Basic cleaning routines??

[Butters]

Hello all,

I am new to the forum and currently here gathering information until I'm ready to bring a baby home. I would like to be as prepared as possible!!

As I have never had a larger bird before I am not sure how much daily/weekly cleaning is involved in the care of an Eclectus. My boyfriend is under the assumption that birds are disgusting and dirty. He works for a utility company and is always in and out of people's homes and has yet to come home and tell me anything seemingly positive. Although I'm starting to think that's part of his evil plan since we did visit a store that has Eclectus and he handled her more than I did

We have animals at home already so we aren't unfamiliar to normal daily/weekly cleanings, I just don't want to get him home to find out my walls and carpets will never be the same. Are there any tips that would give me an advantage to having a neat bird? Or is that just a dream entirely?

 

[JerseyWendy]

Welcome to the forum.

I don't know how to say it other than to just spit it out: Birds ARE messy. Why the smiley face, you wonder? Because if you clean the cage regularly, and keep up with the mess she/he makes, then it's not bad at all - at least not for me. My carpets still look brand new, my furniture isn't chewed, and only part of the door trim is chewed because I forgot to move the playstand over before I put my Macaw on it

Now you posted in the Eclectus section. Eclectus (mine did anyway) LOVE to fling their food, so you will be cleaning walls.

I've never heard of a "tidy bird". But again, like I said earlier, the up-sides far outweigh the messy sides. If you clean the cage daily, and weekly more thoroughly (like walls) and monthly really spick and span, then it's not that bad at all. A handy vac will quickly be your best friend.

 

[triordan]

Congratulations on your new bird! I find it so much easier to keep the cage clean by wiping down the bars every day and changing the papers daily. Once a week I will give the whole cage a good cleaning. Does your cage have seed guards? They do help a little~ as far as keeping your floors and walls clean, I have never really had a problem with the walls and the dogs eat any food thrown out of the cage! A tile/ceramic/wood floor is better than carpet, but if you do hav ecarpet you can get one of those office chair mats, they are like hard plastic and put it under the cage....now occasionally Remington will be a stinker and climb up in the corner of his cage and shoot poop across the room, that is not fun, but strategically placing a large toy in the corner has basically stopped that!

 

[dragonlady2]

I do have a baby Ekkie and they do make a significant mess with their food and their poops are almost like mini cow patties lol. However, I just went to the dollar store and bought cheap plastic table cloths and use one on the floor as a drop cloth and I drape one over furniture that is close. I agree about daily maintenance of the cage and area will help, but the joys of being able to have Willy far outweigh the negatives. At least he is not destroying the wood in the room....yet! Lol

 

[Chikoo]

Your husband is right. Birds themselves are not disgusting and dirty. But the environment around them can very quickly become dirty and disgusting. It all depends on how willing you are to spend time cleaning up after them. I do not wipe their cage bars down everyday because I don't have time to do that. I do change their papers out regularly. And perhaps once a month I give their cages a very thorough clean and spray down. I have draped a cloth all around the walls where they eat, and I installed splatter guards on their cage. That has helped a lot in protecting the walls. But if you want a super clean home, and don't want to deal with their poop on newspaper and having to change that out frequently, then don't get a bird!! They are downright messy.

 

[OOwl]

