Cleaning tips? and some food questions

[Fleur]

Gaia is finally coming out of her cage willingly and enjoying being around us so now that she is out of her cage I feel like I can give her cage a more thorough cleaning. I have been taking the perches out and cleaning them with just soap and water as well as cleaning the bottom of her cage with soap and water and removing any poop from the bottom bars. I want to avoid using cleaning products such as 409 since I feel the fumes/chemicals may be bad for her even after the cage has aired out. I clean her water bowls twice a day with soap and water as well as her food bowl.

A few questions I had about her toys:

How often should I clean these? They are shredding toys and other hanging toys made of dyed popsicle sticks and fabric. How do I go about cleaning these? Even when I washed her foot toys off they bled dye.

Her rope perch, how do I clean this and how often should I clean it, how often should I clean the perches in general?

She has been getting better at eating fresh fruits but so far only likes her bird soaks, pomegranate, apples (occasionally) and she is still eating roudybush tablets and her golden feast golden obles which the breeder recommended. I still give her about a tablespoon of seeds once a day.

Tonight I am going to buy her some raw corn on the cob, sweet potatoes, bananas, pomegranate, oatmeal, and maybe some healthy cereal.

What kind of veggies can I feed her raw? Can I buy frozen veggies and cook them for her? What is the best healthy cereal to get a bird?

I am trying to buy stuff that has a bit of longevity since fresh fruits often go bad before I can feed them to her and I often have to make lots of extra trips to the store so I am just trying to figure out a system and experiment with things she may like. I have looked at some of the bird mash recipes but I can't seem to find all of the proper ingredients and I am a horrible cook (no seriously I even mess up rice).

Also since she started eating those golden obles I think it has given her breath a different odor and I don't like that. I am not sure what a bird's breath is supposed to smell like but it doesn't smell like it used to if that makes sense.

Thanks in advance for the help, these forums are a lifesaver!

 

[weco]

Too many of us in the U.S. are phobic about cleaning & sanitizing, but soap & water is a very good cleaner.....plain Dawn dish washing liquid is usually recommended, as that what is used to clean wild birds of oil pollution.

My cages get a twice a year scrubbing at the car wash...I know that's not possible for a lot of people, but it is the best way I've found to do 6 cages, perches, swings & toys all at once.

If your perches seem to collect detritus more frequently than you can manage, you might want to get a couple of spares of each perch & soak them in the tub, with a bleach solution.....a couple of capfulls in 3 inches of water will take care of things, along with a stainless steel scrubber, then rinse well & if you can let them air dry in the sun, so much the better.....

 

[Fleur]

I just got home from the store with some frozen mixed veggies and ran them under warm water until they were room temp. Success!! She loves them! I am super glad 2 because I bought 3 bags I will try oatmeal and bananas in the morning.

I also read it was ok to give them special k cereal, the original kind. Is this true?

 

[weco]

Yes, cold cereals, other than the sugar soaked/coated kinds, are OK.....

 

[CathnPoe]

The amount of sugar in cereal isn't great, especially when they're eating as much fruit as they are. Oates are great, but think of cereal as a once a week treat.

 

[mcmalott]

I have heard of people putting wooden perches in the dishwasher and rope perches in pillow cases in the washing machine.

I clean the grate in mines cage just about every day with a HOT washcloth and it stays very clean - if you do it every day it is very easy (I have 3 cages to clean) and takes 5 minutes tops. I also run over the cage with a warm cloth.

I hang a lot of veggies and fruits on skewers and in the rubber balls the bell that hang - this helps with the mess some.

I layer the paper in the bottom of the cage and pull of a layer every other day.

Hope this helps

 

[Boysmom]

I take Ruby's cage outside once a month for pressure washing. I pressure wash the cage and all perches after spraying it all down with apple cider vinegar for sanitizing. The pressure washer easily removes all the food and poops. Foot toys I wash and sanitize as they get soiled in the sink. I use puppy pads in the bottom of my cages because they absorb more of the mess and poops. My bottom cage grate is high off of the tray, so they cant grab the puppy pad and chew on it or pick up old food. I change the puppy pads 2-3 times a week as necessary.

 

[MonicaMc]

Cereal may also contain too much iron in it for it to be healthy for birds.


Land of Vos - FAQ's - Page 1
Land of Vos - Carolyn's Recipes
Sprouting For Healthier Birds

 

[nickydoodle]

Going along with this cleaning thread--I have put things successfully in the dish washer but they will lose their color. Has anyone a suggestion for my grey's cage liner? Our new cage has the grating closer to the newsprint and he is constantly grabbing it and shredding it now which creates a huge mess. Because of the proximity we can't use the suggested puppy pads. What is that stuff that pet stores are using in the bottom of their cages and is it safe if my bird gets a hold of it and throws it to my dog?

