Birds are bubbly, intelligent pets, but they are also messy.
Pickles, my green cheek conure, loves throwing seeds on the floor and flinging fruits on walls. He also poops everywhere with little regard for whoever is watching. It’s no big deal for me because I’m used to cleaning up after him, but some dirt sticks to the floor, which bothers me since scrubbing is not an option. Well, to be fair, it’s a dilemma I had before, but not so much as of this moment. I found an easy solution to the floor situation, at least.
Essentially, you’ll want to put an easy-to-clean plastic mat under your bird’s cage or stand. It will prevent poop and bird food from landing on the floor.
The mat will also keep the dirt in one place and prevent it from spreading all over the room.
You can use old newspapers around the cage and under ceiling bungees and perches. Although they are less aesthetically pleasing, they’ll keep your area cleaner.
A birdcage seed catcher around and at the bottom of the pen is another brilliant way to prevent seeds and other food items from falling out of your birdie’s house and keep your floor clean. Pick up and clean the little poop that makes it to the floor with damp paper towels immediately, and after your birdie is in for the night, vacuum your floor or mop it with water and vinegar.
What You to Use to Line The Bottom of Your Bird Cage
There are several materials you can use to line the bottom of your bird’s cage, but by far, paper products are the best. It does not matter which type as long as it sits perfectly at the coop’s base.
The papers can be old newspapers, butcher’s paper, paper towels, or paper bags. Clean straw, birdcage liner, or aspen wood shavings are good options. However, they are less readily available, and papers are relatively inexpensive.
Liners are necessary to eliminate the mess birds cause on the bottom of the cage and floor. They should be soft material that can catch droppings, absorb moisture and odors, and be cozy enough for your birdie.
How to Keep The Area Around Your Bird Cage Clean
Now, regardless of the effort you make to keep waste food and bird poop from falling to the floor, there will always be some debris the liner and mat won’t catch. Of course, it will be less than when you have a liner and mat, so ensure they are installed. Whatever the mat doesn’t trap and gets on your floor, you should clean it with a wet paper towel, broom, or vacuum, depending on the dirt’s nature.
I clean wet bird poop or green foods, such as fruits and vegetables, with paper towels and a broom to clean dry food grime. I then vacuum or mop my floor with water and vinegar every evening as I clean Pickle’s water bottle and food bowl.
If you can brush your floors without damaging them, I recommend removing dirt stuck on crevices. To keep the dirt down and reduce my workload, I also always line the bottom of my bird’s cage. I prefer using odorless, toxin-free aspen wood shavings since my bird is not too much of a chewer.
Of course, I still have to line the bottom with papers to keep the shavings from falling through the cracks at the base of the cage, but a cozy layer of shavings is what traps most of the dirt. If wood shaving is not readily available, you can use rice barn, kenaf stern, groundnut husk, corn cobs parts, or a conventional birdcage liner.
Just ensure your bird can not ingest whatever material you use.
What is The Best Bedding for A Bird Cage
Essentially, this question is pretty much the same as the ones discussed above, but the answer varies depending on the need.
If you want a warm, cozy base for your birds to rest and nap on, wood shavings, sawdust, rice barn, and similar materials will work best. But if you just want something to trap droppings and food particles from reaching your floor, even old newspapers will suffice.
Now, if your birds are messy eaters or like to throw food around, what you need is a birdcage splatter guard to keep the walls adjacent to the cage clean. Conveniently, most splatter guards come with a seed catcher at the base, so if your only worry is the seeds slipping through the holes in your floor, you’ll be sorted. But you need litter beddings that can soak up liquids in case your bird is passing watery poop or loves to take a dip in the water bowl after quenching his thirst.
Place an easy-to-clean plastic mat under the cage to protect your floor without adding extra material to your bird’s cage to catch any droppings and waste food.
A washable floor mat under your birdcage will protect the underlying floor from bird droppings, damaging scuffs, water splashes, seeds, pellets, feathers, and more.
How to Protect The Floor Under A Bird Cage
Aside from placing a mat on your floor to prevent dropping from creating a mess, it helps pick up and clean any debris as soon as it falls through the cage’s cracks. Pick up recent droppings with a paper towel, then vacuum or mop the area depending on your floor type.
Mopping is ideal for tiles and wooden floors, while a vacuum is better if you have a mat floor after removing the dropping with paper towels. Clean the area around your birdcage every evening with appropriate cleaners. I use white vinegar and baking soda to remove stubborn stains on my floor.
However, if you have sensitive floors, you may be restricted to using only a mop and water or vacuum.
That’s all for this post.
Enjoy having birds!
