What is safe for nest boxes,

[atvchick95]

Yes I know what an odd question coming from me

We've always used Care Fresh bedding but my b/f wants to change and see how it goes I am perfectly happy staying with care fresh We've used it for the last 2 1/2 years with no problems that I know of caused by the bedding.

I know unscented Pine is fine - BUT have you seriously ever tried finding it? We were at our local tractor supply(we don't have many choices to go buy things from) it said unscented - the scent about killed me! And that was through a CLOSED BAG!

the only other options were
Red Ceder
Aspen
Corn Cob (Which i know is a BIG NO NO )

and that was about it. and I don't recall the bags of Red ceder, or Aspen saying UNSCENTED just the one bag of Pine and it didn't even look like very big chunks and I was able to smell Pine very strongly through a sealed bag

I don't want to use anything with small chunks, I want big chunks the birds can not accidental feed to the babies and the babies can not accidental ingest on their own - I've never had it happen with care fresh - I don't plan on it happening if we do change the bedding we use.


also how about just giving them grass in their nest box - Like Timothy Grass ( I KNOW ITS SAFE) we give it to them to eat, Plus when we thought the Doves were Male/Female we put it in their nest bowl (they use bowels not boxes) and it made a nice cushion nest for them and their eggs it would be dry of course we buy it in bags

Like this
ZuPreem Nature's Promise Western Timothy Hay - Hay - Small Pet - PetSmart

 

[Sharpie]

Of those options, Aspen is the best choice... at least for the little mice I originally did the research for. Cedar phenols (chemicals that give it the distinctive smell) can interfere with normal liver enzymes in rodents, so I'm not sure what they'd do to chicks, but wouldn't want to risk it. I'd be worried about hay, just because it can carry parasites and nasty stuff sometimes gets baled into it... but if you found a nice clean supply I'd imagine it would be okay. It molds easily, so would have to be changed often.

 

[atvchick95]

Thanks

The timothy grass worked great for the doves they don't mess in their nest bowl so even though the nest bowl and eggs sat there for a long time It never had to be changed, it stayed the same as the day I put it in there for them

but we found out quickly his "pair" he was sold was a pair But a PAIR of FEMALES

 

[Greycloud]

I always used pine shavings and never had any problems. You don't need to worry about the parents accidently feeding it to thier young. My birds always ground the shavings real fine.
I say, If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[Bokkapooh]

Out of all those choices, the care fresh bedding and aspen are the safest. Pine and cedar are not safe in a bedding form:

AFRMA - Cedar & Pine Information

What Are the Dangers of Pine & Cedar Bedding? | eHow.com

Cedar and Pine Wood Shavings - Problems and Toxicity

Is it Safe to Use Cedar Bedding for Gerbils? | eHow.com

 

[atvchick95]

now i am confused Srtiels (susan) said to use unscented Pine and she even has it in her photobucket page
Other birds :: Pine-Coarse picture by Mousebirds-and-more - Photobucket

but I can't find pine that actually has no scent- even the unscented I smell pine very strong - the one bag almost knocked me over and these bags are sealed tight

so now i'm back to being confused

i thought pine was safe for birds

 

[Jorg S.]

Pine and Cedar have aromatic oils in them naturally and are not deemed safe for baby birds due to this, also as the babies get a little older in the nest they will start nibbling on the nesting too.
Aspen and Care Fresh are the safest and also readily available.

 

[atvchick95]

ok thanks

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

I like this thread. I do not and will never have nest boxes, but I was looking at alternative things to line the cage with, under the grate that might disgquie the appearance of the days poop. And when I was at a local pet supply store yesterday I saw Recycled Newspaper Pellets intended for bird and rodent cage use.

I wonder if that would be adequate, since most people just use newspaper anyways??? It was a little pricey but might be worht it so I can hide the poop on the bottom of the cage easier than the white craft paper I currently use.
(Dont worry, I change out my lining every other day or more! Just dont like looking it at, or seeing it in photos...Im neurotic like that.)