 

[Kiwibird]

I know there are people out there who clean their birds cages every week, but I side with weco that it's not necessary to constantly be disinfecting your birds cage. I personally "deep clean" Kiwis cage and play-tree 2-3 times a year. I just take them outside and use the sprayer nozzle on the hose and some elbow grease with the scrub brush. I wash his t-perch in the sink about once a month, since it does get a lot dirtier a lot quicker than his cage or tree. Branches, I wash when I notice them getting kind of grubby looking. I fill the bathtub with HOT water, and take a scrubber to them. If it's winter, I let them dry in the bathroom, if it's summer, I dry them outdoors. I wash his dishes out daily in the sink with just plain hot water and a special sponge I do not use soap on. I wash his plastic toys as needed same method I do his dishes, and while they usually don't last long enough to get gross, if a wood toy does get gross levels of poop or food on it, I toss it (you can't wash those things unless you want to dye your hands rainbow colors for days afterwards!). As needed, i also use a paint scraper (that has never been used on paint), to get dried poops off just about any surface (base of his perch/tree, branches, wood toys ect...). It works like a charm! I have always heard you should avoid using any kinds of soaps or cleaners around parrots, as even the tiniest bit of accidental residue can make them sick. Water and elbow grease has always worked fine for me, and Kiwis areas stay pretty darn clean (for a parrot!).

 

[MonicaMc]

Going along with this cleaning thread--I have put things successfully in the dish washer but they will lose their color. Has anyone a suggestion for my grey's cage liner? Our new cage has the grating closer to the newsprint and he is constantly grabbing it and shredding it now which creates a huge mess. Because of the proximity we can't use the suggested puppy pads. What is that stuff that pet stores are using in the bottom of their cages and is it safe if my bird gets a hold of it and throws it to my dog?

Unfortunately, newspaper is typically best. There's also recycled paper or sand that you could use.


I've seen many pet stores use corn cob. I wouldn't recommend it, because if it gets wet or dirty, becomes moldy and may cause an aspergillus infection. African greys seem to get it the most frequently, but could be wrong about that. Or... if a bird eats the corn cob, it can impact their crop.

 

[Peeker]

I would stick with newspaper and try to see if there is a possible way to safely lower the tray so can't reach the paper.

 

[SandyBee]

One lady I know uses pillow cases/towels instead of paper.
Uses a fresh one everyday and throws them in the laundry as needed.

 

[MonicaMc]

Thinking about cloth, some people do use fleece on the bottom of the cage, sometimes even on top of the cage grate. Cut the fleece to size, insert in cage, take out every now and then and toss in the washer. Make sure to have several pieces cut to size so you can change as needed.

 

[drlisaort]

I find cleaning Oliver's cage in the morning and evening (5 minutes each time) much easier than waiting and letting food and droppings harden. I do use a smidgen of dish soap with vinegar each time. The paper toys Oliver shreds in a few weeks so I just toss them when they look less inviting and the wood toys I wipe down if needed.

As for food, I find fruit in the morning, raw veggies when I go to work, and cooked beans, brown rice and mixed veggies for dinner works like a charm. Also, during the work week (Mon thru Friday) I use about two tablespoons of seed/pellet, which if he had his druthers he'd prefer a heck of a lot more. He is a voracious eater!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

I dust Rosie's cage to get off all the dander, clean the perches as needed, I clean her water bowl and food bowls everyday with soap and hot water, I use soap because my vet tells me to do so and I agree.

A few times a year I take everything out of Rosie's cage and wipe/scrub it all down with warm water/vinagar and deep clean her perches. If her cage was downstairs I would just bring it out and scrub/preasure wash it but her cage is big, heavy, and upstairs. I layer plain paper, often art newsprint, on the bottom and every night pull off the top sheet and throw it out. I wipe down wooden & plastic perches to clean them once a month. I also spot clean everything as needed.

Don't use corn cop bedding, I've seen so many birds eating it at Petsmart and it can cause impaction.

 

[PicklesParrot]

I wipe down the bars and such every 2 days. I roll the whole cage out every other week and spray down with vinegar water and blast with the water hose and attachement and scrub the hell out of it to get off the stuck food particles. I have a tray that slides in the bottom a few inches below the bottom bars and I actually put that in a scented garbage bag so All I have to do when I change it every 2-3 days is turn the bag inside out as i pull it off and toss it in the trash. I put some newspaper or old magazine pages on top to absorb moisture. As far as the toys, Mr. Pickles is picky and only likes things that shred or rip. He doesnt like blocks, plastic, beads, wood, ect. He only likes wicker, cardboard, paper, ect. So I just either make new ones or buy new ones when its destroyed. Doesnt take very long.

 

[Joshuwaaa]

I tend to deep clean around once every three months where we scrub the cage.

Other then that I clean toys around once every two weeks, just casual brush off and scrub a little and we wipe over his cage every two days to stop it smelling.

Change his paper daily just because we dont want it to smell and its a bit gross.

 

[Bronte]

I clean billy out as and when he needs it (approx every other day) and i clean out his bowl's every day... mostly because he loves to make soup

Deep cleaning the cage s hard because at the moment he is still worrying that he will be abandoned (just moved from mums house to mine 2 months ago) he is a lot better.. but wants to be with me all the time, so hard to deep clean a cage with a billy on you,lol.
saying that, its not filthy. ill give it a month or so and really scrub it down. xx

cereal..... i avoid it unless its organic.

I always choose fresh, you can wash it and you know where it has being.
we have stuff here called egg feed. its awesome!!! birds love it and its a good way to boost immune system, feed poorly birds. etc
Tho it is messy!!!

 

[lpolliard]

I lightly spray the bottom grate with Pam. It makes cleaning the dried poop off 10x easier.