I'm a "neat freak" and so is my husband. We have six parrots. THE most messy is the Grey. He eats the equivalent of a small child and makes at least as much mess a day as the average two-year-old. My best advice to you is invest in a good vacuum cleaner. I have (and can recommend) the Dyson Animal DC48 (although any of them probably are good). I just leave mine out. I have a wastebasket at the birds' cage area (half my birds are caged together in the "bird nook"; the other half are dispersed throughout the rest of the house, but all have their own wastepaper basket. I also have a standing broom and dustpan that clip together, and I leave those sitting right by the cages. I vacuum or sweep every time I see something on the floor or in the seed guards of the cages (if I don't, wing flapping sessions broadcast it all over the room). I also keep a roll of paper towels and poop off spray under the cages. I wipe gooey food messes as I see them. I also learned to use one of those electrostatic dusters to dust down the cages before I vacuum. Greys and cockatoos make a LOT of dust. I change paper, vacuum trays, and wipe bars every day when I do food and water. I wash dishes every day. Once a day I do something "extra." One day it will be totally wiping down and oiling the casters. One day it will be deep cleaning the play tops. One day it will be doing the walls and baseboards where the cages are located. One day it will be putting the perches in the dishwasher (that works GREAT by the way) or the rope perches in a pillowcase and washing in the washing machine. If you do the basics and then a little "extra" every day, there is no real way the cages can get away from you and ever be "disgusting." I seldom have to take any of my cages outdoors and do a total wash-down because of the daily attention they get. Since I'm slightly OCD about the cages, the "a little extra each day" method has really helped me calm down, knowing that within a week, EVERYTHING will get scrubbed. If you try to do that every single day, then you suffer burn-out and start resenting the birds. I used to spend hours a day on making my cages perfect. Now, I do it this way and spend more time with my birds. All six birds take me about an hour a day. Good luck developing your own cleaning routine.

 

[Oedipussrex]

have to agree with everyone else. Birds are messy, and eclectus are quite messy - if only because we try to give them even more fresh foods than normal so theres more risk of juice and skins being thrown everywhere, because they arent dusty birds. They dont really smell, but will need wiping up if you dont want fruity stained walls.

While theyre eating or after theyre done they have bits of food all around their mouths, and then they shake their heads, spraying it over anything that is within a metre at least. lol They also drop 60% of what you put in their bowl on the floor while they are eating it XD

I have pickle in front of a big sliding window door because it is easier to wipe clean than the walls, which i learned the hard way. But i also bought him a perspex box with a perch in it that i can use when he gets messy foods. Theyre pretty easy to google though i dont think the one i bought exists anymore.
Theyre expensive, but as long as your fid isnt scared of them and uses it properly (to catch the head shaking spray) I would personally say that it was definetly worth it for me. With that box and his cage skirts i only have to do a weekly clean Instead of wiping up food each night to prevent staining, - and then its mostly because of the bottom of his cage by that point.

 

[moni.k]

I would have to say that eclectus aren't THAT messy compared to other birds. You won't come home to a disastrous cage or wake up to one either. However, with that said, they require more fresh fruits and veggies than most other birds and with fresh food, it rots and begins to stink. Left alone and it will attract flies, ants and other unwelcome critters. At first I was an avid cleaner, but I fell into a routine which works pretty well with my schedule.

One a week I give the cage a real thorough cleaning, washing down the bars, toys, perches, etc. I always rinse with water thoroughly so there isn't any residue of soap left over and let the cage fully dry before putting everything back. On this day I also really get down on my hands and knees and vacuum/mop the floor. I then layer down the newspaper on the bottom pan, and place the bottom grate. I put lots of layers of newspaper for the next step.

Every day I just take the first layer or two of the newspaper and throw it away, this will get rid of all the droppings and food that had fallen to the bottom pan for the day. Then I do a real quick sweep around the cage and that's it! pretty simple.

As for her perch stands, I clean the droppings and food every day and give it a nice good clean once a week also. I like to use the Kaytee: Kay-Cob which is a litter made from corn cob. It absorbs and clumps the droppings (just like kitty litter). I put on some gloves, and with a trash bag I pick up all the droppings and fruits she had dropped.

I have hardwood floors so cleaning is a bit easier. I don't recommend the fabric seed catchers, because you'll be left washing it almost everyday. I hear the metal catchers that comes with the cages are somewhat helpful, but I can't really attest to that since I don't use them. I find them to be too bulky and visually an eye sore :54:. But whatever works for you and your situation.

It sounds like a great deal of work, but I spend about 5 minutes of cleaning a day and 30 minutes for a thorough clean once a week.

