Bedding - What to Use on Bottom of Cage

[EmilyHurd]

What is the best thing to use at the bottom of a cage? Is the corn cob litter stuff good, or is there something better to use. I'm thinking about taking the grate out also so that I don't have to clean it and just spread something on the bottom...

[Crystal]

Corn cobb is terrible. If you so much as look at it wrong, it becomes moldy.

The cheapest/easiest is newspaper. Putting down several sheets allows you to just remove the top/soiled sheet once daily to keep the cage clean easily. They also have newspaper 'pellets' and recycled newspaper 'puffs' (e.g. Carefresh bedding) that may be more stylish and often come in a variety of colors.

Wood shavings look pretty nice but can also be prone to allowing mold to grow (they aren't nearly as bad as corn cobb, though). If you are going to use wood shavings though, aspen shavings are probably the safest of what is commonly available (avoid cedar).

[tammieb]

I use the corn cob litter in two of my cages, have for many years. Some people feel it molds too easily. I've never had any problems with it though. It traps the debris and keeps it from flying around when the birds flap. I use it in the budgie cage under a grate and in the small flight cage. My birds have never eaten it or gotten sick from being exposed to it. When I had Zebs, they would carry it up and put it in their nests.

[bluefinch]

I use good old news paper! I have also seen a breeder who used meadow grass (to me it looked a lot like timothy hay but I am not shore if it was the same). She said she only used the first clipping of the year because it wasn’t as stiff and spiny. She said the meadow grass also doubled as nesting material.

I have already considered trying the aspen shavings used for terrariums for reptiles and amphibians. I was looking at some and the product description said it was mold resistant and held humidity. I thought it would look nice on the bottom of an aviary or large flight cage but it was a little bit pricy for my budget.

[ocalona]

I use newpaper too. My friends that buy the paper daily are glad to give it to me when they are through with it. It would just get thrown out otherwise. I work with a woman who gets newpapers @ the dump where people take them to be recycled. (She raises dogs, has 29!) So far I have enough given to me that I don't need to go that route.

[Finchlet]

I use pine shavings in the aviary, which is nice because I don't have to clean it as often. In my flight cages I use newspaper tho. The pine shavings would blow all over the place in the cage when the birds flew. The corncob probably wouldn't blow around.

[StevePax]

I use paper, too. I went to my local hardware store and just bought a box of "packing paper." It's the kind you would use to pack fragile things in boxes if you were moving. I cut a bunch of it to size and use that in the bottom of the cage. It's thicker than newspaper, and looks cleaner, since it's just a plain off-white color.

I've never had luck with stacking several sheets and just removing the top one, though - when the birds bathe, or whatever, it seems to soak through. So I just switch it out with a fresh one every several days.

[Rue]

Yes, I use newspaper too...on top of the grate...I find it lets the seeds fall into the bottom...and kinda keeps things easier to clean...

[EmilyHurd]

So is it ok if the finches are occasionally chewing the corn cob bedding?

[tammieb]

With the corn cob bedding, you MUST check often to make certain it isn't getting wet and molding. Like under or around the water dish etc. Otherwise it doesn't seem to be a problem. Like I said, I've been using it for many years and have not had any problems. When I had Zebras they would put some of it in their nests. I never saw them or the canaries eating the cobs.

[C A]

It seems to me that as long as your birds aren't frequent bathers, corn cob bedding would probably work fine. Mine LOVE to bathe, making newspaper the best choice for me.

[zookeeper]

I use newspaper and over that I put some "turkey crumble" poultry food. Not only is it inexpensive litter, but it's edible, so anybody who wants some extra protein can pick around in it. I do clean often enough so that it doesn't get too poopy.

[Crystal]

Corn cob bedding, in my opinion, is not worth the risk. Any moisture/humidity and you're just asking for fungus/aspergillosis/etc.

Why use it when there are much safer products available which look just as nice?

My 2 cents.

[Patricia]

I use a mixture of corn cob and recycled pine - only changing it every couple of months - never had any problems with mold or anything else

[Anneka]

I use paper towel (2 layers). I clean the entire plastic bottom every 3 days.
If there is a lot of bathing, then I change the papper more frequently.