FINCHforum

Hi everyone. I am wondering what the best way to clean and disinfect natural wood perches. I have several in my cage and I'd like to clean and disinfect them. They are the ones that attach to the cage with washers and butterfly nuts. I have read that you clean all the visible waste on the perch and can then put it in the oven at 250 degrees for an hour and that will kill all of the bacteria. Is this a good way to clean and disinfect natural wooden perches?

I've scrubbed them and then soaked them in a bleach solution. It takes a good long time for them to dry - I never thought of putting them in the oven.
More recently I've started using the plastic brackets that you put a branch in - then when they're dirty it's easy to throw out the branch, wash the holder and put in a new branch.

bleach and water, soak 15 minutes and sun dry...in between cleanings I use white vinegar and water.

cindy mayble Thanks so much for your responses. I just don't feel comfortable using bleach. Will definitely use vinegar and water. I'll try the oven and maybe use my shark steamer to disinfect the natural wooden perches.

I also use hydrogen peroxide wipes to wipe the perches down.

With bleach and water, the bleach starts to break down in a water and bleach mixture after 24 hours. Direct sunlight speed up the process and breaks it down very quickly. Once the perches are completely dry they are safe to use.

I have two sets, one to use while the others are cleaned/drying, stored until needed.

I agree about using bleach. It is natural and safe. I don't even rinse the bleach, I just let it dry.

I use Virkon-S solution to wipe the perches, never rinse them.

I've been using bleach water to wipe down all my cages and aviaries for years without a rinse. No bird has ever died from my cleaning.

Bleach is not safe. White vinegar or hydrogen peroxide are the best way to disinfect perches + they should then be left in the sun for a couple of hours.

Thanks for all the responses. But I live at the coast in San Francisco and it can be weeks before the sun comes out. So leaving in the sun isn't always an option.

This may be a silly question but I'm new to finches and just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I have a fairly large cage that I cannot bring outside. I would obviously have to remove my birds if I am going to wipe down their cage with bleach right? If I am using vinegar to wipe down the cage do I still need to remove them? It just seems like the stress from moving them from the cage every week would do more harm than good.

Again thank you so much for everyone's advice. I'm learning so much on here, but still feel like I don't know enough!

Hello Pip!
I think it is best to never use bleach, especially around birds. I would leave the birds in their cage while I wipe down the perches with hydrogen peroxide. Every other month, I would place the birds in a smaller cage while I thoroughly clean the big cage. I agree, moving them every week would be too much stress.
How many birds do you have?
I've had birds since 2005 and am still learning about them. You seem like a very caring bird parent

Betrue2yurself wrote: Thanks for all the responses. But I live at the coast in San Francisco and it can be weeks before the sun comes out. So leaving in the sun isn't always an option.

This may be a silly question but I'm new to finches and just want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I have a fairly large cage that I cannot bring outside. I would obviously have to remove my birds if I am going to wipe down their cage with bleach right? If I am using vinegar to wipe down the cage do I still need to remove them? It just seems like the stress from moving them from the cage every week would do more harm than good.

Again thank you so much for everyone's advice. I'm learning so much on here, but still feel like I don't know enough!

To do daily, weekly cleaning with water and white vinegar you can leave the birds n the cage. Do not use bleach on the cage when the birds are in the cage. The bleach in water is used outside or in the garage to do a big cleaning of the cage, rinsing well and dry the cage completely and it should be fine to put the birds back into. Perches and branches should be completely dry before putting back into the cage. (Have a second set to use while the first set dries).

Discussed this with the two avian vet I use, bleach cleaning a cage (birds removed first) is important for killing certain bacteria and viruses, rinsing well and drying completely is safe. If you do not have the ability to sun dry, rinse well and towel dry completely or air dry until dry.

Snow-White wrote: Hello Pip!
I think it is best to never use bleach, especially around birds. I would leave the birds in their cage while I wipe down the perches with hydrogen peroxide. Every other month, I would place the birds in a smaller cage while I thoroughly clean the big cage. I agree, moving them every week would be too much stress.
How many birds do you have?
I've had birds since 2005 and am still learning about them. You seem like a very caring bird parent

Thanks. I just want the best for my little guys. Right now I have two gouldians and two rccb. I just got my first pair around 3 weeks ago.