Seed guard tips?

[Kiwibird]

My human baby is already starting to crawl and therefore I need to start baby proofing as much as possible. I’m thinking about putting the seed guards on Kiwis cage, which I’ve never used before to catch the poop before it ends up on the floor (or at least try to catch the poop/seeds etc...). Any ideas tho on how to them make the seed guards easy to clean? Should I try lining them with paper maybe? Any ideas? I remember having them on a past cage and they were a nightmare to clean.

 

[chris-md]

That’s exactly why I stopped using them on Parker’s playgym. Every seedguard I’ve had have been those that bolt them together on each side (don’t know if that’s universal or if I just got lucky twice).

I’ve found myself in a similar place. As dog sitters we recently opened up our business to later dogs over 40lbs, so the seed guards have become valuable to create SOME distance between dog and bird in the living room.

My on saving grace is the living room cage is smaller and can fit out the door it sits next to for power washing.

That aside, I have zero tips for ya. They are just the biggest pains to adequately implement.

 

[wrench13]

If your handy or know someone who is, bolt the seed guards on. And make thin plexiglass panels that match the shape of each metal panel and lay them inside. Easy to remove and clean. I imagine each will look like a trapezoid of different sizes. You can cut plexiglass with a cheap tool from any DIY store, and get the plexiglass there too.

 

[noodles123]

Noodles walks on hers (seed guards) if she feels like it, so I wouldn't put anything in there that would make contact with poop more appealing lol

 

[SailBoat]

The cage at home has a metal seed catcher and it is the style that does not require nuts and bolts to hold it together. Water and paper towel multiple times during the day keeps it poop clean and the angle does direct the dropped food into the cage. The cage at the cottage, like your's has the seed catchers stored in the extra bedroom closet and news paper on the floor under the cage since we are there far less.

Mrs. Boats concern is the four corners of the seed catcher with a crawler /climber as they develop pointy corners, which in addition to being a grab place could be a cut or tangle point. Her biggest concern would be when the climber starts standing and lifts the catcher assembly.

Al's idea with developing a rigid connection between the base of the seed catcher and the cage really does solve that issues. As does using plexiglas as the dropping catcher -- remove and off to the shower for a quick cleaning...

Over many years and many crawlers, climbers and walkers, for whatever reason none of them had much interest in the cage. Now, kitchen cabinet doors and contents within, always!!!

 

[wrench13]

'Boats I am all about the easy clean stuff. Salty only gets dry stuff in his cage, and he is not a flinger. Wet stuff, fruit and chop is served in a clip on bowl on his daytime play boing/perch, with 28" stainless bowl hanging below. Couple spritzes with water and Poop off and viola' - clean.

 

[Ira7]

OT, but this is an issue that’s never brought up when new members ask about keeping such and such type of parrot in an apartment:

Cleaning the cage!

I don’t see how you can do it without a backyard and hose.

Putting seed catchers aside (I threw mine out on the first day), I take his grate and tray outside twice a week to soap, scrape and hose down. Every month or so, I roll the whole cage out.

 

[bigfellasdad]

parrots and clean dont go together as we all know. When i had budgies the cage used to have an elasticated cover around the bottom half of the cage which did help. Maybe some form or perspex external to the cage cover could be fabricated?

 

[noodles123]

A toothbrush and F10 =what I use...plus many paper-towels and more f10 lol

and no--for the smart-alecks out there, not MY toothbrush

 

[noodles123]

Have you thought about just surrounding the cage with a massive baby gate/ doggy play-pen or getting a wall-wall gate and then blocking off the section of the room with the cage in it?

I am NOT talking about boxing in your kid--- I am talking about boxing in the bird's cage so the kid can't get to the seed-skirt or put baby fingers through the bars.

