A shameful question...

[bigfellasdad]

With help I take the cage into the garden and jet wash it every two weeks. I use a big leaf blower to dry it off afterwards too

 

[clark_conure]

I put my bottom grate leaning up in the shower on super hot.....after poop gone I sponge bleach and rinse again.

 

[EllenD]

Yeah, to anyone reading this wondering themselves what's best, Keep the Grate in the bottom of your bird's cage, and use newspaper, butcher-paper (in the large rolls), or even paper-towels UNDER the Grate, in the very bottom of the cage.

***Putting the newspaper/Butcher-Paper/Paper-Towels on top of the Grate is not a good idea at all UNLESS you have done that since the bird was a little baby and they are trained to not go down onto the paper...Most birds will go and chew on, tear apart, shred, etc. any type of paper that they can get to, and the risk of them eating it is very great...Plus you don't want them getting all dirty from their poop, or from the ink on the newspaper if that's what you use...So just put the Grate in the bottom of the cage, and put the newspaper or whatever you're using UNDERNEATH THE GRATE. Then you can just remove the Grate or pull just the tray out of the bottom, however your cage works, and dump the entire bottom, put new newspaper in the bottom, and you're done. And then just scrub the Grate once a week...

****BTW, just an FYI to anyone who is planning-on using or who already uses any type of "Absorbent Liners", specifically any type of PEE-PADS/TRAINING PADS FOR DOGS..PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE THEM ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR BIRDS, OR IN ANY PLACE THAT YOUR BIRDS CAN POSSIBLY GET A HOLD OF ONE AND CHEW IT!!! The stuff inside of the "Puppy-Pads" or any type of Absorbent-Pads like human and/or doggy Diapers that makes them absorbent is extremely toxic to Birds!!! They cannot digest it, it just sits inside their Crops, Stomachs, and Intestines, and poisons them! It can also cause GI blockages/obstructions, but usually it just poisons them...I personally know someone who lost their Sun Conure this way, she kept the "Puppy Pads" in the bottom of his cage, UNDER the Grate, and he got a hold of the corner of one and pulled part of it up through the Grate, and proceeded to chew on it for about 20 minutes until she found him doing it...He had ripped the Puppy-Pad open and pulled out a bit of absorbent stuff in the middle...Well she found him dead in his cage about 3 hours later (ironically she had gone out to pick-up more Puppy-Pads, as she realized that she was out of them when she went to replace the one he chewed-up)...She had a Necropsy done and they found a small amount of the stuff in his Crop and Stomach, but it contains chemicals that are poisonous to Birds...This happened in 2014, and she's still not over it, not only does she miss him dreadfully, but she still blames herself...And of course she got online and searched to see if this had happened to anyone else, and of course she found a ton of people who have lost their birds due to them using Puppy-Pads in the bottom of their bird cages...And instead of that making her feel better, it made her feel much worse, like she should have known not to use Puppy-Pads in her bird's cage because they're "well known" to kill birds...I tried to tell her that's not true, that I didn't know they were toxic either, but she's still a mess over it and has yet to get another bird...So just "Say No!" to using Puppy-Pads as liners for your bird's cage...

 

[clark_conure]

What ellenD said (sigh)....again but yeah I just use printer paper because I don't subscribe to a newspaper, it's under the grate and I can steal it from work for free......
(had the same ream for a while now) in fact this one I may have paid for....

 

[buurd]

Do most birds eat their poop?

I have never noticed my rosies going near their poop. And I watch them a LOT since I am laid off and near them almost constantly.

I dont even see them walking near it. They generally poop from their perches, and not all over the cage. So if they are walking around, it's in the center of the floor of the cage, and not the corners. And of course, they poop small.

I do not have a grate for my rosies. It's a flat bottom. I read it was best for their physique, as they are slightly different than the rest of the grass parakeets.

I line the bottom with paper towel. I also have never seen them chew on the paper towel; not even to move it. Bourke's are known for not being chewers, though.
I have a bigger concern with them putting their beaks on stuff when they are outside of the cage. I caught one of them dinging a nail clipper with her beak, the other day.

