Self-cleaning cage

[ianachin2001]

I own a cockatiel, and I always find the process of replacing the newspapers in his cage to be inconvenient and unsanitary, so I've been thinking about making a self-cleaning cage for birds. I was wondering what other bird owners would think about such a product, so I put together a survey and would appreciate any responses.

Here's a link to the survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...RV2H0OFpdJGd7J9kEJjM_ZSg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thanks in advance for any responses.

 

[18WheelsOfSteel]

No offense intended, but cleaning up is part and parcel to pet ownership in general, it's an integral part of the experience and of checking on your pet, dropping a tend to give early (and in some cases the only) indications that something isn't right, it gives you an opportunity to inspect the cage and toys and various accoutrements for safe and working conditions, and for those reasons among others, I do not have any interest in the removal of this task, onerous and dull as it may be.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Your survey is a bit biased, particularly the second page. You're coming up with a solution for a problem that you haven't yet fully understood. I recommend you ask around about what people's thoughts about cleaning cages to be, how they feel about it, why they do it, when they do it, how they do it. It might uncover some interesting findings that might shape how you approach this. I've seen many clients go in without such basic research, only to have their products fail when hitting market. By the time they come to me, it's too late because their whole premise doesn't match their potential users' wants/needs.

I realise surveys are inherently more quantitative, but try gathering some basic qualitative insights before validating your idea with quant data.

I would also suggest for your survey to do a bit of research first - budgies and cockatiels are both parrots. Are you perhaps thinking about size difference? Or what is the purpose of that question? Are budgies' vs cockatiels' messes different enough to warrant that segmentation? Think through the purpose of your questions first before crafting them; otherwise, you'll end up with meaningless data.



Now, speaking as a potential user, I would not use a self-cleaning cage. Why? A few reasons.

Let me ask you: How do you tell if your cockatiel is healthy or not? Is it just based on looks? A bit dangerous since avians hide symptoms better than mammals do. And I know cat owners who reject self-cleaning litter boxes for the same reason. Their droppings is sometimes the first indicator that something is wrong. By the time they start fluffing up and sleeping constantly, they've often little time left.

Next thought, if there are toys in the cage or food being fed there, how can you tell if your bird is consuming it or tossing it to the bottom of the cage? Yes, toys should be found at the bottom of the cage - you don't want your bird ingesting anything. And food ideally should not be all at the bottom of the cage but eaten by the bird (some birds will forage without eating).

Another thought, when our little guy started vomiting, he started at night. The next morning, I went to clean his cage and saw it clearly. We rushed him in the same day. Ultimately he was hospitalised for that illness. If I hadn't seen that, we wouldn't have been able to catch it early enough to be able to conduct tests on him (once a bird is fluffed and sleeping constantly, they're sometimes too ill to be able to conduct test without stressing their heart to the point of death). Our vet commented that it was fortunate we didn't wait for his symptoms to get worse and that we were able to get an appointment within the same time.

Finally, a small part of the concern would be, if not newspapers, what other sanitary way? Birds can get into things all too easily. Most newspapers are not going to harm your bird if they manage to pull it up through the grating. Cat litter and other similar substitutes can.


Hope to see what insights you can take away!

 

[Scott]

Agree with the preceding, a few comments:

1- Google account required to access survey. This will winnow the potential responses.
2- Not sure age and gender is germane.
3- While optional, income is not likely determinant, unless a self-cleaning cage is perceived as luxury item.

 

[Kiwibird]

Define a “self cleaning cage”? I think that magical device would require Star Trek level technology lol. Beyond changing the paper at the bottom, would a self cleaning cage clean food/water dishes? What about perches and bars the bird has wiped their messy beak all over? Or a rogue poop that has ended up on a toy/perch/bars/elsewhere? How about the area immediately outside the cage, which often accumulates just as much, if not more poop, food, feathers and bits of destroyed toys?

Seriously, I have dreamed about when we own a house we plan to live in forever essentially building a glass fronted, floor to ceiling tile “room within a room” for my bird that has a drain in the floor and can be hosed down, but I don’t think you’ll get much closer to a self cleaning cage than something very expensive and built in like that. Maybe I’m just not creative enough to dream it up though...

 

[SailBoat]

Hmmm, this has all the earmarks of a Term Paper or a News Article.

Fully agree with my fellow members above.

Wait until you have children as the mess will extend into every corner of the home and later beyond.

 

[Valyndris]

I filled the survey, I can see making a self cleaning cage hard to produce as birds with go and chew everything and anything and they tend to get everything dirty which needs a full cage cleaning once in a while. As for changing the newspaper at the bottom, I don't find it to be that big of an issue. I am still curious about how this self cleaning cage would work.

 

[18WheelsOfSteel]

Hmmm, this has all the earmarks of a Term Paper or a News Article.

Fully agree with my fellow members above.

Wait until you have children as the mess will extend into every corner of the home and later beyond.

I have seen hand grenades and TOW missiles that weren't as messy as my step children were, the level of mess, chaos and destruction a child is capable of creating is truly awe inspiring

 

[Alehner529]

I cant even imagine how a self cleaning cage would work. All I can picture is a teeny roomba sucking up all the feathers and food and whatnot. How do you mean self cleaning?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[CallumConure]

When I read self cleaning, I was thinking of those bioactive terrariums seen with tropical species of reptiles, lol.

I tend to agree with other members. While I dislike cleaning the cage and his water bowls and his food bowls, and everything, I know cleaning comes with the territory of our animals. Many can argue that the wild is self-cleaning and doesn't need human intervention, but we're also reducing miles and miles of vast territory to nothing but a few feet and we're also excluding an entire ecosystem with other factors we may not even fully understand.

I went on a small tangent here, so apologies, but I think cleaning is important for us humans. As others have said, it's a great window into how our pets are doing in terms of physical health.

Also, I just like picking Callum's molted feathers from the ground.

 

[wrench13]

This would work. Remove bird first.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D7UjW6hQdjqA&ved=2ahUKEwj8q9fA8LPlAhWmtlkKHW3rAucQwqsBMAJ6BAgJEAs&usg=AOvVaw1CBISm3a6_BhtD3z40Imhq

 

[Jasmine333]

I own a cockatiel, and I always find the process of replacing the newspapers in his cage to be inconvenient and unsanitary, so I've been thinking about making a self-cleaning cage for birds. I was wondering what other bird owners would think about such a product, so I put together a survey and would appreciate any responses.

Here's a link to the survey:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...RV2H0OFpdJGd7J9kEJjM_ZSg/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Don't take it the wrong way, but there is more to cleaning a bird cage than changing the newspaper. Would the self-cleaner change and clean bowls, perches and toys, as well as bars of the cage? I used to raise goats and would have loved a self-cleaning goat pen. An automatic stable broom would have made me an overnight billionaire.

Cleaning up after animals we own is just part of the responsibility of being an owner. You know there are beautiful life-like animals available online. You don't have the inconvenience of cleaning up after them and they stay sanitary where you don't have all that mess.

 

[fiddlejen]

This would work. Remove bird first.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D7UjW6hQdjqA&ved=2ahUKEwj8q9fA8LPlAhWmtlkKHW3rAucQwqsBMAJ6BAgJEAs&usg=AOvVaw1CBISm3a6_BhtD3z40Imhq

For those of us who rent, best to also get landlord approval first.

 

[charmedbyekkie]

Guys, the original poster was last on 22 October last year when he/she submitted the original post.

Unlikely you'll get a response.