Tips on keeping the birdie messes down

[Duddles]

OK, so I don't think I've ever seen a topic like this started in my time here.

I'm pretty sensitive to almost everything that is in the air, and my birds are in my room, so I really have to keep the mess down. Here are my tips. I'd be really interested to hear what others do:

1) This is the best - I bought a large plastic sheet from Crappy Tire (hardware store) - it comes in these enormous rolls, and you buy it by the yard. You have to get the staff to cut you a piece. It's just a clear plastic sheet. I bought a really long piece - about 9 feet, and hung it on the wall, about six feet up, using velcro with adhesive on one side, that I bought at a fabric store. I didn't want to hang it with nails, just in case one ever fell out - I wouldn't want it to end up in the cage. Anyway, six feet of this sheet are up on the wall, behind the cage. At the floor, I just fold the sheet so that it goes along the floor for three feet, underneath the cage. I never have poop or bits of celery or broccoli on the wall or carpet. Every week, I remove the cage and spray down the plastic sheet with a water bottle. I wipe away the feathers, seed husks and dust with paper towel.

Edit: There are various grades of plastic sheets - buy the thinnest, cheapest one you can. This will mean it is not as heavy, and that you are more likely to be able to just hang it using a hammer and nail, rather than having to use anything stronger, such as adhesive velcro. I just hung a 9-foot by 4.25-foot sheet with two litltte nails, and very minimal damage to my wall. I folded one edge over about an inch to make a double thickness layer, and drove a nail into the edge, through the double layer (I was afraid that putting a nail through a single layer of the sheet woudl cause it to tear). I hung the sheet with nails high enough that the birds cannot reach them. If they were to find them, I could cover the nails by hanging a picture over them.

2) When I begin cleaning, before I even touch the cage, I thoroughly spray the whole thing down with my handy dandy water bottle. This weighs down all the dust, feathers, and seed husks so that they don't end up in my lungs.

3) I use a Swiffer to quickly rub down the walls closest to the birds, and the blinds on the window beside them. It takes all of two minutes, but you should see all the dust that comes off each week, that would otherwise end up - you guessed it - in my lungs!

My husband is allergic to cats, and I am worried that he will become allergic to the birds. One day, hopefully we'll have a bigger place and the birds will have their own room, but in the meantime, I think it's really important to keep the dust and mess levels to a minumum, for sanitation as well as health.

:yellowbudgie

[featherjinxer]

hehe I have something rigged up on the wal like that too!

To help the floor mess, place food dishes low in the cage- most husks/crumbs/etc will fall into the cage instead of the floor. This also helps to make more use out of a taller cage where the bird may spend most of it's time in the upper 2/3rds.

[Cinderhawk]

Wow! Those are very interesting ways "on keeping the birdie messes down." I shall have to try them out.
Every floor in my house is covered in carpet except the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen. If I should let my budgie out, and it pooped on the carpet, would it be hard to take it off the carpet? I've read somewhere on the net that budgie messes aren't very hard to clean up. Would the poop soil the carpet? If it did, would it be okay to use the stain remover spray on the carpet? (as long as it's not heavily scented, right?)

[Duddles]

You're right - a healthy budgie poop is really easy to remove when dry. You can just pick it off the carpet. It won't get messy unless you step on it and smoosh it into the carpet. When the poop is wet, you can very gently dab it with a piece of tissue and it will stick to the tissue. It porobably won't be necessary to use stain remover. I've never had to myself. But you will probably have to relax a bit about the poop, because no matter how much your watch your bird, you are going to find a several day old poop every now and then that escaped your attention on the way down to the carpet!

[Cinderhawk]

Lol, thanks for the info!

[featherjinxer]

just don't feed them fresh foods until they are back IN the cage, and put them on a playgym after baths unless you want to clean up runny poop, which can be a mess!

[sgosh]

Your thoroughness continues to amaze me Duddles. You are truly an asset to this community, and we're very fortunate to have you.

Now, here's my lazy man's guide to dealing with birdie mess:

1) Accept it will be messy.

2) Litter bird's play areas with subliminal messages: "I will be clean. I will be clean."

3) Repair the vacuum cleaner.

4) Invest in antihistamines.

:haha

(I was being silly ... please don't take offence: I in NO WAY meant to belittle your excellent post, Duddles! )

[Racheled]

Great idea about the sheet on the wall!
I will have to do this, im forever cleaning seed husks from behind the cage.

[desert penguin1337]

Those are excellent ideas, thanks!

[Duddles]

SGosh - no offense taken! I especially like your tip #1. I think I will make a subliminal tape repeating that tip over and over and play it for my husband, the neat freak, as he sleeps. The only reason I have a moment's peace is because he doesn't SEE the little Pezzie poops all over the carpet.

[jenwolf]

Duddles, I know this thread is kinda old, but I wanted to add something. Maybe you already know this, but when you spray the cage down with the spray bottle you should be careful to do it softly and from a distance because the impact of the spray could kick up dust before everything gets wet.

[Duddles]

Thanks Jenwolf! Yeah - you're right. I forgot to mention. Actually, I spray above the paper and let the mist fall down onto it. It really helps!

[our3lilgirls]

Thanks all for the terrific ideas... I just moved the food dishes near the bottom leavel on the cages. I bet that will help a great deal.
smile Trisha