floor, wire grid vs paper?

[ac12]

Cartel
What I do is every couple days, I use an old plastic card and scrap the grill, knocking the poop into the tray below. Then once every 2 weeks the grill gets washed with the bottom section of the cage which separates from the wire grill top section.

[ac12]

Liz
About the drinking water, I used to use one of the seed trays for drinking water, but that was too much exposed water for them to poop in, and they pooped in it.

I use a water tube with a finger tray bottom. Kind of like these:
http://www.finchniche.com/s-product-tubefount.mgi
This limits how much water is exposed to the birds to poop in. Although they still try, and they do it every once in a while.

The problem/issue is when I put a new bird in, how long before the new bird learns about and uses the water tube.
- My juveniles initially drank from the bath, but with them pooping in it, I did not want them drinking out of their bath. They learned to go to the water tube by watching dad + a little help from me. I lowered the water level in the bath so it was hard for the chicks to reach the water w/o going INTO the bath, so they went to the water tubes as it was easier. I also removed the bath at night, so if they wanted water they had to get it from the water tubes.
- When I got my pied, he initially drank from the bath. Then maybe from watching the other birds learned about the water tube and started drinking from the water tube, but that took quite a while.
- So, when I got my penguin, I put his beak into the water tray of the tube before I let him go in the cage. This may or may not have helped, but he used the water tube on the first day. I tried the "beak in the water" from reading about how one guy got the bird in his hospital cage to know where the water was.

[cartel]

Thanks ac12. I'll give it a try soon.

[blueribbontoes]

I like letting the birds have floor acess so they can forage like they would in the wild. I use a mix of crushed walnut shells and corn cob, with a scattering of hay on top of it. I sprinkle a tiny bit of grit, dried bugs, millet, or dry egg food on the top layer. The birds love to root around in it. Every few days or once a week, I scoop off the top layer with a slotted spoon, much like someone would do to cat litter. I removed the dry poops and old hay, then add a fresh layer. Once in a blue moon I take everything out, wash and disinfect, then start new.

[Pukasand]

I use freezer wrap... or paper towels. I worry that the ink on the newspaper may be hazardous. I put hay down also, for them to forage and play. As far as bathing goes. ..it's like a contagious thing. As soon as one or two start splashing, it seems like everybody go nuts. Water flying everywhere. They all bathe at least 2xs a day.

[ac12]

Just ran into an issue w newspaper on the cage floor.
The birds got the newspaper wet from the splashing when they bath, the wet paper becomes easy to tear...and they tear it. And in this case they start layering it OVER the eggs in the nest.

[Meagan83]

Liz
I used to have a bath tray inside the cage. But they splashed SO MUCH water all over the place, inside and OUTSIDE the cage, that I got a Plenn Plax outside hang-on bath with a cover to try to contain the water. Well the first time in was a big disappointment, to me. The water leaked out all over and onto the floor. This is a basic design defect of that bath.

I had plexiglass cut to size and fixed with hooks for the bottom half of my flight cage. It does a great job of keeping food, water, (and yes,) even sling shot bird poop of the walls and floor. lol

[cindy]

I have only one cage with a grill and a pair that is breeding in it currently.The only good thing that i can see is them not getting to spoiled food,but all my other birds have not fallen ill that don't have a grill.I change the newspaper one a week or twice depending on how many birds are in there.Never mind if they toss a chick or the chicks end up on the floor(knock on wood)its extra work cleaning the grill.Anyone have a good way of cleaning grill

......................................................................................

I take the grill out to the pool deck and fling it in the pool....just kidding!!! Anyway, I take the grill either outside on the patio or set it in the tub, spray it with a mixtue of bleach and lysol diluted in water (spray a few times on the poo) and let it sit, use an scrubby sponge, rinse very well, dry completely. The spray mixture is great for loosing the poo. That how I do it.

My flight 30x18x18 cages have the grill built in, I have to wipe it down with a wet cloth, I don't use the mixture with birds in the cage. Never.

[JohnBoy]

There is a special scoop made of hardware cloth for cleaning out the sand. It removes waste and the sand falls back into place. They work well and prolong the life of the sand.

[Hilary]

I HATE cleaning grills, so now keep newspaper in all of my cages. If I can smell them, it's time to clean.....

[FireFinchMayhem]

I used Corn Cob pet litter. Cheap if you buy it in 25lb bags. Change it out weekly. Probably less then $1/week.

Looks good when in the cage. No unsightly newspaper with poop droppings. The corn cob masks poop very very well and it seems to absorb the odor as well.



For people who perfer paper, considering corn cob when you are having a party and people will be looking at the birds. Looks way more natural and less unsightly.

[cindy]

I used corn cob when I had parrotlets years ago, they would bath and get it wet, it took a very short time to mold. I am very allergic to molds and feared the health of the birds.

I went back to using paper. I used to get white butcher paper and cut it to the size of the bottom. I have used paper towels with newspaper under it and I even tried aspen.

I like the idea behind corn cob, it does look nice and helps catch seed that is dropped which cuts down on the mess on the floor. I'm just afraid of it getting wet, even though I checked it often and scooped out the wet areas after bathing.

The sand sound like a good idea to.

Has anyone ever tried the crushed walnut bedding? It is darker in color, I've seen it sold in some stores but never tried it.

[FireFinchMayhem]

Thanks Cindy for that note about mold. Haven't seen any ever but worth keeping an eye on.

Our bird bath is dome structure so water doesn't typically get splashed onto the bottom.



I've also been considering try out some of the crushed walnut but they are very very sharp and thought it might hurt the birds feet when they are on the bottom of the cage. Also, in some reptiles it's shown to cause impaction so i wasn't sure if finches would eat some and lead to issues.

[ac12]

This is the bird bath I use
http://www.petco.com/product/5589/Penn- ... Clips.aspx

They splash a LOT, and while most of the water stays inside the bath, a fair amount of the splash goes out the front and onto the cage bottom. It is this splashing that makes the newspaper soft enough for them to easily tear into.

I use the enclosed outside bath cuz with a plain bowl in the bottom of the cage, they would splash all over and get water several feet outside the cage (onto floor, walls, bookcase, etc.)

However, I did have to "fix" the bath. There is a design defect that allows the water that is splashed onto the top of the bath to leak out where the top and bottom join. And if your birds splash a LOT, you will have a lot of water on the floor. My recommendation is, do NOT get this bird bath.

[CandoAviary]

Corn cob molds terribly... At the pet shop we even quit carrying it because we considered it too risky for pets. Not only birds but hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, etc.
The walnut shells are really neat looking. But they do nothing...they do not absorb, they also get wet and like any wood...molds/rots and stains.... but if you like walnut stain then......
Big Caution with walnut shells. They are very small and the finches may ingest them...just like gravel grit and become impacted!
Aspen shavings are fair... look nice, safe, but once wet....yucky. Never use Pine savings.
I have found the best product to be carefresh natural (they make deoderant and colored) so be careful you get the natural. Looks nice...super absorbant yet will dry quickly. It never molds, camelflauges the poop and the seed will fall to the bottom. Here it is used on the bottom of this aviary