Let's Talk About Poop

[Anita1250]

I know, poop happens. Especially when you have a parrot or two or nine. But, does anybody else feel like poop is taking over their life?

I get up in the AM, take birdie out of his cage and clean up the poopie papers. Then, I wait for the BMP ( big morning poop ) and clean that up.

Go to work. Come home and clean the floor around the playpen. Why should said parrot poop on the papers in his cage when he can do so on a nice clean floor. I have actually seen him awaken from a deep sleep to walk down to the side of the cage to poop, then go up to perch and go back to sleep.

Then, there is the cage maintenance. Wiping every day. Scraping poop off of toys with my fingernail. ( I know, yuck! ). And don 't even talk about the Sunday morning scrub and steam.

I really feel as if poop has taken over my life, and I only have one bird. I can only imagine what it is like for those of you with multiple birds. I think I would have to run away to a desert island where the birdie can poop to his hearts content on the sand!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Yep poop happens..I had fostered a CAG a long time ago,and he was the biggest CAG I had ever seen,and haven't seen one as big since. AS SOON as "Gerty" got out of his house,he'd sit on his door,and I swear you could hear him grunt..then PLOP! The BIGGEST poop I had ever seen in my life!

Now I need a bathroom break




Jim

 

[Violet_Diva]

Oh the poop! The endless poop. Cage poop, birdstand poop, poop on your leg poop, carpet poop. Poop is definitely a big part of our lives.
Just today I had the joy of Dexters - 'just back from the vet after anesthetic" poop... It was not a nice poop. I could go into details but... heck... if you're reading this thread you've already crossed the line - it was a huge sloppy mess that made an awful sound on impact, by the sound alone I knew I was in for a treat...

 

[Anita1250]

Had one like that on my shoe last week. Waiting for hubby to finish putting travel cage together and birdie couldn't wait.

 

[GaleriaGila]

I feel your poop... I mean YOUR PAIN!

Actually, this reminds me of the Salt-n-Pepa hit... paraphrased... "Let's talk about poop, baby!"

 

[Kiwibird]

We are fortunate Kiwi is potty trained so his poops stay contained to his areas, but it is ever shocking (and horrifying) just how much poop such a small animal can generate! I grew up with 3 parrots and learned from my mom if one lets their birds poops dry overnight and waits to let their bird out in the morning, you can easily "chip" it up with a paint scraper and vacuum/sweep it away with minimal effort/grossness. I have a dedicated DustBuster for use in his areas, my mom uses a dedicated broom/dustpan to sweep it up. Any residue can then be wiped up easily with vinegar and water. I personally only change his papers every other day. It typically looks as though I haven't cleaned for a month though Trying to keep a parrots area(s) completely clean is an exercise in futility so I've long given up on it and just strive for sanitary enough he (or we) won't get sick.

P.S.- If your bird has an accident on the carpet, let it dry! Cut the bottom off a clean yogurt container (or anything similar) and put it around the poo as a warning so no one accidentally steps in it. Once dry, the bulk of the poo is easy to pick up and you are only left with a small spot close to the surface to treat. If you try to clean while wet, it only serves to spread it around and work it deep into the fibers.

 

[Anita1250]

Sammy too. He will let us know when he has to go if he isn't on his playpen. I don't know about the dried stuff. When we let it dry I can't get it off! We have a wood floor, so I use a wood tone chair mat under the cage. Then, when it gets too gross, I can throw it out and get a new one. Best $39 I spend.

We also just bought him a SS cage. That cleans up nice, but the dried stuff is still really hard to get off. I am constantly walking around with paper towels and Poop Off!

 

[Kiwibird]

Kiwi has a "platform" I constructed topped with peel and stick tiles under his cage/play stand/swing (some kind of linoleum or vinyl type material), my mom has ceramic tile in her birds area. I'm not sure if scraping it would be a good solution for real wood floors though. I use a plastic paint scraper, which gets the bulk of it off then you just have a little left on the surface which I spray with a vinegar solution and after maybe 30 seconds of soaking, it wipes up very easily. I've never known parrot poop to need any special products to clean, usually plain water takes it off (but a little vinegar helps sanitizing).

