Readers Respond: Tips for Cleaning Messy Bird Cages

Responses: 27

By Alyson Kalhagen, About.com Guide

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I am letting the parrots out and then I throw away the seeds and then I wash the cage with warm water, then i put them back. It's easy.
—Guest Marina

I line the bottom of the cage with a cardboard and bend the sides so it catches the seeds before they fall beneath the bottom and on top of that I have paper towelling and in her "poop" areas I put an extra towel so that I can pick up her droppings and keep it clean. I also have a catch net for seeds when she eats.
—Guest Idee

just get an hose pipe ..take out the old food .save any good food .then hose out the bottom of the cage ...Its very quick and very easy..then set the hose on spray mode and give the birds a nice shower THEY LOVE IT >>> PS I DO LIVE IN THE TROPICS ..SO DON'T TRY THIS IN VERY COLD WEATHER ..you will probably freeze your birds to death ..
—Guest dodgydave

I tear my cages down every Saturday morning. I clean with lemon juice and warm water. This is cheap and works like a charm and my 10 zebra finches are happy and healthy. I also lay a week's worth of paper down and remove a layer each day. I find that laying a piece of paper towel at the very bottom of the layers will help keep newsprint off the trays. I also supply my birds with nests that I clean and change every week too. I have little plastic bins used for nests. Lots of work, but lots of fun too.
—Guest Diana

I have a Sun Conure and a Love bird, I clean their cages with warm water and lemon juice. Lemon juice is a disinfective, so I know it is safe around my birds.
—Guest The Stitchwiz

My name is Cheryl and I have 2 big cages to clean. I bought a hugh box of packing paper, just plain fairly heavy paper no ink, etc., and I cut the paper the sizes I need and keep several layers in the bottom of the cage, so then when I clean the bottom of the cages, I just take out the dirty paper and there is always a clean one right there. But as far as all over cleaning, I found an all natural product called "Poop-Off" that is absolutely the greatest thing since sliced bread!! It has a very nice, clean fragrance and can be used with the birds in the cage if need be. But there are two different types of bottles, one spray and one spray with a brush attached to the end, and then of course, you can also get the wipes which are wonderful! So all I have to do is spray whatever needs to be cleaned and wipe it off. As far as stubborn stains, I don't care how long they have been there, the Poop-Off will take it right off. Also the wipes are dynamite for getting poop off of clothes, etc.
—Guest bluedragon8590

I have several cages with parakeets and I put layers of papers (magazines, brochures, white paper etc) I use only natural cleaners - ie vinegar or vodka. I spray some on a dry cloth and wipe down the bars inside the cage every couple days. The perches if they are dirty I take them out and wash in the sink w/hot water & soap. I change the dirty papers and check the food containers. I have the fountain feeders - food stays clean. I have the Lixit water containers, so they can't poop in the water. I add/change water every other day.
—Guest Monika

We have a green-checked conure. He rarely goes to the bottom of the cage. To make clean-up easier we slip newspaper over the metal grate in the bottom of the cage instead of under it. We put fresh paper in daily and never need to scrub. We have also positioned his perches so that they don't overhang each other thus reducing the need to clean them.
—Guest Carole

I have 2 bird cages. I line them with newspaper and remove the top layers daily. I have a steam cleaner and found that using it helps remove stubborn stains and sterilize at the same time. I don't even have to remove all the toys.
—Guest Mena

I use a very light cleaner to pick up all the things around the skirt and in the cage and floor then change the paper i use sand paper then clean food and water.
—Guest Nancy dorman

I take the preventative approach. Each night before my girls go to sleep, I place a paper towel on the bottom of the cage directly under the perch they favor for sleeping. I try to slide the paper towel up the side of the cage slightly to catch most of their droppings. During the day, I have paper towels on top of the grating since they seem to enjoy walking on them instead of the metal. All I have to do, then, is roll up the paper towels and toss them. Sure save on a lot of scrubbing, which I do about 4 times a week. My cage breaks down fairly easily so each section can be washed (with organic cleaning soap). I use paper towels to scrub as well as to dry the tray, bottom grating, and food cups. Hope this helps.
—Cocopazzo

I have a little bare-eyed Corela cockatoo, named Parpari. I usually clean her cage every morning when she wakes up, I wash the water container and pour fresh water at first. Then change the papers or whatever is on the tray, clean the food containers and put new seeds or nuts or whatever there is. I wash the whole cage every 3 or 4 days. And that's about it!
—Guest haleh khajehnouri

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