How do you clean your fids' toys?

[MomtoPercy]

I'm curious to know how you clean your fids' toys and whether you sterilise them? I'm not sure what to do about toys containing rope. How do you sterilise that? And leather?

 

[Betrisher]

I usually soak the plastic stuff in a weak bleach solution and then scrub it in hot sudsy water. Leather can be cleaned the same way, but each time you add water to it, the leather will grow stiffer and more brittle as it dries out. So only wash leather things as a last resort. I'd love to know how others clean cotton rope perches. I'm tempted to soak them and then scrub with a stiff brush in hot suds, but don't want to mess them up. I worry about drying them. I would be good to hear from others who've done it before.

 

[gizzygirl]

Me too! I'm sure I'm not doing it very well. I use the bird poop remover for cage and perches but toys I will scrub, and soak if needed with hot soapy water and rinse well.

 

[Bundiibird]

I clean Bundii's rope toys by soaking them overnight in water with a small amount of laundry detergent. Then the next day I scrub them with a nail brush to make sure all of the poop stains etc have gone and the. I hang it on the clothes line until dry. I figure that the sun will kill anything else. The rope toys come out looking like brand new and there is little smell. I clean most toys like this and it seems to work.

 

[MomtoPercy]

Oh good, I thought I was doing something wrong . I don't put much stock in "sterilizing" Percy's stuff - if I wash it super clean and dry in our hot African sun, I believe it is clean enough....not so? I do sterilize (as far as possible) anything new I bring in (new toys, wood, etc) in a warm oven because who knows what sat and/or pooped on the stuff at the petshop or manufacturer's warehouse.

 

[Maria_Metropolis]

Good advice. So far I've only had to clean his wooden perches. I make sure the rope perches are not in the line of fire, so to speak. LOL!

I use vinegar and water spray to clean everything, including food and water bowls, perches, grate, cage, etc. . .

 

[Betrisher]

Since I've been feeding my birds a lot more 'moist' food in the way of fruits and veggies, I've been a lot more careful with cleaning. I won't say I sterilise things: I don't. But I do wash and scrub as well as I can to make sure there's no unspeakable stuff left on the toys or bowls. I forgot to add earlier, if you soak stuff in bleach solution, you need to rinse it very well and dry it in sunlight to de-nature the chlorine in the bleach.

 

[GaryBV]

I do have to say that I have never used, or seen, the word POOP so much in my whole life as I have since I joined this forum lol

 

[Betrisher]

You need to hang around stables for a while, Gary. Horsey people don't use 'poop' to describe what horses do: they call it $#!+.

Just as an aside: in the third year of my Zoology degree, we actually did a study on various kinds of poop. Did you know that only dogs and their relatives do what is technically called 'a turd'? Turds have layers and much can be told about the owner from studying a cross-section of one. The outer layer is a kind of varnish that protects the dog's innards from sharp bones and spines in the food he eats. And yes, I have studied numerous cross-sections of turds. ROTFL! The things y'do, eh?

Once, we were doing a prac. class out of the lab. The idea was that each group would place a different sample of poop in a container in the middle of a paddock and return after several hours to find out which kinds of dung beetles were attracted to which poops. Apparently, the introduction of European species has vastly changed the composition of the Australian dung beetle population and we were about to start a report on that.

'For this exercise', said the professor, 'we'll be using various mammal specimens from horses, sheep, cows, dogs and cats. We'll also use monotreme specimens from echidnas and marsupial specimens from kangaroos, wallabies and possums. Just out of interest, we'll also use a human specimen'.

Of course, the class clown piped up and said 'Whose is the human specimen?'

Prof Waterhouse smiled smugly at him and said succinctly: 'Mine!' and handed him a jarful of - er - specimen.

At the end of the day, everyone stank! We did, however, find out a number of facts:

- native dung beetles are indeed outnumbered hugely by introduced ones
- different families of animals attract specific kinds of beetles, showing that each kind of dung beetle is evolved to suit a specific kind of poop.
- human dung attracts no dung beetles whatsoever.

Prof Waterhouse commented drily 'I'm sure that has a direct correlation to the standard of my wife's cooking...'

 

[GaryBV]

Haaahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!

 

[GaryBV]

OK I've stopped laughing and I have my breath back (thx Trish lol) - I actually have quite a bit of experience in the poop dept. myself lol My whole life we've had pets, and currently have 5 dogs - 3 which are larger sized (and you know what THAT means lol), a cat with several litterboxes lol, plus the 4 birds. Not to be TOO graphic but I always pay very close atten to the ummmm droppings, as I use them as a general gauge of health that can be very valuable. On several occassions it was the poop that instigated vet visits - AND last year at this exact time, to my great indignity, led me to a colonoscopy!!

 

[MomtoPercy]

Errrr....uhm... Thank you, I guess?, for the pooplogy lesson, Betrisher!!
:18:

 

[MomtoPercy]

I'm with you, Gary. I scrutinise Percy's poop every day, all day. I'm quite pathetic about it really!

 

[GaryBV]

Well MtP - join me in saying 'POOP POWER' lol

 

[Calace]

My goodness, it sounds just like a mother's playgroup discussion on here with all this poop talk!

 

[cassiepengo]

hehe... it does, calace!! well i usually dip my birds toys in warm water, and leave it there for an hour or so, and dry it. my budgie dusnt play with his toys that much, so i dint get him many. but yeah, he does poop a lot. thats basically the only reason i have to wash his toys lol!!