As a bird lover, owner, you already know one of the most important bird keeping rules is to clean up after your bird. And boy them birds are messy !!!
You would expect a small bird to be a low maintenance companion. You couldn’t be more wrong.
Your most dreaded job…
Small birds are masters when it comes to making a big mess and sure enough, bigger the birds bigger is their mess 😀
If you are a new pet bird owner, cleaning the cage is a chore at first. It could even turn out to be your most dreaded job.
But gradually, day by day, it becomes part of your routine. Cleaning the cage and lining it with cage liners every day becomes as natural as brushing your teeth.
What a lot of bird owners, especially the newbies, do is change the lining and quickly rinse-wash the water and food containers before they refill them.
As a bird keeper for a long time, I know that is not enough. But, I am not talking about being an overzealous pet bird owner either.
Are you an overzealous pet bird owner?
Keeping the birdcage clean is not just for the general appearance of a room. It is for the sake of your bird’s health, for you and your family’s health too.
The obnoxious smell from all the decaying food scraps and debris mixed with bird poop is nasty for sure.
A cage that hasn’t been scrubbed for a long time can lead to food poisoning especially if your bird is like mine.
Mine tries to dig out food scraps from under the wiring at the bottom of the cage all the time.
Besides the smell, the debris on the bottom of the cage can also give rise to mold, which is unhealthy for both you and your pet.
Yes, the cage needs to be cleaned but overzealous bird owners, probably scared by the prospect of zoonotic diseases, really exaggerate when it comes to cleaning the cage.
Moderation is advised when it comes to cleaning…
In pet supply stores you can find a wide variety of cleaning products.
Most of them come with a fresh, strong smell which is there to make us feel better by removing the odors from the cage.
I also know some people using harsh chemicals and bleach solution to scrub and sterilize the cage.
I wonder how many bird owners know that the strong smell can and will hurt their feathered companion.
Fortunately, when it comes to the birdcage, sterilization isn’t necessary. But moderation is advised.
Birds have a very sensible respiratory system. The strong smells will irritate the throat and nostrils of your bird making them more susceptible to infections.
DIY bird-friendly cleaning agent…
Since the eco-living and the do it yourself projects are becoming more and more en vogue these days, we are also returning to older methods when it comes to doing things, including cleaning.
A couple of months back I was wondering what I should use as a bird-friendly cleaning agent.
You know, I wanted something to help clean my nasty bird cage that would not only be really easy to prepare and use but also be bird friendly.
So I returned to my most trusted source, my grandmother, always willing to share her knowledge and wisdom.
And lo and behold, an apparent trip in my pantry is all I required to get the materials I needed to clean the mess.
Ingredients and the process…
For this method, all you need is lemons, a couple of spoonful of baking soda, pieces of lean cloth and water.
First of all, remove the bird from its cage and relocate it in another cage or leave it free to fly in the room. Be sure to close all windows though!
Remove all the contents of the cage; rinse and soak the cage in your shower or if you can’t fit the cage in the shower cabin you can use a garden hose.
Squeeze the lemon juice into a glass and add the same quantity of water to make a 50, 50 solution. If you have sensitive skin, I recommend you use gloves to protect your hands.
Soak one of the clean clothes in the 50, 50 solution and rub it throughout the cage. Then let it sit for about 15 minutes.
The citric acid in lemon juice will start to react and remove the calcium residue from the dried bird feces.
After 15 minutes wash away the lemon juice and then it’s time to use the baking soda. Dampen another cloth and put some baking soda on it, scrub the cage thoroughly to remove the remaining dirt.
And there you go! Now you have a bird cage that is clean, without any traces of those harsh chemicals. Rinse the cage and dry it well before you put the cage liners, other accessories and the bird back inside.
Also,
- Make sure you throw away any remaining lemon juice from the glass if you don’t want to transform it to a homemade fungus farm.
- Thoroughly rinse all the cloths used as the lemon juice will stain them to a brownish color.
Do you have your own effective homemade bird cage cleaner? How do you clean your bird cage? Be sure to share it in the comments.