This isn't that attractive, but I doubt a baby can push it over, as it is designed for them..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...886WX&linkId=d704dfd3832a81d7b5989be1dbc01ace (comes in white, gray and rainbow lol!)

here is another option:

This one IS metal so you might have to wrap it in vet-wrap or something if you are worried about your bird mouthing it...but it's well-reviewed on Amazon as well
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...5FOT2&linkId=2271a95366d01c3c269d7f44e993e178


Look how big this one is!

available in "gray, sand, or aqua" (in addition to the crazy rainbow one posted LOL)--You can remove panels I believe too--- but it can go up to 34 sq Ft!
https://www.amazon.com/North-States...a764b31&qid=1592871961&sr=8-5&tag=mactumbo-20

 

[bigfellasdad]

A toothbrush and F10 =what I use...plus many paper-towels and more f10 lol

and no--for the smart-alecks out there, not MY toothbrush

Years ago, i bought my x wife a new toothbrush and then started cleaning my motorbike chain with her current toothbrush and waited for here to come and check out what I was doing..... She nearly blew up when she realised what was going on, when I said to her that no way was i using my own toothbrush to clean the chain she REALLY blew her top I then offered her a brand new toothbrush, she actually saw the funny side at that point....I should have kept her, she was ok!

 

[noodles123]

A toothbrush and F10 =what I use...plus many paper-towels and more f10 lol

and no--for the smart-alecks out there, not MY toothbrush

Years ago, i bought my x wife a new toothbrush and then started cleaning my motorbike chain with her current toothbrush and waited for here to come and check out what I was doing..... She nearly blew up when she realised what was going on, when I said to her that no way was i using my own toothbrush to clean the chain she REALLY blew her top I then offered her a brand new toothbrush, she actually saw the funny side at that point....I should have kept her, she was ok!

hahahahahahaha -that's awesome.

 

[Kiwibird]

So to update- the instructions for the cage are long gone and while I had a bag of hardware for the seed guards, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how to install them “properly”. For anyone who knows me, you also know I’m usually really good at figuring that kind of stuff out, so I’m wondering if maybe they sent the wrong ones and I never realized because I’ve never used them before??? I also didn’t like the little “pins” they sat on for a home with a crawling baby. So I taped them together lol (not where Kiwi could reach) and they are actually really secure now.

I decided the best solution to the mess issue was to simply line them with paper and change when I change the paper on the cage bottom. So far, they seem to catch all the poop and contain about 75% of the rest of the mess (seeds, feathers, wood chips), which is a HUGE improvement and satisfactory for what I need them to do. It’s not like I plan to let Cas be unattended for so long he’d be able to rip them off somehow, more I was concerned he’d reach the cage area before me and shove his hands in poop and quite frankly, I don’t have time to be cleaning Kiwis cage area every 20 minutes.

 

[Kiwibird]

OT, but this is an issue that’s never brought up when new members ask about keeping such and such type of parrot in an apartment:

Cleaning the cage!

I don’t see how you can do it without a backyard and hose.
Putting seed catchers aside (I threw mine out on the first day), I take his grate and tray outside twice a week to soap, scrape and hose down. Every month or so, I roll the whole cage out.

Have lived in apartments and now a condo the entire 11 1/2 years we’ve had our parrot. 2 apartments were ground level with access to a hose hookup. The last 2 places I have used a canister steamer for deep cleaning twice a year and go over the cage weekly with vinegar and a rag/scrub brush/paint scraper (for dried poo/food removal). TBH, I will never hose a cage down again. Some of the older members on here will probably remember what happened to our last cage due to repeated hosing downs:26: For those who don’t- water built up in the hollow legs over time unbeknownst to us and became a breeding ground for god knows what species of bacteria/fungi. When I took the cage apart, the most disgusting black goo came pouring out of the legs. It was foul.

Edit: I removed the bottom grate from his cage because I was sooooo tired of scrubbing it. Only took about a week before he figured out if he stepped in poop, he’d have poop on his foot. No issues since from not having a grate in the cage.

 

[Kiwibird]

Have you thought about just surrounding the cage with a massive baby gate/ doggy play-pen or getting a wall-wall gate and then blocking off the section of the room with the cage in it?

I am NOT talking about boxing in your kid--- I am talking about boxing in the bird's cage so the kid can't get to the seed-skirt or put baby fingers through the bars.

