FINCHforum

What is everyone's cage cleaning routine?

I.e. what cleaner do you use, do you move the birds in/out, frequency, etc. And any other special tricks or methods you have discovered over time that help keep things tidy or contain mess.

Looking forward to hearing different techniques!

GouldieFledge

Papers get changed daily in my flights/cages.
I use a small vacume cleaner with a long nozzle attachment, to get as many seeds/hulls and what not out of the corners.
If perches are soiled, I wipe them off with a cloth or sponge with a water and white vinegar solution.

Once a week, I try to give a good wipe down to the bars, corners and so on. If plants are poop-alized, I'll wipe them off, or pull them out, soak and clean them (or if In a sad state, replace them).

Dishes, trays, water tubes, bathing containers, get washed daily with hot water and dish soap.

This of course is not carved in stone. There are days, when life just gets in the way, but this is the general routine, that I try very hard to stick too, so as to keep the feathered princess and princesses happy and healthy.

My routine is similar to the Good Egg. I use bird gravel in the bottom trays. There is a thin layer of food grade diatomaceous earth on that. I always seem to have a generous amount of loose hay that the poop seems to fall on and that is easily removed. I do a big deep clean every few months. My birds just freak when I take their cages apart. So instead I clean up some every day. I wipe the perches down with a damp cloth with just water on it. I just move slowly and give them a chance to get out of the way. There dishes are cleaned daily. Anything soiled gets wiped down and fresh water daily. If I see poop I clean it and that is about it. Remember I am an amateur

Spreckles

My real BIG clean, is done in the Spring.

Birds get pulled out of flights into cages. Flights get man handled through my front door into the yard, sprayed with vinegar and hot water, scrubbed, hosed off, and allowed to dry in the sun.

That is about it for me too. It's a huge job!!! just try and stay on top of it daily. Could not believe the poop in the water dish this morning. i mean really that bird had to aim!!!

I clean. They Poop! Then I clean again. I vaccum the floor. I get angry and say #$%$# naughty words, and complain about the mess. I clean. They Poop!......etc

I love my birds

Zebrafincher

Hahaha! The mess will always be a never-ending battle. When I put eggfood down, I usually put paper towels down underneath because I don't want the egg to be rotting and stinking underneath the grate. I'm trying larger pieces of newsprint now since papertowel isn't full containing the mess. I swear, the second I put that eggfood down, they're grabbing those shell pieces and shot-putting them halfway across the cage!

I have six birds in individual cages. I change paper Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I always have a cello sponge with me on those days to address the grates. On Saturdays, I have water with a few drops of GSE that I use to clean the perches. Their food and water dishes get soaked in bleach on Saturdays too.

GouldieFledge

I keep my grates covered with newspapers, then some paper towels on top, with a thin smattering of my mixture of bird grit on top (not gravel).

I don't like my bird's feet on the bars of the grate.