HOW harmful is it for them to eat a stool, one off? If the bird is healthy and the poop is healthy, is pecking for a seed and getting part of a stool with it a big concern? I'm just thinking of a scenario where my boops might ingest it.

I clean their cage about 2ce a day, or more if they are pooping more due to eating veggies, at that time.
They have the regular poop with the ratio of fecal to urate to urine. I figure they do not want to smell that; it must be more acute to them, than me.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Yeah, to anyone reading this wondering themselves what's best, Keep the Grate in the bottom of your bird's cage, and use newspaper, butcher-paper (in the large rolls), or even paper-towels UNDER the Grate, in the very bottom of the cage.

***Putting the newspaper/Butcher-Paper/Paper-Towels on top of the Grate is not a good idea at all UNLESS you have done that since the bird was a little baby and they are trained to not go down onto the paper...Most birds will go and chew on, tear apart, shred, etc. any type of paper that they can get to, and the risk of them eating it is very great...Plus you don't want them getting all dirty from their poop, or from the ink on the newspaper if that's what you use...So just put the Grate in the bottom of the cage, and put the newspaper or whatever you're using UNDERNEATH THE GRATE. Then you can just remove the Grate or pull just the tray out of the bottom, however your cage works, and dump the entire bottom, put new newspaper in the bottom, and you're done. And then just scrub the Grate once a week...

****BTW, just an FYI to anyone who is planning-on using or who already uses any type of "Absorbent Liners", specifically any type of PEE-PADS/TRAINING PADS FOR DOGS..PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE THEM ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR BIRDS, OR IN ANY PLACE THAT YOUR BIRDS CAN POSSIBLY GET A HOLD OF ONE AND CHEW IT!!! The stuff inside of the "Puppy-Pads" or any type of Absorbent-Pads like human and/or doggy Diapers that makes them absorbent is extremely toxic to Birds!!! They cannot digest it, it just sits inside their Crops, Stomachs, and Intestines, and poisons them! It can also cause GI blockages/obstructions, but usually it just poisons them...I personally know someone who lost their Sun Conure this way, she kept the "Puppy Pads" in the bottom of his cage, UNDER the Grate, and he got a hold of the corner of one and pulled part of it up through the Grate, and proceeded to chew on it for about 20 minutes until she found him doing it...He had ripped the Puppy-Pad open and pulled out a bit of absorbent stuff in the middle...Well she found him dead in his cage about 3 hours later (ironically she had gone out to pick-up more Puppy-Pads, as she realized that she was out of them when she went to replace the one he chewed-up)...She had a Necropsy done and they found a small amount of the stuff in his Crop and Stomach, but it contains chemicals that are poisonous to Birds...This happened in 2014, and she's still not over it, not only does she miss him dreadfully, but she still blames herself...And of course she got online and searched to see if this had happened to anyone else, and of course she found a ton of people who have lost their birds due to them using Puppy-Pads in the bottom of their bird cages...And instead of that making her feel better, it made her feel much worse, like she should have known not to use Puppy-Pads in her bird's cage because they're "well known" to kill birds...I tried to tell her that's not true, that I didn't know they were toxic either, but she's still a mess over it and has yet to get another bird...So just "Say No!" to using Puppy-Pads as liners for your bird's cage...

Just saw this - is it alright to not use any lining at all? We have a grate over the tray, and since we don't subscribe to a newspaper and I don't see the point in wasting good paper, I have him poop through the grate onto the tray. I just make sure to wash the tray every day.

 

[buurd]

Ok, Ellen; now Im scared ****less

If I ever saw them messing with the paper towel, i would not be using it. But all it takes is one time , I guess?

They get hours out of the cage, with a room to themselves, and return to it on their own to eat & drink, and for siesta or sleep. They also have a plethora of toys --that they still ignore. Still, I dont think they are bored enough to go after the towel.

