Bird litter ???

[Chrissy and Flock]

Does anyone here use bird litter in their cages. I have been using it for a couple of months now and was just curious as to whether or not I may be harming my babies. Any input will be greatly appreciated thanks in advance. Its Kaytee Kay-Kob

[Dot]

I use newspaper and change it everyday. I don't know anyone who uses something like that. You can go to the public library and ask for papers they are going to discard. There are two libraries that now have a sign and an arrow - saved for lady with birds! :rolleyes:

I firmly believe in changing everything everyday so nothing "strange" can grow.

[bonnie]

I use newspaper and change it everyday. I don't know anyone who uses something like that. You can go to the public library and ask for papers they are going to discard. There are two libraries that now have a sign and an arrow - saved for lady with birds! :rolleyes:

I firmly believe in changing everything everyday so nothing "strange" can grow.


Oh my gosh!
I work at a convenience store. The lady that delivers our newspapers leaves me the ones she's collected that day every time I work. I use to ask her for them, now she just leaves them on the counter LOL.

[Chrissy and Flock]

I have tried the newspaper and Cassie just dont do good with it what she doesn't eat she throws out on the floor and the dogs spread it around the house. :( Thats why I went to the litter.

[bonnie]

Does she not get down there and mess with the litter at all? I would think that if she messed with the paper she'd mess with the litter.

[Chrissy and Flock]

Bonnie, she doesn't thats what is so strange, I think she thinks the newspaper was part of her food lol. I tried shredded paper, whole sheets of paper I even tried paper towels. Her thing seems to be if its made of paper its food.

[bonnie]

I'm sure that if she's not messing with it and it is made for birds it should be ok. Others may have a different opinion, but different things work for different birds.

[Bambam]

No..never used it..I use newspapers as well..in the bottom tray & on the grill..when changing I spray with a water bottle..to reduce the too dust(black & white newspapers only) on the grill..sometimes when limited I use a few colored on the tray..buuuutttt..since we are on this subject I think I've found the perfect paper..used it..but can't find it.. a retailer shipped my son a pkg. of hunting supplies a few wks ago..they had pkgd it with mats of brown paper 18x24..2 of them fit in Bambamz cage perfectly..they United Postal Svs. pkging..but I've ckd a few post ofcs. & can't find..I also ckd the internet for pkg svs & find this item..:(

[birdie]

The difficult things with the litter is, you can't watch your birds droppings to see if there's anything wrong. Alot of times that's your 1st indication that your bird may be ill. Do you have a grate in the bottom of the cage?

[FoxersArtist]

Kaytee litter is usually made of corn cob bits. Others are made of walnut shells, and still others are made of compacted paper. When feces hits the litter, most of the moisture is absorbed by the litter. At this point you have small bites of corn cob (or whatever it's made of) on the bottom of your birds cage which start breeding bacteria right away. This bacteria can cause your bird to become extremely ill. Also, if any of your birds were to swallow this litter, they could develop an impaction in their crop. Litter for birds is not a good idea. Newspaper is really the safest thing to use. Do your bird cages have grates on the bottom, seperating them from the newspaper in the tray? Most do, so im not sure how you birds are able to get to the papers. Anyway, I hope that was helpful.
-Anna

[FoxersArtist]

No..never used it..I use newspapers as well..in the bottom tray & on the grill..when changing I spray with a water bottle..to reduce the too dust(black & white newspapers only) on the grill..sometimes when limited I use a few colored on the tray..buuuutttt..since we are on this subject I think I've found the perfect paper..used it..but can't find it.. a retailer shipped my son a pkg. of hunting supplies a few wks ago..they had pkgd it with mats of brown paper 18x24..2 of them fit in Bambamz cage perfectly..they United Postal Svs. pkging..but I've ckd a few post ofcs. & can't find..I also ckd the internet for pkg svs & find this item..:(


