Am I anal retentive about messes?

[tatdmommy]

Pongo aka Pumpkin attempts to bring her food out of the cage when her door is open. She enjoys sitting outside of her cage on her rope and eating. However I think due to the mess the food makes she should eat only in her house where the catch pan is.

 

Is this something that I should just not ask of her? Should I just let her eat outside of her cage if she wants to?:unsure:

[judygram]

If she persists in doing this then maybe you will have to put down some papers or something to catch the dropped food or you will have to keep her door closed when she is eating but this is a habit she has and you may just have to deal with it the best way you can.

[tatdmommy]

I put paper down to catch poop, but with all wood floors in the house the crumbs scatter no matter what. I usually close her in the cage when she wants to go and eat or I take the food out if her door is open so she can't eat when she is out.

 

I just don't like taking the food away from her when she is out, but I guess if it is only for a few hours at a time she will be fine.

[judygram]

I know, birds are messy creatures but I have learned to live with it if I want to live with them. Just don't leave her food out too long as she might get hungry.

[Luvparrots]

Of course the choice is yours. I would place paper under the rope that she loves to sit on to eat at and remove the paper once she is done. Then you are both happy.

[Talon]

All I have to say is.....birds are messy! We clean our floors several times a day, I find it is too hard to contain them while they eat. I used to be a neat/clean freak, but having 4 birds, those days are over! :blink:

[pga7602]

I'm with you a 100 percent on this one. I am a super neat freak and cannot stand the sight of things on the floor. I know it's their nature, but does coral really have to toss out the stuff he doesn't want to eat? Would it be so hard to drop it to the bottom of the cage?

 

That said, I don't get made at her. I pretty much just follow her around like a slave and clean up her mess as soon as it's made. I have a dedicated sweeper right next to her cage that I use 2-3 times a day. It's mostly pellet particles and down feathers.

[Char]

Whisper also carries her food outside the cage to eat. Not sure why. I have found that a large towel down instead of newspapers it does not scatter quite so badly.

[lovethatgrey]

It's ok to NOT like it but you'll have to get used to cleaning up after her everyday and very often. Your Pumpkin is not doing anything "abnormal". Welcome to the world of being a parrot owner.{Feel-good-00020114}<br><br>Post edited by: lovethatgrey, at: 2009/10/11 02:36

[Storm_2007]

It is their nature to eat this way. Expecting anything else is silly really. You can enslave her when she eats. She wont be happy and ultimately you wont be either. Get a little hand vac like i did. Makes for easy clean up. The shark vacs avail at walmart are inexpensive and do a real good job

[tatdmommy]

My house is under construction at the moment and looks like a big white bomb went off from the sheetrock going up recently. I also have paper taped to the floor over the wood floor and I can't vacuum right now so I think the extra messes are making me more upset than normal. Soon my roombas will be able to run around again and clean up. I also normally vacuum the whole house every day due to 2 mastiffs who shed a whole dog each daily.

 

With the house addition done (almost) and a new baby coming in 2-6 weeks, Pongo is losing her room. Her new spot will be in the dining room. I was hoping to teach her to eat in her cage for just 1 less mess but I think even I realize it won't happen.

 

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and comments.

[kittykittykitty]

Parrots are parrote and the dropped food is part of a parrot. I think we all experience it.:whistle:

[she]

Parrots are messy by nature,we cant expect them to keep our house clean.All we can do is think of ways to make it easy for us.I have wood floors and find them easy to clean.Charlie likes to eat sitting on the door of his cage letting the bits drop on the floor,if he would turn the other way it would go back in the cage but thats his way and I live with it. Its another of his little querks that I love about him.

[judygram]

I think most all of us realize we can't have a totally clean house if we are going to share it with parrots, they make a mess thats just the way they are and as I have gotten older the mess bothers me less and less, there are other things in life besides a clean spotless house.

[JillyBeanz]

Goodness me - my house looks like an explosion in the fresh produce aisle in a supermarket when Harvey eats (hence the huge, wipe proof mat now residing under his playstand). I find bits of pellets all over, weeks after the event!!

 

In the parrot owners manual number one essential item should be listed as "hand held hoover" - I'm onto my second one and Harvey's only 9 months old!! :laugh:

[katana600]

Okay, mark me into the fussy category. We have small dogs and while tossing a tidbit occasionally isn't a big deal, I can't stand them running under the bird and eating other droppings. At the wild bird store, I just found a large round lightweight screen that can be mounted to the bottom of a bird feeder... or parrot toy to catch a lot of the mess. Of course, still no African Grey at my house, so it may be a good idea that doesn't hold up to a bigger bird. Will let you know.