Hygiene and Pet Birds

A lot of hard work can go into keeping our pet birds healthy and happy, but one of the most important points to remember is to practice proper hygiene around your bird. Read on for some simple hygiene tips that will help make sure that both your bird and your family aren't put at risk for illness or disease.

Wash your hands. While it's true that there are some diseases people can catch from pet birds, it's far more common for pet birds to catch diseases from their owners. Make sure that everyone stays healthy by washing your hands both before and after you handle your bird.

Keep the cage clean. Making sure that you clean your bird's cage properly can go a long way in reducing bacteria growth in your pet's living space -- which therefore reduces the risk of illness to your bird as well as any people that come into contact with it.

Be careful sharing food. While sharing fresh foods with your bird is a great bonding exercise, bacteria can be transmitted between you and your bird if you allow him to eat or drink from dishes that you are using. To stay on the safe side, fix a small dish of food especially for your bird. He will likely enjoy having his very own plate!

If you keep these tips in mind, you will greatly reduce the chances of passing disease to your bird, as well as catching a disease from your feathered friend. As always, safety first!

Daily & Weekly Bird Cage Care

Owning real birds can be a chore and seem a bit daunting if you don't quite know what you're doing. Here are some daily cage care tips to help get you started:

1. Change the cage liner: There are many reasons for this, but the main one is for sanitation. It is very unhealthy for birds to walk around in their droppings and discarded food. Plus, when papers aren't changed in a cage, it can make a very bad odor. Simply change out the newspaper in the bottom of your bird's cages on a daily basis and you won't have to worry about your birds or how they smell.

2. Clean food and water: Make sure that your birds have fresh, clean water and fresh food on a daily basis. This will ensure that no bacteria grow in either dish and that your pets stay healthy and happy.

3. Wipe down surfaces with a pet-friendly: Use a damp rag or paper towel and "spot clean" the surfaces of the cage, such as the bars, toys, and perches, to help keep everything sanitary and clean. You can find pet-friendly cleaning products online or at your local pet store.

Here are some weekly cleaning tips to help you out:

1. Wash the cage tray: You need to completely take out and scrub the bottom tray of your bird's cage on a weekly basis. This is the area that the liners or newspaper is placed on. Remember to make sure that this is completely dry before you replace it or you can make a breeding ground for bacteria that can harm your bird.

2. Remove and clean the grate: For those cages that have grates at the bottom, this needs to be removed and cleaned on a weekly basis too. The grate is the part of the cage that is above the tray and looks like bars going across the bottom of the cage. Some cages have this and some don't, if yours does, it will need to be cleaned and scrubbed on a daily basis.

3. Clean and change out perches: Take out the perches in the cage, soak them and scrub them on a weekly basis. It helps to have several different perches that you can trade out so you can make sure the perches have been soaked and cleaned effectively and so your bird won't get bored too easily.

4. Clean and change out toys: Same as with the perches, you need to take the toys out of your bird's cage on a weekly basis and soak and scrub them. It also helps to have several different types of toys to trade out each week to ensure that your bird doesn't get bored.

Here are some monthly cleaning tips:

1. Each month, you want to take the cage completely apart and scrub it down well. Make sure that it is dry before you put everything back together so that you don't start bacteria breeding or end up with a sick bird.

2. Use a good scrub brush with hard bristles that will get all of the nasty junk off the cage and accessories when you clean them.

3. Use a good pet-friendly cleaning product on your cage, one that won't harm your bird.

4. Make sure that you scrub in the cracks good as well otherwise you will end up with germs and bacteria growing again and again.