 

[atvchick95]

I like this thread. I do not and will never have nest boxes, but I was looking at alternative things to line the cage with, under the grate that might disgquie the appearance of the days poop. And when I was at a local pet supply store yesterday I saw Recycled Newspaper Pellets intended for bird and rodent cage use.

I wonder if that would be adequate, since most people just use newspaper anyways??? It was a little pricey but might be worht it so I can hide the poop on the bottom of the cage easier than the white craft paper I currently use.
(Dont worry, I change out my lining every other day or more! Just dont like looking it at, or seeing it in photos...Im neurotic like that.)

for cage liners - I'd stick to using newspaper

Most "bedding" harbors bacteria and even if changed daily it's not good to use, and some of them are dusty (like corn cob bedding) and that is not good for the birds respiratory system

I just use news papers to line my cages

I thought of just using my Paper Shredder and shred some news paper and give that in the nest boxes (my Lovebirds are the only ones who will destroy bedding (they make the care fresh into a fine powder like) and after they do that they "pack" it into the box - Which makes it VERY hard to clean out - I'm used to the budgies, and tiels nest boxes I turn them upside down at the trash can Everything falls out then I use our Scraper and scrape what ever poo dried to the wood. Put new Care fresh in and go to the next one - but with the lovebirds They have their own way of doing things - I put in maybe an Inch of bedding I don't measure it we just toss in a couple hand fulls spread it out and if it looks good we leave it if not we add a bit more - by the time they're done (and they have it their way the following day LOL) it's about 8" thick and packed tight you can't just move it with your finger you have to Dig your finger down in and yank the bedding up -oddly enough though when I had 5 pairs only 2 did it, now i'm down to the 2 who do it LOL

but then I got thinking - Care Fresh is nothing but recycled paper (or so i've been told) and it absorbs moister that is needed - and that COULD be why my eggs don't all hatch or i end up with DIS (Dead in Shell) eggs

this is why my b/f wanted to change bedding to see if it really made any difference but I'm thinking if i used shredded news paper it would just do the same thing the care fresh bedding does?

 

[Billie Faye]

OK, I have always used pine shavings that they use for horse paddock...LARGE type...if you are smelling the pine that is shaving from fresh cut wood not kiln dried wood and I also wouldn't use that!
Over the years, I have found that most of the pairs TOSS OUT the shaving and just sit on the eggs on the "hollowed" out bowl on the bottom of the nest box....
Seem to do fine....I did have a baby eat a pine shaving and had to have it "pulled" out by my vet....it does happen but he never said Pine shavings were not to be used...just don't use "sawdust" to begin with....the parent will chew down what they want and toss the rest!
As for the shreadded newspaper in the nest box...I wouldn't because of "mold" etc that can get going during the hot months....JMHO

 

[atvchick95]

luckily i only have one who tosses out all her bedding - Minnie my parakeet But she leaves a few strays behind in all 4 corners Not enough to do anything with though LOL but after all her eggs are laid I can put more bedding in and then she'll leave it alone, but at the start of her nesting/laying She does not want it in there - but over the last couple years she has been getting better

Tractor Supply had 2 kinds of Pine Shavings - the ones We smelled were in small bags like 2 pounds or something and said"unscented" the other one was in a HUGE white bag( i think that one was like 10 pounds or so ) with Tractor Supply written on it - but the Chips were small and the bag had a hole in it so we could see them and we pulled some out and it just fell apart like dust So I knew not to even bother with that one

The Kiln Dried type - does it usually state on the package that it's kiln dried?

 

[Greycloud]

I always got my pine bedding from large pet supply stores. I have to say in 15 yrs of breeding, I never lost a baby or adult to them consuming the bedding. Though it may be hard to imagine I never lost lost a baby before being pulled from the nest.

 

[Riley's mom]

I have used care fresh before, but since I also have hamsters and rabbits and have an over abundance of Aspen, I just use that now.