FINCHforum

Has anyone used Aspen shavings for their bird cages? I currently use pine pellets Un-sented.

I tried aspen shavings in cage trays once. I loved the look, but unless your cage trays are very deep, shavings soon covered the floor of the room. It is a constant struggle to find the perfect cage litter, one that is inexpensive, attractive, and stays in place.

The pine pellets I use stay in place and I don't find much on the floor but they tend to expand when they get wet from
the birds bathing and there is no odor.
Guess I'll stay with the pellets which I get at Petsmart 25lb
for $9.98

I've been using the clay kitty litter that has nothing added to it. It stays in place and I can use a reptile scoop to remove all the waste.

Debbie, what is the brand name...do you find it controls odor better than the aspen? I got a big bag of eco friendly aspen at pet co and it was good for to changes of just about 24 cages with a 1/4 of a bag to go. The aspen does smell somewhat when wet and I was thinking of getting a bag of dust free unscented cat litter and scoop. We did the same thing with our reptiles using sand and a scoop and then just replace a bit of the sand when needed.

I've used several different brands now and they all work the same. I just look for clay litter without any additives and scents. I was using just sand but when they would take a bath the wet sand would smell, the litter works great for me without any smell.

Debbie, my birds are all in one room, the aspen smell is a little overpowering as you walk by the room, when it gets wet from bathing it is worse. Thanks.

I have been using the Oil-Dri product that is sold at Walmart, and probably automotive stores, as it is designed to absorb oil spills. I think it is like kitty litter, it absorbs water when they splash during a bath. One thing I notice about it is that the birds spend a lot of time on the bottom of the cage foraging through the Oil-dri--makes me wonder if they are getting minerals out of it? It does stay in place pretty well, and I don't notice an odor, but a friend did. For breeding cages, I use hay, and that is extremely messy, all over the floor.

LOL, my aviary is in the solarium off the kitchen and you sure don't want to be smelling birds while you cooking and eating. I was using the oil-dri product but found the pieces were too big to sift effectively.

Debbie, do you find the litter to catch some of the seed that is bounced around?

I don't really have a problem with seeds bouncing out of the cage but I also have a 5 inch board going around the entire front of the aviary. I think it also helps that I feed on the bottom of the cage so nothing is falling down and possibly blowing out.

I have the cages for now, I am going to run a seed guard around the cages, use feeders but still want to cut some of my work in the room down some by using a substrate besides paper towels.

Sally wrote:I have been using the Oil-Dri product that is sold at Walmart, and probably automotive stores, as it is designed to absorb oil spills. I think it is like kitty litter, it absorbs water when they splash during a bath. One thing I notice about it is that the birds spend a lot of time on the bottom of the cage foraging through the Oil-dri--makes me wonder if they are getting minerals out of it? It does stay in place pretty well, and I don't notice an odor, but a friend did. For breeding cages, I use hay, and that is extremely messy, all over the floor.

Its most likely Zeolite I know this because my dads company is a Zeolite company, we have tons of bags (different sizes) of this in many grainual sizes, and powedered form. Zeolite is an all natural product (mineral), that absorbs spills, and odor. Can be used for many different purposes. Gardening, cat litter, fish tanks, birds, gym bags, garages, clean spills etc. It is safe if injested. Even was fed to cows. And it even helps to purify water.

PrettyBird wrote:

Sally wrote:I have been using the Oil-Dri product that is sold at Walmart, and probably automotive stores, as it is designed to absorb oil spills. I think it is like kitty litter, it absorbs water when they splash during a bath. One thing I notice about it is that the birds spend a lot of time on the bottom of the cage foraging through the Oil-dri--makes me wonder if they are getting minerals out of it? It does stay in place pretty well, and I don't notice an odor, but a friend did. For breeding cages, I use hay, and that is extremely messy, all over the floor.

Its most likely Zeolite I know this because my dads company is a Zeolite company, we have tons of bags (different sizes) of this in many grainual sizes, and powedered form. Zeolite is an all natural product (mineral), that absorbs spills, and odor. Can be used for many different purposes. Gardening, cat litter, fish tanks, birds, gym bags, garages, clean spills etc. It is safe if injested. Even was fed to cows. And it even helps to purify water.

I think I will definitely be switching to this stuff

Luckily I can get it for free since its my dads company ;) But for others they can also get huge bags of it for cheap, and whatever grain size you want.