alot of water.

They dont really have squirty poop, depends on the amount of fruit and pellet dips he makes, hehe, not nearly as the lorys anyway.

Good luck in your search for a birdie, they all are messy and that just gives us a better excuse to spend even more time with them :p
 
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Gretchen

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Jun 27, 2011
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It offends me a little when people hear I have a bird and make comments about how it must be disgusting or diseased. I'd never make a comment like that about someone's dog, and we all know how messy and gross dogs can be!

I KNOW! I can't believe some of the negative reactions I've gotten!!! It's strange to me how people have such a strong opinion about birds but you don't hear much about dogs or cats!

I feed mine twice a day outdife the cage over newspaper, then get rid of the newspaper. Stops build up of fruit and crap in the bottom of the cage, and i change the paper every day in there too.

I love the idea of feeding them the fresh fruits and things outside of the cage... Seems like that would help a lot.

And can you just throw their food bowls in the dishwasher?

And how often do they molt? Once a year? Or is each bird different when it comes to molting?
 

kitt

New member
Mar 27, 2011
426
0
Michigan
Parrots
Ava(peach faced lovebird) and my very first bird
Leroy (black headed caique) my little moody bird
Dusty (hahns macaw) my clown
People can be so funny about animals if they are not animal people....you have to take it with a grain of salt....
I had a relative bring over a new girlfriend and she was not an animal person.She saw my dog walk by and she said with a very snotty tone "don't you want to put that THING out while you have company?" to which I replied "No, but if you are that uncomfortable with it, you can sit on the deck"......LOL true story....don't mess with my animals....

As for mess,,,,,,,the birds do make a mess but you have to be willing to clean up after them as already mentioned....I change papers everyday and wash the cages once a week...there is no smell unless the birds have eaten some hot peppers. LOL
Parrots have weak respiratory systems or maybe I should say sensitive respiratory systems so please do all your homework on that. No harsh cleaners, candles, teflon, air fresheners and the list goes on...we are here to help.
 

kitt

New member
Mar 27, 2011
426
0
Michigan
Parrots
Ava(peach faced lovebird) and my very first bird
Leroy (black headed caique) my little moody bird
Dusty (hahns macaw) my clown
ALL parrots are messy :) My lovebirds included.

Their pellets get thrown everywhere, their poop makes a mess (I have a large piece of laminate flooring under their cages which is AWESOME to have), not to mention when they're moulting I have enough feathers on the floor to build 3 other birds haha

As for cleaning I use two things:

White Vinegar - 50-50 with warm water and a squirt of lemon juice to cut down the harsh smell (not good to use if you have ants). You can use this around the birds (without spraying it in the air), on their cages etc.. without having to remove the birds or rinse afterwards

Grapefruit seed extract - is another organic 100% bird safe cleaner that I use for their water bowls. You can also add 1 - 3 drops of the GSE to their water bowl to prevent the biofilm from accumulating (too much of it does give off a bitter taste).

Ekkies (eclectus) if I am not mistaken, have a different skin and feather type than say Cockatoos or Amazons. They are a very greasy bird and don't have as much dander. With most, if not all birds (parrots included) you will always have the white down feathers (or grey in my amazon's case) floating around, the odd large feather and when the big moult happens LOTS of feathers :p

For odor - my lovebirds have this addicting smell to them, so I huff them regularly (LOL), Loto the BF 'zon, STUNK when I got her, I spritzed her every day for 2 weeks and she now smells like maple syrup... mmmmmm bird huffing

I find the larger the bird, the easier it seems to be to keep them in one area to poop (ie: certain area of the house, a piece of toilet paper etc...). My lovebird Skittles if she's sleeping on me or snuggling, will NOT Poop on me unless I hold her over the coffee table - and I put a piece of toilet paper there). Marley my youngun on the other hand, poops, sleeps in it and when it's dried.. eats it... ewwww

Oops forgot to add:

Good news, there isn't really much of a poop smell from parrots unless there's an illness or you leave the poop sitting for weeks on end. ( I was sick for 2 weeks a month or so ago, and couldn't clean the cages, so there was a bit of a smell, but a good scrub with vinegar and fresh newspaper took care of that)



You huff lovebirds??? LOL...I about fell off my chair laughing over that one. To funny.
My caique (leroy) smells like a corndog after he gets wet...honest to God, no lie.....I huff him too....maybe we need some kind of twelve step program for huffing our birds.LOL
 

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