I dont get the news, and I dont know anyone who does. I wouldnt take in a strangers because you can bring in bugs, that way.
Since I dont use a grate, I dont want them walking around on newsprint, anyway. What about paper lunch bags? Or wax paper?
I guess they could potentially chew on anything that lines the bottom of their cage. Maybe Ill just leave the floor bare.

Outside of the cage, they love to jump on anything interesting. I mean, literally jump. The flaps of a box really interest them, and they will play with that for a long time. The male loves to jump on the keyboard keys. They both like to jump or skate all over my glass top desk, so Ill leave stuff on it they can explore. The thing Im most afraid of is if Ive walked somewhere and brought dog germs or whatever into the room on my feet, because they will occasionally hop around the floor and peck at stray seeds. They really spend most of theri time perching on things.

 

[noodles123]

Yeah, to anyone reading this wondering themselves what's best, Keep the Grate in the bottom of your bird's cage, and use newspaper, butcher-paper (in the large rolls), or even paper-towels UNDER the Grate, in the very bottom of the cage.

***Putting the newspaper/Butcher-Paper/Paper-Towels on top of the Grate is not a good idea at all UNLESS you have done that since the bird was a little baby and they are trained to not go down onto the paper...Most birds will go and chew on, tear apart, shred, etc. any type of paper that they can get to, and the risk of them eating it is very great...Plus you don't want them getting all dirty from their poop, or from the ink on the newspaper if that's what you use...So just put the Grate in the bottom of the cage, and put the newspaper or whatever you're using UNDERNEATH THE GRATE. Then you can just remove the Grate or pull just the tray out of the bottom, however your cage works, and dump the entire bottom, put new newspaper in the bottom, and you're done. And then just scrub the Grate once a week...

****BTW, just an FYI to anyone who is planning-on using or who already uses any type of "Absorbent Liners", specifically any type of PEE-PADS/TRAINING PADS FOR DOGS..PLEASE DO NOT EVER USE THEM ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR BIRDS, OR IN ANY PLACE THAT YOUR BIRDS CAN POSSIBLY GET A HOLD OF ONE AND CHEW IT!!! The stuff inside of the "Puppy-Pads" or any type of Absorbent-Pads like human and/or doggy Diapers that makes them absorbent is extremely toxic to Birds!!! They cannot digest it, it just sits inside their Crops, Stomachs, and Intestines, and poisons them! It can also cause GI blockages/obstructions, but usually it just poisons them...I personally know someone who lost their Sun Conure this way, she kept the "Puppy Pads" in the bottom of his cage, UNDER the Grate, and he got a hold of the corner of one and pulled part of it up through the Grate, and proceeded to chew on it for about 20 minutes until she found him doing it...He had ripped the Puppy-Pad open and pulled out a bit of absorbent stuff in the middle...Well she found him dead in his cage about 3 hours later (ironically she had gone out to pick-up more Puppy-Pads, as she realized that she was out of them when she went to replace the one he chewed-up)...She had a Necropsy done and they found a small amount of the stuff in his Crop and Stomach, but it contains chemicals that are poisonous to Birds...This happened in 2014, and she's still not over it, not only does she miss him dreadfully, but she still blames herself...And of course she got online and searched to see if this had happened to anyone else, and of course she found a ton of people who have lost their birds due to them using Puppy-Pads in the bottom of their bird cages...And instead of that making her feel better, it made her feel much worse, like she should have known not to use Puppy-Pads in her bird's cage because they're "well known" to kill birds...I tried to tell her that's not true, that I didn't know they were toxic either, but she's still a mess over it and has yet to get another bird...So just "Say No!" to using Puppy-Pads as liners for your bird's cage...

Just saw this - is it alright to not use any lining at all? We have a grate over the tray, and since we don't subscribe to a newspaper and I don't see the point in wasting good paper, I have him poop through the grate onto the tray. I just make sure to wash the tray every day.

I always used paper towels until Noodles started prying them up from under the grate and chewing the edges....Now I have removed them completely to avoid this issue. I spray the grate and the tray below every morning and evening (wipe them down etc)..I think it is fine if you don't use a paper liner, as long as you clean it up.
Not sure if it will be harder on the metal long-term though...