Ahhh!! You've helped me learn so much, I was OBSESSED with birds and getting one at the age of 9, i did research but not enough. Im so glad my parents didn't agree to one! But now i've been writing down everything and I have 3 books worth!! I am now 16 and looking for a job so that I can possibly get a bird. Thank you so much!
Indigenous people have asked others to stop using the term "spirit animal", because it is a term made up by white people and it is a mockery of their spiritual beliefs
I use vinyl chair mats under my cages to protect the floor from heavy cages under the wheels and mostly for any poop or stuff that lands around the cage . These mats also work great under swings or things that hang from the ceiling . Easy to clean the vinyl and your floor stays clean. They come in many sizes to fit under and around your cages and things . Not expensive either .
I too use vinyl chair mats, I love them especially the one on my lanai under my GCC's play stand. The floor is concrete and rough if poop gets on it and drys I have to scrub it on my hands and knees with a toothbrush to get in between the grooves and bumps. Now I can just move the stand and wipe it up with a wet mop!!! Poof and it's clean!!! 😂
The feathers are used in ceremony and rituals. Donating to tribes also helps reduce poaching. If spiritually used materials are free and plentiful there’s less need for them being taken from the wild😊
While I spot clean my Quaker’s cage daily, I deep clean it once a week by using a handheld steamer and then spray it down with F10. The steam really helps with loosening up the pellet dust and dried poop that might be in hard to reach places. It also saves on paper towels. I also use coupons and sales magazines that come in the mail to line the bottom of her cage with. Saves money and I get plenty each week to stockpile them until needed.
I put down sections of clear plastic carpet runner under areas where my guys often poop or drop food. Cleans easily and protects the carpet or wood. i use >>removable
I use the house gutters (that attach to the eaves of your home) to catch poop etc from my M2's "condo" , it acts as a 'catch all' and poop collector. ha ha. I also keep a bottle of mixed white vinegar and water in a sprayer next to my paper towel roll to quickly and easily clean up poop and grape debris before it gets sticky.
I learned from my birds previous owner to use pillow cases around the floor outside their cages. My birds have a room where they are free flying all the time. They hang over the edge of the top of the cage when they want to relieve themselves. This way I just scoop them up daily to wash. Also I go to thrift stores to get my pillow cases so they are really cheap
I heard from another person to save your birds feathers and arrange them in a picture frame as a keepsake. You can put a picture of your bird in the frame too. Nice momento, especially after they pass you have something nice to remember them by. But, you can enjoy it also now for years while they are with you.
Boy i would love to have a dishwasher specifically for my birbs stuff. But I do have scrubby sponges that I only use for their dishes that I don’t use on ours. And I did get some butcher paper, but I need to ask my husband to make be a roll holder like you have! That would make it so much easier. I do have a smaller sized wet vac I keep in my pets room, my macaw is a mess looking for a place to happen. Lol. And I have sent my feathers to artisans to be made into all sorts of things. Even my snake’s shed skins I save for that too. Some people think our trash IS treasure! My neighbor across the street saves me her newspapers, so that is so nice of her. She’ll even bring it over here to me. ☺️ The only tips I’d have are more safety stuff. Just like you, if I’m cooking, all my birds are in their cages. I don’t want anyone flying into boiling water or hot oil or butter in a skillet. I never go outside with my birds on my shoulder. We have hawks here in So.Cal. And I’ve heard horror stories about parrots being plucked right off a perch outside or even right off their owners shoulder. So I’m alert when I take them outside. Same goes for eating. I’ll share with my birds some of our food if it’s safe and appropriate. Just not if it’s avocado, or has onions or tomatoes. (I’m really scared of avocado, I’ve heard it’s very poisonous to birds, and people eat it with eggs and as topping on Mexican food or even inside a sandwich)! And I love my pressure washer too! I only pressure wash their cages a couple of times a year, but it gets them so clean!! One tip I could add, keep everything in one closet. I put a shelving unit on one side and keep food and treats and medicine and first aid, extra dishes, extra toys, all that in one place. Great tips all of them you suggested!
