Next to cat litter boxes, cleaning bird cages can be one of the messiest jobs for the pet owner. Birds are also highly susceptible to chemical cleaners, so here is a good, safe home made cleaner for cleaning your bird cage along with some helpful hints to make light of the work.
For the home made cleaning spray, you will need a new spray bottle, (since you can never be sure that your old spray bottles are entirely clean, and since birds become sick quite easily, it’s better to simply purchase a new one.) 3cups of very hot water, 3 table spoons of baking soda, and 2 teaspoons of liquid Grapefruit Seed Extract. Grapefruit Seed Extract contains natural disinfectant enzymes as well as being completely safe for birds. Mix the ingredients one at a time, again using very hot water to completely dissolve the baking soda.
A set schedule is best for cleaning bird cages. Your bird is smart, and will come to expect a cage cleaning on a certain day. This also will help keep the grime to a minimum. There are, however, some cage cleaning that should be done every day, so fit this into your schedule and your bird will continue to be safe and healthy.
Daily:
- To avoid an unpleasant odour, germs, and leaving your bird to walk around in discarder food, change the cage liner daily.
- Clean food and water cups daily as well, fresh water is essential for all pet’s health. Bacteria is one of the reasons that birds fall ill, and they can get sick overnight, so avoid bacteria growth by giving them fresh food and water daily. This means taking out the cups and washing them each day before refilling. Be sure the cup that contains the bird seed is dried thoroughly.
- Wipe down the bars with a moist paper towel every day. This is in addition to the weekly cage cleaning.
For the weekly cleaning, keep an extra, smaller cage around. Transfer your bird to the cleaning cage so you won’t have to worry about him escaping, unless, of course, he has a perch outside the cage. Once the bird is secure and out of harm’s way, you can take as much time as you need to clean the bird cage.
Take out the bottom tray, dump it and spray with the home made solution. Let it sit a few minutes while you clean the feeding cups and wash off the bird toys with hot water ( remember, no soap.) If the toys have bird droppings on them, spray them with the solution and let those sit as well.
Spray the cage bars with your home made bird cage cleaning solution, and let that sit while you wipe off the cage tray. Working backward from the first item sprayed to the last, reassemble the cage and put in fresh cage liners. Rotate your bird’s toys so he won’t get bored. If perches are have bird poop cemented on them, you can take a low grade sand paper to them if necessary.