FINCHforum

I have natural mesquite wood branches in my zebra flight cage, that I've been cleaning by just scrubbing with a sponge and some vinegar water. This gets them all clean and poop-free, but they still smell really nasty. More so when they're wet. Any suggestions of how to get the odors out? I'm not sure what cleaning solutions (if any) are safe for the birds.

If they smell nasty after cleaning them, I would consider getting new perches.
You can clean them with vinegar like you have, or virkon s, or diluted bleach if you let them bake in the sun for a while afterwards.

I agree with Brian, my methods as well.

I replace the branches when they are dirty with new ones.

What might help if you still want to wash them is what I do with the fake greenery: I soak it in the bathtub in hot water (as hot as possible!) and splash a good amount of vinegar in the water. When the water has cooled off I take them outside and rinse with the garden hose. (or if it's too cold in winter in rinse them in the shower.) The hot water and vinegar rely helps getting the stuck on droppings off.

I use a brush w plastic bristles and SCRUB the branches and remove all visible poop. Then I pat them dry w paper towels and put them back in the cage. If you have spare perches that you can use while you sun dry the branches, that would be better.

koux33 wrote:I have natural mesquite wood branches in my zebra flight cage, that I've been cleaning by just scrubbing with a sponge and some vinegar water. This gets them all clean and poop-free, but they still smell really nasty. More so when they're wet. Any suggestions of how to get the odors out? I'm not sure what cleaning solutions (if any) are safe for the birds.

I wipe the caked stuff off with a wet paper towel, then wipe it with a lysol wipe, leave it to dry thoroughly and replace it into the cage.