I actually adopted a hand raised cockatiel almost 7 months ago and it has been a joy to have her. I love all of your nifty tricks and tips and because of you, I'm now a more responsible bird owner. I've done my research for years now watching you because I wasn't ready to get another bird but I knew that when I would be ready, I'd have all this amazing knowledge that I can utilize to work with my bird. And so far, I've utilized it the best. The one thing you've repeated that has stuck in my head is diet and sleep play a big factor and you're 100 percent right. I wanted to be a better bird owner this time around so I made sure I got everything as right as possible. Thank you Jamie and Dave for the amazing knowledge you've given us over the years. 💚
Great hacks thanks for sharing, I recently hit a handheld vacuum too and it's sooo much better! I also save our old towels instead of throwing them out, I cut them up into smaller manageable sizes and used them as cleaning rags then I can just throw them in the washing machine, saves a ton of kitchen roll and money
Love this! My must-have for 2 macaws & a conure is a “smart” bird room equipped with battery-powered blackout shades and smart lights that we can set to automatically go down/turn off to make sure everyone gets 12h of sleep, even if we’re out to dinner, etc. A camera is also always helpful to keep an eye on everyone :)
@@jillbrungardt2962 I have the Serena Shades by Lutron and can't recommend them enough! The smart home connection is super reliable and the batteries last a very long time. We've had them for about 2 years, they go up/down twice a day and we still haven't had to change them yet. Good luck!
Tips: carry multiple water/food bowls in a bucket. (I've dropped too many) a cheap window squeegee can be more effective than a broom. I keep a designated muck mop for droppings for my Quakers. How did that land on the wall? I can reach it with my muck mop. My quakers have a favorite spot that gives them a 'birds eye view.' I place small objects on the shelf with them. I can hear the toys hitting the floor and know they are 'tidying' their shelf 😂
😂 I went into bird ownership completely blind. I've had this wonderful BFA for a dozen years now, and learned so much along the way - lots from y'all! I make his tiny, precious feathers into bookmarks ❤
I have plexiglass cut to fit the bottom 1-2 feet of my cages and drill a couple of holes in the top edge and hang with plastic ties . This keeps them safer from any pets trying to get their claws in the cage and also helps keep the seed and good in especially with small birds who eat seeds. Lowe’s cuts thin plexiglass free . I do it in sections. Not expensive and works amazing .
I couldn't live without my hand vac especially since moving my parrotlet to the omlet cage. I love this cage for the ease of cleaning. I also keep wipes EVERYWHERE!! This was a great video Jamie..Thanks!🥰
I’m super jealous of the bird dishwasher, would make cleaning a whole lot easier!! I use bird-only towels around the cage to catch the poop since their room is carpeted and spray bottles of f10 and plain water around for quick cleaning and bird showers.
I used butcher paper when we welped pups. Definitely an easy clean up and helped with the "wet" messes! Also I pretty sure your scrapper was a cheese slicer in it beginning..... I could be wrong. Good video thank you.
Plexiglass behind cages will save your walls, plastic carpet protectors under the cages saves the carpet and hanging a toy over the food and water dishes prevents them from pooping in them.
I use puppy pads on the floor to catch the poops when my bub decides to hang out on his cage door. For some reason he leaves those alone- when I had newspaper down there he would tear it all up haha.
I have a broom and dust pan in Each room . Trash can in my bird room . spray. Bottle around for getting droppings off . Battle towels. Using wee pads for the trays of the cages .
I have a little Green Cheek and my "hack" is ... I went to 5 Below and bought their $5 rugs and use them for under my birds cage. When one gets dirty, I just throw it in the wash. The rugs are pretty light weight and good quality.
