The Problem of Poo (in the playpen)

[johnandalfred]

As a new bird owner, I am sure that this is one of those things that you can just figure out over time, but my bird (Alfred GCC 5mo) is using up all my t.p.

While I am working during the day, I like to bring Alfred over by my desk and let him play in his playpen. The problem is that the frequency of poo getting on the bottom of the playpen (his favorite spot for wrestling with his larger toys) has me constantly getting up and down from my work to clean up his mess so that it doesn't get on him.

His playpen bottom is a simple piece of wood with a "stick resistant" laminate of some sort. It seems as though if I don't immediately address the situation, there will be some residue that requires cleaner for removal.

I have tried filling the bottom with the recycled crumpled paper bits, but he tends to fling them all over the place and run through any poo he may have dropped.

It would be nice if i could give his poo a quick scoop and carry on, but I cant think of a material that he wouldn't try to eat / put in his mouth or scatter everywhere as he plays. My vet told me kitty litter is a no-no for birds, so if you have any suggestions to give, I would greatly appreciate it.

John

 

[weco]

You could use pine shavings or aspen shavings, but no cedar shavings or ground corncobs.....

Even with either of those, there's no guarantee he won't get down & run through that collection material...your only passable solution might be if you have a raised grate, to put your absorbent material under the grate, though that will only offer a partial solution for your dilemma.....

 

[Phlox]

Why not just get a big roll of newsprint, and cut out sheets? Then you can pull one off if there's too much poo...and they are fairly absorbent, so it'll dry quick and the birdy will see his poo and may avoid it.

1750 ft by 24" for $30 on Amazon.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Box-Partner-BOXNP2490-Newsprint-Rolls/dp/B000ZJQHBW]Amazon.com : BOXNP2490 - 24 - Newsprint Rolls : Kraft Paper : Office Products[/ame]

 

[Dustbunny]

Fleece. I have a couple stands where I need poop protectors but PB will just chew on the newspaper or simply throw it off the stand. For those places I use a scrap of fleece. Sometimes she beaks it a little, but she leaves it alone for the most part. The poop dries fast so I just shake the fleece over a trash can to get most of the poop and shredded toy bits off and then toss it in the laundry.

Obviously, PB can still run through it and get it on her feathers, but I find this happens less with the fleece than with newspaper. I think because it dries faster and sinks into the fleece fabric more.

 

[Kiwibird]

Birds don't play in their poop as a rule.... Kiwi likes to play with his toys on the bottom of his play stand, but he never gets it on himself. Once they get something nasty and slimy on them once, they'll be more careful not to get it on themselves again. They are very clean animals when it comes to their plumage.

With Kiwi's play stand and I just let poop dry and every day (or every other day if he didn't spend much time up there), I will scrape up the dry poo with a paint scraper. He has a big stand, so I vacuum up the dried droppings, seed husks and any wood chips or whatever he was chewing. With a smaller stand, you can just scrape and shake it off outside.... I do that with his t-perch.

 

[Dustbunny]

I love how we all seem to have our own cleaning preferences. I would rather wash a load of laundry every day than scrape dried poop off a surface. It's not an eww thing, just an annoyance. I can walk through the house changing papers and fleece and it doesn't bother me, but I'll mutter and grouch the entire time I have to scrape poo.

 

[Kiwibird]

I love how we all seem to have our own cleaning preferences. I would rather wash a load of laundry every day than scrape dried poop off a surface. It's not an eww thing, just an annoyance. I can walk through the house changing papers and fleece and it doesn't bother me, but I'll mutter and grouch the entire time I have to scrape poo.

Lol, I'm like the total opposite. I *begrudgingly* do laundry ONCE a week because I have to, but I don't even think about scraping poop because it's easy (to me).

Just curious with the fleece- do you use it as a cage liner too? I've always hated newspapers since I have to use 2 overlapping sheets because the tray is bigger than just one sheet. Fleece could just be cut to size and have enough to last until laundry day We use cloth pretty much everything else, so I wouldn't mind eliminating yet another wasteful paper product. How does it hold up over time with the given use? I know poop washes right out of the rugs I keep under his cage and stand, does it wash well out of the fleece? What about seeds/chewed up bits of toys/fruit ext... getting stuck to the fleece?

 

[SilverSage]

A grate would help, as would some of the other suggestions. Also, I suggest simply making the floor boring and the perches more interesting, so he has no reason to run to the floor.

 

[thekarens]

I use s clear shower curtain liners. They cost about $5 and I cut them to size. When they are dirty I just take them outside and hose them down, only takes a couple minutes. That's also what I put under my cages.

 

[Dustbunny]

I love how we all seem to have our own cleaning preferences. I would rather wash a load of laundry every day than scrape dried poop off a surface. It's not an eww thing, just an annoyance. I can walk through the house changing papers and fleece and it doesn't bother me, but I'll mutter and grouch the entire time I have to scrape poo.

Lol, I'm like the total opposite. I *begrudgingly* do laundry ONCE a week because I have to, but I don't even think about scraping poop because it's easy (to me).

Just curious with the fleece- do you use it as a cage liner too? I've always hated newspapers since I have to use 2 overlapping sheets because the tray is bigger than just one sheet. Fleece could just be cut to size and have enough to last until laundry day We use cloth pretty much everything else, so I wouldn't mind eliminating yet another wasteful paper product. How does it hold up over time with the given use? I know poop washes right out of the rugs I keep under his cage and stand, does it wash well out of the fleece? What about seeds/chewed up bits of toys/fruit ext... getting stuck to the fleece?

Sorry, not sure how I missed this until now. I don't use it as a cage liner because for whatever reason PB leaves the newspaper in there alone. I hope this continues because food is much messier. It's easy to clean poop, paper, and bits of wood off the fleece, literally most of the poop just shakes off, but sticky food is a whole other icky story.