Cleaning Tips?

[Iaura]

Looking to hear how you clean your linnie’s cage and toys. What products you use, what your schedule is, etc.

Every other day I:
- pull water bowls, scrub with diluted dish soap, spray with F10, let sit while I…
-change papers on cage bottom. Lately, I’ve been using dog pee pads instead of paper. None of my birds shred or chew on them (or do much on the bottom of the cage, TBH) and they are much “cleaner” than paper to deal with. Anyone else use these?
- wipe the trays with unscented baby wipes if there’s anything there
- vacuum and mop around cages with orange/vinegar cleaner

Once a month I…
- pull soiled perches and toys spray with a vinegar and dish soap mix. Let sit for a few mins, throw in a bucket of hot water, sit for a few mins, then use a brush to scrub them. Change water. Let sit in clean water for a bit. Shake it around. Let dry on a towel. I used to then throw toys in the dishwasher on sanitize with some vinegar but I don’t usually do this anymore. Might have been overkill.
- remove and replace any of the paper/shred toys that are soiled

Twice a year I take the cages outside, spray with soap/vinegar and power wash them. Disinfect. Let dry really well in the sun. Same with all perches.
I’d love to know if you’ve found a good spray product to loosen dried poop. I can’t stand the smell of “Poop Off”, and a vinegar/soap/water mix seems to work “okaaaay”.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

I'm still quite new to this, but here's mine:

• Daily change of the packing paper and paper towels on the cage floor
• Weekly scrub of perches and such with white vinegar
• Weekly scrub of any befouled cage parts with white vinegar
• Daily swap of waterers and chop bowls
• Every-other-day swap of pellet and seed bowls

 

[Love My Linnie]

I’ve been using Clean Boss cleaner/ disinfectant by Joy Mangano on HSN. It cleans great and smells nice (like thyme) and doesn’t need rinsing.

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

I don't have a set schedule for cleaning, I do it when needed. I use Lixit style water bottles to keep bacteria from the bowl. I use newspaper on the bottom of my breeding cages (Click Here to see them, they are Prevue 528's) then some Tractor Supply Large Flake White Pine Shavings to absorb moisture. I scoop little bits daily under the perches where soiled. My cotton, java wood and sandy perches all go into the dishwasher when needed. I am thoughtful about perch, swing and toy placement so poops don't land on things I don't want them to. I have used puppy pads on the cage floor when I can't have shavings making their little mess. I use Poop Off to spot clean, but have used a little Dawn soap, white vinegar, and warm water to wash walls or doing a full cage clean (with bars). F10 or Virkon-S are the only products that kill off Circoviruses (like PBFD), but I don't use it in any frequency because every bird here has been tested so I have no fear that one bird could spread it. I use it at the end of the breeding season on the cages before storage, but that is it. It is strong stuff when you breathe it in, even though completely safe (I used to soak birds in it when coming home from an exhibition), and I a couple people I know use it in a fogger and blast the aviary with it frequently. Over the years I have found an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of disinfectant. The cost of disease testing is so low, that it is foolish to not have that insurance if you have multiple birds, or bring in any new. I have the same opinion on de-worming and routine antibiotic use. Unless an animal has a diagnosis, I wouldn't put them through treatments they don't need. Deworming in hookbills anyhow really isn't needed. Sorry I went off topic a bit here, but think it is something to ponder.

My regular winter flights are indoors and walk ins, so I use bales of pine shavings (like people use for horses) on the floor (which is concrete), and outside, I use children's playground wood chips. If you clean under the perches weekly, it really keeps the cost and waste down of replacing all the material that is hardly used on a schedule.

 

[srirachaseahawk]

I don't have a set schedule for cleaning, I do it when needed. I use Lixit style water bottles to keep bacteria from the bowl. I use newspaper on the bottom of my breeding cages (Click Here to see them, they are Prevue 528's) then some Tractor Supply Large Flake White Pine Shavings to absorb moisture. I scoop little bits daily under the perches where soiled. My cotton, java wood and sandy perches all go into the dishwasher when needed. I am thoughtful about perch, swing and toy placement so poops don't land on things I don't want them to. I have used puppy pads on the cage floor when I can't have shavings making their little mess. I use Poop Off to spot clean, but have used a little Dawn soap, white vinegar, and warm water to wash walls or doing a full cage clean (with bars). F10 or Virkon-S are the only products that kill off Circoviruses (like PBFD), but I don't use it in any frequency because every bird here has been tested so I have no fear that one bird could spread it. I use it at the end of the breeding season on the cages before storage, but that is it. It is strong stuff when you breathe it in, even though completely safe (I used to soak birds in it when coming home from an exhibition), and I a couple people I know use it in a fogger and blast the aviary with it frequently. Over the years I have found an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of disinfectant. The cost of disease testing is so low, that it is foolish to not have that insurance if you have multiple birds, or bring in any new. I have the same opinion on de-worming and routine antibiotic use. Unless an animal has a diagnosis, I wouldn't put them through treatments they don't need. Deworming in hookbills anyhow really isn't needed. Sorry I went off topic a bit here, but think it is something to ponder.

My regular winter flights are indoors and walk ins, so I use bales of pine shavings (like people use for horses) on the floor (which is concrete), and outside, I use children's playground wood chips. If you clean under the perches weekly, it really keeps the cost and waste down of replacing all the material that is hardly used on a schedule.

How does the Virkon compare with a chlorohexidine solution?

 

[Iaura]

I’ve been using Clean Boss cleaner/ disinfectant by Joy Mangano on HSN. It cleans great and smells nice (like thyme) and doesn’t need rinsing.

Never heard of this. I'll have to look in to it.

 

[Iaura]

I use Lixit style water bottles to keep bacteria from the bowl.

How do you teach birds to use water bottles? I bought the glass lixit ones a while ago and put them in cages near the water bowls. They never seemed to catch on, and I wasn't sure how to train them. Any tips?

 

[Eddie's Aviary]

Quickest path: Remove all water overnight. In the morning, use a tube waterer. It is translucent, and when you flip it, they see it bubbling. Its water "tube" is open so it's easy to tempt them in. Use them in the same location for a couple of weeks. Then... remove the water overnight. In the AM, put the "Lixit" (that name has become the "Scotch tape" and "Kleenex" for the animal world!) bottle in the SAME spot. Clear bottle easiest, but not usually needed. All of them have some ability to see through them. Don't the overfill bottle or the seal doesn't work right. Plus... putting less water in means you won't forget to change the bottles. You don't want to have a bottle that doesn't need swapping for water level for 3-5 days. Every day best, but if you are not able, every-other will never cause a problem. If you attach where the tube waterer was, they go there expecting water, and if you invert the bottle when you first attach, the bubbles attract them. Flip and play with the ball in the tube once you attach it. Think of it like a nurse "flicking" a syringe for an injection to remove the air bubbles The birds see the water jumping at the tip and will quickly grab it since you withdrew water the night before. Be mindful of where you mount the spring or wire cage holder attachment. If too high on the bottle, or too low, it can drain out or not dispense. That said, as soon as you flick the ball.... you will know if its right. Sit there and watch them. Won't take long if you held water back.

Ok - I could chat all day about birds but I was at the dog park for 3 hours and its only mid-30's Fahrenheit. So wet and muddy from the snow! I bathed and dried Milo when I got home and now he's looking at me to brush him out, so I have to run. Ask questions if you have any! Happy Sunday guys!