We have amazing big perch-toys safely made by our birds' breeder that hang in our windows and ceilings. To keep the remains of the toys from spreading around everywhere, we put empty plastic bins underneath them with newpapers in them. On the window's sills where we have perches, I cut a vinyl table cover and stick it on with velcro so I can easily remove it to clean. I did the same under the java tree. It looks way cleaner than having newpapers everywhere (my bird doesn't try to chew the vinyl)
I was surprised that some of them were even considered hacks! We already use some of your "hacks" in our daily routine. Birdsnacks? In every room so we can always praise good behaviour! Wipes? We have a kitchen towel roll in every room! One poop cleaned now is one less for a mess! And donated newspaper is great! We don't get regular newspaper anymore so we talked to aaaaall our elderly neighbours who still buy/get newspaper delivered. We get newspaper from around 8 households! All we have to do in exchange is share pictures or say hi when we are outside with the birds. That REALLY helps! In front/around our livingroom aviary we put a waxed tablecloth on the floor, the ones you would probably use on outside tables? They are relatively cheap, sturdy and easy to clean! Better to wet wipe the floor everyday ♥
Thank You so much Jamie and Dave for what y'all do. Y'all are the best, and such a beautiful pair of human beings. Although, I've never owned a bird before, I have always loved them, and have learned so much about them, from watching your amazing show. Much love and respect always from New Orleans, La. From Sonny, a huge longtime fan of yours.
My ultimate hack, is potty training with my birds. I have a rare English budgie and a green cheek conure That are both potty trained. They go potty on cue, and they know where they are allowed to go potty. It’s incredible. Trust me just give it a chance.
My best tips so far are buying some cafeteria trays for training time and underneath foraging boxes/ training stands, so that the mess stays relatively confined ( one on the floor/carpet underneath the edge of the one your bird is on in the table or counter etc. and using deep plastic organizing trays for chop so that birds such as conures keep the mess relatively contained inside the dish ( big enough that you bird can hop into the tray. )
I use a litter box I got from the dollar store as a place for my cockatiel to eat his nutriberry. The high edges help to contain alot of the mess and he can also perch on the edge when he is done!
Favorite hack was butcher paper! I am an energy healer, I have a vase full of feathers always for my clients to take. I encourage them to use the feathers as book marks in there daily readings as the Blue & Gold macaw represents standing in and speaking your truth. Also, tail feathers make GREAT cat toys whether you hold and bounce for the cat to pounce on and they are great for launching across the room like a paper airplane ✈️ 🐈 😂
I love this video! I do feel bad about the wet wipe “hack” as it’s sooo not sustainable. I prefer using kitchen cloths, I use a new one everyday and wash them once a week. I also use my parents newspapers for the bottom of the cages, so they still have a purpose after being read. I wish people with pets would think more about the environment 🌱
1 use wax baking paper to cover the tables for my little ones. Saves time scrubbing tables. Also as a liner for the cages under news paper or paper towels.
Perfect timing for this video! We have been watching your videos in preparation for a Parrot for a few months. We just brought home a little Half Moon Conure a few days ago and this video is full of great ideas. ❤
Baby wipes….the one thing that every person who owns small caged pets needs. ANY small caged pets. I had rats……I had baby wipes, for spot cleaning and also for proper cage cleans. I had birds too at times.
I love my baffle cage. For my bird, I have a princess deck at the top of his cage which I leave open so he can go in and get water when he wants. I use washable small rugs under there for pooping off the deck. And I have one often by his foraging table because he’s a cockatoo and a very fun game is dropping things on the floor. Since the crash is self-rewarding, softening the sound makes it a less frequent behavior and it keeps toys from rolling away under other furniture basically keeping the mess in one place.
Great tips! I use many of these, along with a shop vac to clean up my tile floors. Restaurant serving trays are great for transporting water bowls, and the dish cloths from local discount store, that have a combination of cotton fabric, and scratchy texture are good for spot cleaning (the sponges are good too). I have an original Roomba vacuum that is helping with the small stuff, considering the new Roomba with a self cleaning vacuum/wet mop function? Friends with cats love theirs, and I think it would be a great birthday+Christmas+anniversary present to us (they are pricey)! :D
Hi your videos have been so helpful preparing me for my own bird. Could you make content of you basically just interacting with your birds in various ways unedited? Maybe it would give non bird owners a good look on how interactions are supposed to look like…
I leave towel/dishcloths around the parrots cages ( that match the floor ) where they sit the most. I also have a little vacuum robot that I let loose in the bird room which is my balcony. I do have a hand held vacuum, which I could not live without.
