What do you use to clean your greys cage?

[vaya_the_elf]

This is to talk about different things you have used to clean your parrots cage, and also to tell things that did not work for you as well.....

 

For me I use mixture of soapy water, however looking to use something else.

[Bertbert]

I find Dish Soap works really well. I also put olive oil on the bottom bars of the cage so poo doesn't stick as bad to it. Only down side is that his feathers stick to the bars more, but that is more easily taken care of.

[Shamelessmuse]

Hot water and distilled vinegar...though I am curious about the poop off stuff.

[Woody6]

I use the poop off stuff. I like how it works. I also use windex from time to time and that works too.

[BMustee]

Poop-off it a great product. It cleans by using enzimes...not chemicals. It's also safe to use with the bird still in the cage which is really nice when I'm cleaning the finch cage.

 

I'd be careful with the windex Woody6, the ammonia in it can be harmful...when I need to use it on the windows I take the birds out of the room till the smell is gone.

[birdgranna]

Vinegar and water and scouring pad here. Also that cage guard spray. Never use a cleaner with chemicals in it especially Windex.

[chapala]

Yes, I agree on the window cleaner - not safe to use around the bird, and it should be rinsed off if you use it on the cage when the bird is elsewhere. I use half white vinegar, half water in a squirt bottle. That and paper towels do a pretty good job for regular cleaning. For a major cleaning, I take the cage out, hose it down (wish I had a pressure washer!), and take a scrub brush to it, cleaning it thoroughly, then letting dry in the sun.

Reta

[LisaM]

I use a product called Oxyfresh. I get it from our local parrot supply stores (Parrotislandinc.com and thesoaringspirit.com are their websites, but I live nearby so I go in person). It is what they both use for cleaning their bird cages and their entire stores. It's a concentrate that is mixed 1 Tbsp to 32 oz of water and comes in a 32 fl oz size so it lasts forever. It is bird-safe and kills a ton of stuff...as in the following story...

 

I used to have many finches (lady gouldian, owl, cordon blue, etc) in a large aviary. They started dying one every couple of months. After the third one died I brought them to the University of MN for a necropsy. Turned out they had avian microbacterium something or other (it was awhile ago so I forgot exactly what it was). At any rate, it was highly contagious to humans with compromised immune systems and other birds. Fortunately I kept my parrots in an entirely different room at the time. I worked with an avian vet who was in tears when she called me to say after calling her peers around the country that my only real option was to euthanize the whole flock unless I wanted to keep putting my parrots in danger (and potential visitors to my house). It was super expensive to pay to have birds tested and then even more to treat them and the treatment may or may not be effective. This was not something feasible for me to do with 16 finches so I did the most difficult thing I'd ever done, even though it was really the only option for me.

 

I did have my parrots tested (and tested again 6 months later) and they were "clean". The whole reason for this long story is that the vet said I would have had to get rid of any carpet if I had any (I didn't) and recommended that I clean my whole house with Oxyfresh in order to kill the bacteria. I told her that it was what I used on all my bird cages, supplies and really my whole house anyway. She felt that was a big contributing factor as to how I avoided having my parrots catch the disease from the finches. That and I always performed any care/feeding/maintenance on the parrots first before the finches so that helped with the "bio-security" aspect of not passing something from the finches to the parrots also.

 

Sorry for the long message.

 

From a functional standpoint, I spray this on any dried poop and within a matter of minutes it wipes right up with a paper towel. I actually prefer it to poop-off as I don't really like the smell of that stuff. It works equally as well, if not better, in my opinion.

 

Oh, and in case anyone is interested in a one-stop cleanser, the bottle itself says it can be used as body shampoo, bubble batch, shaving cream, spot remover, dish soap, "And Much More!". It actually says nothing about cleaning houses or bird supplies. But it works and was recommended highly by my vet and my local parrot-supply shops.

 

Okay, it was a little more than two cents worth, but I hope it helped.

