Cleaning the cage. --What do you do?

[beccafigs]

I'd like to know what you people do to clean your cage? I keep newspaper under the wire floor of the cage for my 2 zebra's and change it daily, but the bars are getting pretty poopy under their favorite spots (I've had them less than a week). My birds still freak out every time I reach in to change the water and food out, so I am not thrilled with the idea of stressing them out by trying to catch them to clean the cage. It's not a huge cage, but I think if I use a wet rag or something I can clean it up a bit without taking them out. Also, what do you folks think of using cleaners in the cage? I saw some specifically for bird poop at petsmart the other day but I don't know anything about it.

[EmilyHurd]

As far as the bottom grate (bars at the bottom), I take all of those out of my finches cage so I don't have to deal with that extra cleaning because those can get VERY poopy. I try to clean out the bottom trays about every 4-5 days or so, and under the perches where I know they sit the most, I put a paper towel or newspaper and remove those daily, so that the majority of the poop doesn't sit in the cage.

I recommend using poop off or the cage wipes they sell at the local pet stores. You shouldn't use any type of household cleaner while the birds are in the cage.

[Sally]

I agree with Emily, you have to be really careful about cleansers or chemicals around your birds, so the PoopOff is safe to use. Most of my cages don't have removable grates, so they do get pretty bad. You can wipe them down with a wet rag. The birds, being finches, will always freak a little bit when you do this, but they will get used to it in time.

[beccafigs]

I never considered household cleaners, I was just wondering about some kind of special bird poop cleaner... I have a friend with parakeets and when someone (I think a roommate) used some household cleaners around his birds they died shortly after, so I wouldn't want to risk that... My birds still freak out every time I change their water and food, so I'm sure they will hate me cleaning it, but they will just have to deal with. It'll be extra exercise for them while they fly around and freak out, I guess.

[rottielover]

After having delt with a Severe Macaw for 5 years, finch poop is NOTHING to clean ;)

Wet paper towel, or spray a little poop-off cleaner on the paper towel and wipe the bars, usualy it all comes off in 1 or 2 wipes for me.

Personally I clean the cages out once per week, but that all depends on how many birds and how big the cage is etc.

[Hilary]

One of Marigold's tips that I've been using is to take a piece of cardboard to the grate - it knocks off the worst of the poop for a quick clean without scratching the paint, and you can follow up with a poop-off wipe or wet cloth to finish them up if it's a more serious clean.