I’ve recently discovered that a shop vac can pick up so much broken bird toys/chewed up paper. One of the brush attachments is also great when cleaning the bars of the cage, at least for my grey since she has the most dander and fluff.
We keep Paco and Kobe 's feathers and turn them into accessories ,dream catchers and pen quills both old fashioned and regular inked quill pens. After using them in vet visits for wellness check ups of course.
The toy to repurpose bird toys is genius! My eclectus parrot goes through a lot of your toys and repurposing them is a great idea! Could you add a link to where you bought them?
Dollar tree has a five-in-one scraper in the tool section that works well for those tight spaces on cages. I mist the bars to soften up the organic concrete birds seem to leave behind. The cages are set on heavy plastic because the surface under the cages are too difficult to sanitize. I wish it was easy to move the cages to an area where I could use my pressure washer; that sounds like heaven 😅
I have a Lori and their poo and nectar is like a cement. After the first cleaning of the cage and getting a awesome upper body workout……..I learned about the pressure washer. I also found this cleaner which I use before pressure washing and daily cleaning. Find it works very well….. remember I have a Lori and it cleans their messy mess up really good. I also use on my walks around GiGis cage and on my hardwood floors a painters heavy duty plastic which is great you can wipe up and keeps floors and walls clean. Remember I have a Lori. Natural Rapport”. The Only Bird Cage Cleaner you need It is bio-enzymatic, plant-based ingredients NO alcohol, bleach or ammonia
As I am one of these people who is allergic to many chemicals, I make my own cleaning products. My all-purpose cleaner which I use to clean my tile floors, I have found is great for cleaning up the cage and any messes that my bird makes. So easy and inexpensive = 1 cup water, 1/2 c distilled vinegar, 1/2 c alcohol. I keep a spray bottle of the cleaner and a basket of napkins (co-workers/family fast food napkins, I swiped the extras) next to cage for quick clean up; just spray, wait a minute and wipe. I also have a vinyl chair mat under the cage.
Imping!! Lovely idea. Wei Wei is the smallest bird (gcc) ive heard of to go through that procedure. I understand it can be done on any bird. I love the hacks, thank you.
I have the vac, tissues, and wipes (same kind as you) I keep handy. I also have to hide those wipes like you do, lol! I don’t have a power washer I would consider handy. We have one but it’s big and not easily accessible. I want to find one though. I wipe my cages down real good daily and probably once a month I do a thorough clean. I like your ideas with the feathers and keeping the left over pieces of toys. Where did you find the cage? Thanks for your great 11 tips. I’ve been watching your family and flock family since I got my first caique Ozzy. He’s 6 and now he has a female friend Lola she’s almost 2. I also just got 2 beautiful female sun-cheek/green cheek conures. Oh what fun! Thanks again Jamie!!! ❤
Having tissue/ toilet paper on hand for poops. Have series of branches/ perches with dowel screw embedded/glued to one end; can screw branches onto each other to make any combination of branching /perches. Small holes left where one branch way have been screwed in but so what
Mini vac with a long skinny nozzle a must. Love my Crosswave Pet Pro vac mop. Vac & mop at the same time! Even gets all the little seeds. Paper rolls are awesome comes in all sizes.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one to notice that 😅. For life of me I can't figure out why Dave didn't own an actual BBQ scraper. Maybe it's a hack he learned from someone 🤷♀️❤
I use pieces of linoleum under the cage and on the drawer under the grate. No more paper! I just wipe them clean daily...or exchange one piece for an already clean piece then switch again the next day. My CAG is rarely on the floor so there are no worries about her chewing it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy
Fortunately (or unfortunately), i seem to understand most of what my conure says, so i now know her, "My poop is coming" call, and she gets taken off me!😊
I live in Sweden and I haven't been able to find the metal cage to reuse toys. I am trying to avoid buying outside of Europe, so I am thinking of how I can make my own. I never thought I would get into metallurgy because of parrot toys, but here I am! 😅
It's hard to get safe toys where I live so I always find a way to reuse toy parts. I get free newspaper too! I'd love to try the butcher paper though. I also need a good mini vac. What one is used in this video?