Here is a list of products I use to clean:

Kay-Cob litter
Kaytee » Kay-Kob Bedding & Litter

All Purpose Cleaner
method : all-purpose cleaner with powergreen technology

Clorox disinfecting wipes
Disinfecting Wipes for Multi-Surface Cleaning | Clorox

Magic Eraser: works really well getting stains off your walls!!
http://www.mrclean.com/en_US/magic-..._content=sLoQimBKY_15185192829_e_magic eraser

To clean rope toys and perches: Let it soak in a 25% vinegar solution, then give it a good run down with dish soap. Rinse well and let it air dry.

* People also say they have success with putting it in the dishwasher, I have never done it before... I don't know if I like the idea of having bird feces and dried left over food mixed with her saliva all over my dishwasher.

To clean plastic toys (foraging, etc.) I let it soak in a bleach solution, then give it a good rinse and let it air dry.

Personally I don't use the commercial bird cleaners, they are too pricy and don't give me a "pristine" clean. When using bleach, multi-purpose cleaners, etc... make sure the room is free from all the fumes before putting your bird back. The fumes are toxic to them. Nalani really enjoys playing on her perch outside while I clean and let the room air out.

haha, I know this post was pretty long, but in summary it's nothing new to what the other members have said. So apologies for getting a little carried away . It really isn't as complicated as it sounds, as long as you stay on top of the cleaning each day, you won't be overwhelmed by the mess. Good luck with your new baby!!! and keep us updated. :09:

 

[Jollyjess80]

I have an old bed sheet that I tack up behind my ekkies cage and every week I just take it down and throw it in the laundry, as for the floor I bought one of those clear plastic rugs and put that under the cage so I can sweep or just wipe up the mess....and it also saves my carpet I also have a clear plastic storage container that I cut a hole in on the side, and place my ekkies food bowl inside and he eats in there sometimes, its like his "dinner room" haha

 

[Grenage]

My thoughts are:

Carpets are far less easy to clean than tiles/wood/laminate/anything under the sun.
You'll probably be giving the cage room a clean every week (at least!) due to feathers and dropped food.
If the cage is near a wall, it will get splattered (ours only lightly).

To be honest, my conure is not much effort, and I cannot abide filth. I change the papers, food, and water every day; I clean the bottom grate every week, and I wipe the whole cage down once a month. We currently have carpet in the living room, so I dust and hoover every room once a week anyhow.

Imho, most pet owners are negligent, with animals living in squalor. Your husband's observation doesn't surprise me.

 

[Butters]

Thank you so much to everyone who put in the time to give me this information. I have been reading and reading and have obtained the basic information about the bird... They do this because.. They act this way because.. They will do this if... The real life information is what I need! My boyfriend is also a giant neat freak, he grew up with one pet at a time. I've had a horde of animals all my life so he is not at all tolerant of mess. Because of this I am the primary animal cleaner, it took six years for him to agree to scoop cat litter! Haha. I knew birds were going to be a mess, and this really really helps. When we went to see some Eclectus last week they were given pomegranate while we were there and oh my gosh!! The bird seemed like he was throwing the food directly at me! I look back and Nick looks mortified so I can see this is going to be a unique experience to say the least.

I think it's still going to be some time before I actually go all in, even though I've been completely obsessed with this bird for some time. I am doing what I can to make the responsible decision to be fully prepared with everything I need before I even pass a dime for a baby. Plus, if I just start bringing things home little by little Nick will understand that yes, this IS really happening!

Thank you thank you thank you again to everyone for all of this valuable information!! <3

 

[CRYROLFE]

The purchase that helped me the most was those plastic mats that people put under their office chairs. They are not expensive and help tremendously!!!
I use that Poop-Off to clean bars and cages along w/ vinegar and water.
I let it sit awhile and then use those scrubby sponges.

 

[Oedipussrex]

haha I also have one of those mats ^ under his stand in my bedroom XD because its carpet