 

[Sunnyclover]

I have 2 conures, one larger and one smaller. Both potty trained (I potty trained them since the 1st day I got them and one I've only had a month) and the poop has not yet taken over my life. Luckily both wait to do their morning poop in the sink in the kitchen. Each morning I gather my birds from their sleep cage room and promptly take them downstairs (they both don't poop in the sleeping cage) and 1st my Sun Conure does his morning business and my baby Nanday patiently waits his turn and goes potty in the sink. One of my tricks to teach them this was I hold their tail slightly downwards or put the birds against my chest as I walk them downstairs because it's hard to let one rip in these positions. It seems to work aside for the occasional squawk to ask "mommy just what are you doing with my tail!". This would only work if your birds are very very tame and don't mind being touched and held in place for a few seconds which mine don't mind. Then after that's taken care of I just take my sun to approved potty spot every 20 mins and my Nanday every 30 mins and do a tail tap and say "go potty" and that's that! If they try to poop off the side of the cage i can't tell what they're up to and ask them to go another place or I stop them and put them in better spot and hey go. I also talk to them about it and tell them stuff like "good boy go poopy here" or "no poopy here" and they seem to kind of understand. My young Nanday has not yet had an accident on me or the floor or couch or anything which is amazing. I think he's just really really smart able to wait better than my Sun. Although my Sun hasn't pooped on me for 6 months except once after an apple which I don't think really counts because he it's hard to control after fruit. So this means I don't have to clean up poop except for in the cage or stands ect. (Bird areas) once to twice a week! Life is wonderful and poop plays less of a role in my life luckily.

 

[SailBoat]

Wood floors sit at near 90% of our home. Comes up easy and clean with a paper towel. Allowed to dry, that can be more difficult as some methods will damage the floor.

On the expensive side, folded in half a baby wipe and place on the poop, within an hour, lifts right-up! Lowest cost variation, dampened paper towel, same story.

 

[dhraiden]

Ah, poop. BMPs, Brianna handles. I actually had enough energy this morning to do morning-clean-up stuff she's been handling by route for months. And I used to change paper 2x a day, ditto water, food etc. I even chased down the garbage truck three and a half blocks since they missed the pick-up. I'll feel it later I suppose, lol. What happened? Birds happened!...hahaha...

Poop! It's a fact of life.

We are defined by our ability to handle (s)hits well, I suppose.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

My abode has w/w carpet..the carpet is pretty well shot as it is. Underneath Amy's mansion I lay newspaper. Under BB's condo,there are two lengths of carpet remnants with newspaper under his condo.
I don't get overly concerned when either one does their duty. Amy is usually on his play top and if his kiester happens to be hanging over the edge the poo plop ends on the papers.
Beebs on the other hand,is usually on the move...either on me,or on the couch ( there is a cover on the couch I wash weekly) or walking the floor.
His poo is definitely harder to notice then Amy's. When I DO see it,I wie it immediately,and I also have a portable steam cleaner that easily makes the clean-up easier,and any dry poo can be moistened to be picked up (after the hard chunks have been scraped).
THEN...every six months or so...I use a carpet steam/scrub/vac machine I have.
A lot of people don't really comprehend on what it takes to take care of a birdy and their surroundings to keep them healthy ( and YOU! )




Jim

 

[Shine]

Poop controls my life.... almost. I have a a playtree and a playstand that are connected by a boing. Fidget loves it but its poop central in my house!

I just went to thrift stores and bought several area rugs and put them everywhere Fidget goes. When they get too bad, I just toss them and get more. The mess vacuums up easily as long as I let it dry first. I have patchwork floors but Fidget and I are ok with it. We just call it our eclectic style! LOL

 

[Kentuckienne]

We had a piece of thin plywood covered with linoleum for a long time under the cage, very easy to clean. With Gus's tendency to fall, we switched to a big piece of corrugated cardboard with paper on top. I just realized that the interlocking floor mats I have would be great for that too - they are about a half inch thick, closed cell foam, easy to clean.

 

[TinkaSD]

I have three dogs, sometimes they help me do the job and clean bird poop on my wooden floors when it's fresh. :04:
I'm joking, we don't have carpets because of the dogs so I clean poop with paper towels and baby wipes.:15: