monax Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 I have been reading with great interest all the threads on fresh vegetables and fruits and recipes for mash and chop. I have a more basic question though....any advice on how to manage the mess? I know that parrots are inherently messy eaters, but as a new parrot owner, I guess I have been caught by surprise. Toby is my 6 month old TAG, and I have had him for about 3 weeks. I've been progressively introducing new vegetables every other day, and trying everything from chopping the veggies down to different sizes, using the food processor to mash the food up, warming it in the microwave, serving it raw...but regardless of what I do, the food gets flung far and wide. I usually feed him on the cage playtop, and we eat with him in the dining room as he seems to like that. Toby will drop food all over his play too, and then climb down from the perch to retrieve what he's dropped, even when there is plenty of food left in his bowl. The food also gets dropped in the seed catcher, all around the floor around the cage, and occasionally a few feet away. I have taken to putting newsprint around the cage at feeding time just to try to make the cleanup easier. I would appreciate any tips....where and how do you feed your grays? Any particular way I should prepare the food so that it gets eaten and not thrown? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 "Welcome to the Grey side" When you find the answer plese let us all know...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I think your grey just fell in line with 100% of all greys that fly around this Earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monax Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 LOL...thanks. Just making sure that I wasn't missing something. I don't suppose this is something greys grow out of? yeah, didn't think so. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xSarahx Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I found if i put a belt on and at the front put a broom and at the back put a mop then just walk around with it on all day my house manages to look like a home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWIX Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 DJ does the same and it's uncontrollable, all i have to do is clean around the cage when he's done eating. But hey, who cares? When he's satisfied and happy, the playtime with him is just worth it, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Its all part of the greyt experience and if you can't handle the mess then you might want to consider another companion, birds are messy plain and simple but I wouldn't have it any other way, now back to the broom and mop, a woman's work is never done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kave70 Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Sam's cage is surrounded by windows on two sides. I took a clear shower curtain liner and tacked it to the wall under the window sills to protect the walls. Joe (my husband who welds) made a track on outside of the cage, where I slide a small peice of plexi glass in and out to protect the windows. I can clean the plexi and just put it back in. It's a never ending task to clean up after his messy eating, but we've found ways to manage it. Karen and Sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Think of it this way, in the wild he would be ensuring that the other creatures would have food available, flinging half eaten good to the ground. In you home unless you have a dog that eats parrot leftovers off the floor then my suggestion is to place the food dish on the cage floor, just avoid putting it where his droppings fall. It does make things a bit cleaner and limits his throwing trajectories. There are lots of videos of Greys in the wild ground foraging so it is natural. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amali Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I, too, have put a piece of plexiglass behind Amali's cage to minimize wall clean up. The seed skirt that came with the cage does a decent job of helping out as well. Beyond that - I couldn't live without my little Dyson hand held vacuum; it might as well say "Greyt Mess Cleaner" on it ... thing is invaluable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 To own a grey, you need to expect a mess. Its not a big problem! You need to be smart! Buy painters plastic at Walmart Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 It makes it awfully hard to tell whether they are actually eating any of it or just tearing it up and throwing it down... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 SOOOO true!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 It really doesn't matter, what they throw away... they are 100& normal. I don't weigh my birds, but I can understand, how many owners would like too. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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