This isn't that attractive, but I doubt a baby can push it over, as it is designed for them..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...886WX&linkId=d704dfd3832a81d7b5989be1dbc01ace (comes in white, gray and rainbow lol!)

here is another option:

This one IS metal so you might have to wrap it in vet-wrap or something if you are worried about your bird mouthing it...but it's well-reviewed on Amazon as well
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...5FOT2&linkId=2271a95366d01c3c269d7f44e993e178


Look how big this one is!

available in "gray, sand, or aqua" (in addition to the crazy rainbow one posted LOL)--You can remove panels I believe too--- but it can go up to 34 sq Ft!
https://www.amazon.com/North-States...a764b31&qid=1592871961&sr=8-5&tag=mactumbo-20

I have one of those for the baby set up on the other side of the room for when I need to leave him unsupervised for a few minutes/a space to keep toys contained/foam tiles over the hard floor. I bought one that has double doors so it’s very open when we’re around supervising but can be closed and secured. I literally rearranged the entire living room and Kiwis area to fit it. Our living room is the size of a postage stamp, so I can only just barely fit one thing that large and walling off Kiwi was more impractical than creating a nice play area for the baby that can be secured when necessary. My biggest concern with Kiwi is the fact he comes out of his cage to poop and then thinking on baby fingers getting in that poop before I can stop it. And I just don’t have the wherewithal to clean eleventy billion poops a day. I also want to keep as much small stuff off the floor as possible, which the seed guards are doing nicely.

 

[SailBoat]

Hmmm, the poop thing will likely drive you a bit nuts. But, as time passes and baby grows, at some point, baby will have a 'blow-out' and Kiwi's tiny messes will become minor events at best. Not down playing your comfort with keeping things clean (Mrs. Boats keeps an extremely clean house), only an insider's warning that you haven't seen anything yet.

The joy of parenthood!

 

[Caitnah]

I have seen many posts regarding eliminating seed guards; mainly because they keep walking into them. Personally I always use a seed guard. It just helps keep most of the dropped stuff in the cage. And even though my cage is in a walkway, I have never walked into it...and I’m a clutz!
As far as putting them together, they NEVER fit the way they should. I have had to bend the ends a bit to get them to meet and bolt. Although a pain to fit I will always use them.
As far as cleaning, I just use a mixture of half vinegar and water and wipe them down while attached. Always comes clean and easy to do. I usually do it once a week.
Same thing with grates. Spray with either Poop Off or the vinegar solution, let sit for a few minutes and use an abrasive mesh sponge and then rinse off. Looks new every time.

 

[noodles123]

I have seen many posts regarding eliminating seed guards; mainly because they keep walking into them. Personally I always use a seed guard. It just helps keep most of the dropped stuff in the cage. And even though my cage is in a walkway, I have never walked into it...and I’m a clutz!
As far as putting them together, they NEVER fit the way they should. I have had to bend the ends a bit to get them to meet and bolt. Although a pain to fit I will always use them.
As far as cleaning, I just use a mixture of half vinegar and water and wipe them down while attached. Always comes clean and easy to do. I usually do it once a week.
Same thing with grates. Spray with either Poop Off or the vinegar solution, let sit for a few minutes and use an abrasive mesh sponge and then rinse off. Looks new every time.

My bird finds it much harder to escape with one on---yes, she can fly (but does she? hardly....very lazy about flight--prefers to be carried or trot around)

She's a walker and if she wants down, she will still make it happen, but it's WAY harder for her to climb off the cage with the seed-skirt than without (because of the weird angled ledge and her tail size lol).

 

[Kiwibird]

Been up for almost 2 weeks now and I can’t believe I didn’t start using these years ago! Kiwi is mercifully not a food flinger, so the vast majority of the mess is being contained:59: And the paper liners make them pretty easy to clean. Since he usually poops off the front of his cage only, that’s the only paper I have to change daily. The other ones I can change once a week it seems (note, I have splash guards I custom built in the vicinity of his food/water dish, so those keep a good amount of bird detritus contained in and of themselves).

 

[noodles123]

Been up for almost 2 weeks now and I can’t believe I didn’t start using these years ago! Kiwi is mercifully not a food flinger, so the vast majority of the mess is being contained:59: And the paper liners make them pretty easy to clean. Since he usually poops off the front of his cage only, that’s the only paper I have to change daily. The other ones I can change once a week it seems (note, I have splash guards I custom built in the vicinity of his food/water dish, so those keep a good amount of bird detritus contained in and of themselves).

what has been up? Sorry- just curious about what ended up working. The elastic guards??