 

Oh, and just wanted to mention that Windex has an ammonia-free version now...I will wouldn't use it around birds but thought I'd throw it out there.

 

Lisa

[vaya_the_elf]

Thanks everyone

 

Not sure what I will try.... They all sound pretty good.

 

Do the soapy water thing already, just my bird is very flakey and sensitive so I was trying to find something might work better for her.

[lovemyGreys]

I dont have cages anymore but i use to use a product called F10 which is an avian disinfectant, it can be used on everything,kitchen surfaces etc..

[Tee]

I'm glad that you brought up this subject! This is something that I've been wondering about too. A friend's avian vet told her to use a product called GSE (grape seed extract) as a disinfectant for the cage. I bought some, but I'm wondering if it really works as a disinfectant.

 

Has anyone else heard of or used this product?

[Nychsa]

I use Poop Off as well. I like the enzyme action and I also like the bruch on the end of the bottle that makes scrubbing easier.

 

I also use envronmentally safe soap to clean the perches - that is usually a mess with blueberries and blackberries.

 

As for wiping the bars and surrounding areas and toys, I use the envronmentally safe wipes I get at Whole Foods. No bleach or harsh chemicals that could harm the birds.

[Laurie]

I usually just use hot, hot water and these little scrubby sponges that I buy very cheap (I think I get 6 of them for 89 cents). So they can be tossed when they get gross. If Klaus has dislodged his newspaper to the point that there's poop stuck to his bottom metal tray, I use Fantastik all-purpose cleaner, then rinse, rinse, rinse & rinse some more with cold water to make sure it's all gone before I put the bottom back in. This is done when Klaus is not around me.

[watchout]

I also use Poop Off. I don't care for the smell, but, it does work great at taking the stuff off. My question is, Does that stuff also disinfect? As soon as it warms up around here, I will use the power washer on it too.

[LisaM]

Tee - I used to use a drop or two of GSE in the water bowls in my finch aviary. There were multiple birds in there and it was what my vet recommended to try to keep bacteria growth down in the water between changing it (i did change it in the morning and evening every day). The birds would bathe in the same dishes as they drank so it was just an extra precaution.

 

I have heard of people mixing a solution with some GSE and water and using that to disinfect. Nutrobiotic GSE is available on www.nutriteam.com site. That's the one I used. That side has links to all the benefits of GSE and the many uses for disinfecting toothbrushes and cutting boards to cleaning houses to taking internally for sore throats and much more. I don't think the brand is important. Many co-ops and natural foods places may have this by their personal care products.

 

Lisa

[auntiebethd]

I use baby wipes-I only buy the hypoallergenic ones (no fragrances, etc.) for sensitive skin and they do a great job cleaning the cages!

[vaya_the_elf]

Baby wipes, never would have thought of that one.

 

Thanks for site Lisa

[Guest briansmum]

i would advise against baby-wipes, because while they might claim to have "none of this and none of that" in them, they are not intended to be put in the mouth, and you can never be sure which part of the cage your bird might decide to taste one day.

 

only ever use 100% natural products or bird friendly things.

 

i use poop off around the living room incase of accidents. and for the cage i use a bird friendly orange cage cleaner, made by kaytee, i found on www.24parrot.com. it smells nice and basically just uses the natural acidity of oranges to break down the poop in the cage and it just scrubs off. there is also a cage protection thing which helps stop poop sticking

 

http://www.24parrot.com/Quick-Clean--Cage-Cleaning-Spray--2-Sizes-P577325a/

 

this site also sells F10

[MommaFawkes]

I use poop-off, vinegar and water, and maybe a little dish soap. I Really like the vinegar for the glass on the finch and canary aviary, it does wonderful! I use the dish soap on the play stnads and poop-off on cages. I like to switch it up becuase I wonder if like humans that use to much anti-bacterial soaps and what not...if you always use the same one will the surfaces become to immune or used to that anti-bacterial for it to be effective? I can't be suure and I can't take chances so I just switch between the 3 things!