Messy eaters: getting food off perches and bars?

[Rrrma]

Norma is a horribly messy eater. She manages to get food(no matter what it is) all over the bars and perches in her cage. Rosie gets a little, but not as thoroughly rubbed in as Norma lol!

What is the best way of cleaning up after them? By the time they are done eating the mess is already caked on and dry(they mash it up then spread it on, so it doesn't take long to dry).

I was just going to use a rag with hot water and vinegar to rub them down, but was wondering if there was a better way?

 

[Bobby34231]

Hey Sara, a couple things I found to help with cleaning ease is first I replaced the soft wood (pine?) perches that came with the cages with either hard wood manzanita or PVC, their much easier to clean and not as pourous as the softwood so they don't absorb the poop, food and bacteria as much, another thing I do is take a lint free cloth and mineral oil and apply a light coating to the bars, it prevents food and waste from sticking and its not harmful to the fids, I don't really recomend it for the perches as it makes them slippery and might cause a problem for the birds gripping them, for basic cleaning you can use a clean dry cloth, for a bit better sanitary cleaning you can use Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) or hydrogen peroxide, both good disinfectives that are safe for birds, I wouldn't recomend cholrine bleach, .........

 

[Spiritbird]

I only feed the dry foods like pellets inside the cage. The rest is fed outside the cage for that very reason plus the walls.

 

[antoinette]

I only feed the dry foods like pellets inside the cage. The rest is fed outside the cage for that very reason plus the walls.

We must be

I do exactly the same, for the same reasons

 

[Rrrma]

Right now they have cement perches and natural wood perches in there and they get washed every weekend, but they make such a mess during the week.

Where do you feed them outside of the cage? The bathtub is the only place I can think of that would make cleaning up any easier lol!

 

[Spiritbird]

I usualy feed in the kitchen. Have the countertop arranged for bird mess clean up. I even use newspaper under the food bowls. I have tried other places but this works for us. Bathtub? Not a bad idea then just shower the mess and the bird after eating.