I THINK the colored ink in newpapers are safe these days. I had read that colored ink is safe unless the newpaper is glossy - like those supermarket coupon ads and the like. Has anyone else heard this?
-Anna

[CrystalinNC]

To be honest with you, and I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not...but I don't use anything. I just slide the trays out once a day and clean them. I find that the poop dries instead of staying wet like with paper and litter. I feel that dry poop is more sanitary than wet poop. I can keep check on the poop quality and quantity as well that way,...actually better in my opinion because there's nothing there to soak it up, it dries as is. So if they have runny poop, you can see that it's runny even if it's been a couple of hours since they went. Like I said..not sure if someone will come on here in a little while and say that this is incorrect, but it's worked for me and my birds.

[Chrissy and Flock]

Casper's cage doesn't have a grate the other two do.

[bonnie]

I THINK the colored ink in newpapers are safe these days. I had read that colored ink is safe unless the newpaper is glossy - like those supermarket coupon ads and the like. Has anyone else heard this?
-Anna
I've heard the exact same thing.

[FoxersArtist]

To be honest with you, and I'm not sure if this is a bad thing or not...but I don't use anything. I just slide the trays out once a day and clean them. I find that the poop dries instead of staying wet like with paper and litter. I feel that dry poop is more sanitary than wet poop. I can keep check on the poop quality and quantity as well that way,...actually better in my opinion because there's nothing there to soak it up, it dries as is. So if they have runny poop, you can see that it's runny even if it's been a couple of hours since they went. Like I said..not sure if someone will come on here in a little while and say that this is incorrect, but it's worked for me and my birds.

I sure hate to be the party crasher here but what the hay, i'll step up. Wet bird poop is actually much more sanitary because when the feces dry, they become powdery and small particles of feces will float through the air. We breathe it, the birds breathe it, and the air is more contaminated. That's why it's very important to remove droppings from their cages at least daily. Some people even mist their newspaper before cleaning cages to wet the dust so that they are not breathing it all in. This includes the fecal dust. What you are doing is probably not going to harm you or your birds too much as long as they are sanitized daily, but it would probably be more sanitary to use newspaper.
-Anna

[Chrissy and Flock]

I clean it daily just as you would a kitty litter pan, change litter every few days. If I use newspaper the bottom of Casper's cage ends up bare or at he very least sparsely covered.

[CrystalinNC]

Thank you Anna! I didn't know...
I always wondered why people kept newspaper in there...
sigh...this is why I keep coming to these forums, I learn something new everyday. =)

[Birdlover]

I would have to agree on not using any type of litter. Not only bacteria, but you also have to be concerned about Aspergillus spores. Tose are already in the environment but you sure dont want to be making a breeding ground for them - and many of the available litters out there are just that.

If they can reach the bottom, Id recommend getting a different cage that has a grate (and one that isnt too close to the cage floor). I dont want my guys getting something that they have dropped on the cage floor (especially if it happens to land in droppings). Newspaper is great.

[too&me]

Why would dropping particles become any more airborne on a tray than they would off newspaper? I should think that if it is hosed off each & every day that would produce less dust than picking up & throwing away the paper with those same droppings. Moving the paper around due to it's flexible nature is more likely to produce the dust than just moving the tray to water and washing it. Maybe we need some research on techniques to develop hard proven facts?

[FoxersArtist]

Why would dropping particles become any more airborne on a tray than they would off newspaper? I should think that if it is hosed off each & every day that would produce less dust than picking up & throwing away the paper with those same droppings. Moving the paper around due to it's flexible nature is more likely to produce the dust than just moving the tray to water and washing it. Maybe we need some research on techniques to develop hard proven facts?

Jill, let me clarify. My answer to the question of whether it was more sanitary to use a tray with or without newspaper was hinging on the observation that droppings dried faster on the tray without newspaper. This is something that I have never taken the time to observe myself. It is fact that particulants are less likely to float through the air when wet (unless in evaperative form,) therefore it would make since that droppings that are dried have a higher chance of releasing dust into the air. Personally, I doubt it would make that much difference either way. I see particles floating through the air after moving papers and worry.

Anyway...I just wanted to clarify because I wasn't sure what you meant when you said: "Maybe we need some research on techniques to develop hard proven facts?" Maybe we should all do an experiment to see how long it takes our birds fecal matter to dry and then we really will be bird nuts. Or maybe just plain nuts. HeHe. :o
-Anna

[Larry, Baby and Me]

I will pop my head in on this one as well.

Newspapers or brown butcher paper or something similar only.

Like Anna said - crushed corn cobs, crushed walnut shells, and anything else of the litter nature will be a serious problem if your bird eats even a tiny bit of it.

Just say NO to the manufacturers products.

[Chrissy and Flock]

well I think I have solved the problem I bought 2 bbq grill grates (stainless steel) and I am going to make a grate for the bottom of the cage so she cant get to whatever is in the bottom of the cage so i will be able to use newspaper. Grill grates = $25 New cage $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Larry, Baby and Me]

Chrissy,

$25 seems like a very low price for a SS grill. I know nothing about the price of grills - but SS ain't cheap. I just bought some SS eye hooks and some D rings yesterday at Lowes. The SS D-rings were more than 3 bucks each.

SS comes in a wide range of quality - from top of the line to cheapy stuff. Do the magnet test on SS to determine quality. The higher the quality - the less the magnet will stick. The lower the quality - the more the magnet will sitck.

304 medical grade SS - magnet wont stick to that at all.

The only problem with lower grades of SS is that they rust.

It is the impurities in the metal that rusts. The cheaper the SS has more impurities = more rust.

But no matter which grade of SS the grill is - It should not make a difference in bird safety. Just remember to watch out for rust forming and buy a new grill to replace the rusted one. Rust ain't good for birds. Rust is oxidized metal - has nasties in it.

[Chrissy and Flock]

Larry that was just for the grates that go in the grill. With help from my neighbor we modified them to make a grate for the bottom of Caspers cage. It works well I might add keeps her from getting to the bottom of the cage.

[birdscomefirst]

I didn't read all the posts. But litter is a problem for several reasons.

The most obvious is that unless you change it every day, which most people don't, it is going to sit too long.

Once a bird has peed or defecated on the substrate, whether it be corn cob or walnut shell or whatever, bacteria and fungus begin to grow.

It is not like cat litter where you can sift through it and remove clumps. What happens is that the birds droppings seeps down to the bottom part of the tray. You can't see it on the surface even after you clean it. The bottom of the cage becomes so bacteria laden that a bird will, not might...get sick.

The biggest fungal issue with litters is aspergillosis caused by a fungus called aspergillis. It grows very swiftly in litter.

Newspaper is the best thing to use. It is safe if ingested and it gets changed every day. I am not sure where you live, but I hijack a bunch of little newspapers each week. They are called "Nickel Savers" where I live. They are free.

I have 19 cages that get changed every morning and it is a lot quicker to change a thick layer of paper than it would ever be to fool with litter.

Corn cob also is viewed as a food item by some parrots. That and other beddings can cause crop impactions or blockages in the digestive system.

Even with paper, you should have a cage with a grating at the bottom so that your bird can't get to soiled paper. If that happens you need to consider the possibility of a better cage.

It is without question work when we are owned by parrots.

Keep in mind that just because something is sold for parrots, it is not always the best thing to use and it is not always safe. For example, Grit is still sold for parrots and it is entirely useless for birds, like parrots that shell seeds. In fact it can cause fatal impactions of the crop.

As I said, I am not sure if you will change what you use as I have not read the entire thread yet but hopefully, you will get rid of the liter and go to paper.

Thanks,
Bill

[Evelyn]

. Maybe we need some research on techniques to develop hard proven facts?


This sounds like a good project for Captain Poopy Foot. He can develop an expertise in "poopology." :smiles:

Evelyn