Cage Cleaning -- How Long?

[TheBirds]

How long does it take to clean your cage(s)? I did a full clean-out of 3.5 cages (the .5 being a travel cage used just for a few short days) plus the tabletop java stand, and it took me almost 2.5 hours. That works out to about 45 mins a cage which seems reasonable, I suppose. It's just doing it all in one fell swoop feels like a LOT! Two are big flight cages (32 x 21 x 32") and the third is smaller but the bird in it has the wettest, sloppiest poops (a linnie) and if she squirts down the bars then it can be quite a mess. And the travel cage is small, the entire thing can fit in a laundry tub for a quick wash out.

I clean them all out weekly, but they're never that dirty as I've placed perches strategically so am really just wiping down cage bars, washing grates, replacing papers, and sweeping away any debris out of nooks and crannies. Realistically I could probably skip wiping the cage bars down so frequently; there's hardly anything to clean off after only a week.

How often are the rest of you cleaning components of your cages and how long does it take you?

 

[Finchbreed]

I have no fixed timing. Go purely on visual.
If the perches are poopy - go cut some fresh ones and replace them.
If the floors are dirty - as opposed to having some husks on them - get the bucket and shovel out.
If the husk build up on the floors is heavyer than I think appropriate - get the bucket and shovel out.
My situation is probably quite different to most peoples - my birds all live in 4 outdoor avairiys. I try to have mostly fresh cut branches off the gum and fruit trees as perches - as per nature.
Sifting through the husks on the natural earth floor - which is removed and replaced on the as it seems appropriate basis - is also good for finches who like a little live food from time to time.
Indoors cleaning would be rather more strict and less natural. That is the price that is paid for living as a mixed species family/flock.

 

[patchyjoon]

It takes me about the same for 2 cages + 2 tabletop stands. I do a "deep clean" (take the cage apart and clean each of its components) once a month. This usually takes me 1-2 hours depending on how much of a mess Patch decided to make that month. Sometimes he poops inside his cage, othertimes he does it all over his cage and in little cracks and crevices...

I do mini cage "refreshes" once a week. A cage refresh is mostly me wiping down + vaccuming around his area. I do my best to wipe down any visible poops, fruit, etc. I also replace his toys with new ones, clean the old ones and put them away for later rotations.

His perches, bedding and bottom of the cage get replaced/wiped down daily. I basically try to make sure no poop is visible before I wake him up in the mornings from his sleeping cage.

Things that really sped me up:
- Steam cleaner: need I say more? This little powerful gun can get out the most toughest rock solid poops, and it's non-toxic, it's quite honestly the best thing ever 10/10 can't reccomend enough. I have the bissel.
- Spraying everything in vinegar/cage cleaner and letting it soak in before I start: I noticed what really slowed me down is the scrubbing, once you soften everything up its as simple as just wiping it up.
- Making sure to be dilligent when doing the weekly refreshes: I noticed the more thoroughly I wiped up Patches cage weekly, the easier the deep clean was as there was less to scrub, it was mostly just quickly rinsing it off and moving on.
- Having a dedicated bird vaccum: I bought a cheap vacuum (mighty mite) off of Amazon and literally just vaccuum everything with it. Patches loves to make a gigantic mess with all his pellets and treats so before I get anything wet I just go into his cage/perches and just vaccuum everything up. It speeds me up tremendously during my weekly cleanings. Also sometimes his poops become solid enough blobs that they just get sucked up by said vaccum.

 

[Zilga]

Regular day-to-day cage paper changes, hitting the high points, takes like 15 mins. The weekly wiping down the grates, trays, and perches takes an hour, hour and a half. Deep clean of all the nooks and crannies probably 3 hours? We don't have a good bead on the timing for Buddy because he's not throwing stuff around much yet, and we do a lot of spot poop cleaning for him, so the enclosure isn't much other than paper changes.

 

[Emma&pico]

I am not sure what I am doing wrong takes me all day to take everything down out of cages clean walls clean cages rearrange cages and out side stuff put things back up sometimes two days to do full bird room

took me two hours just to do sunny cage other day wash perches cage side trays and put new perches back up old perches new toys foraging toys

takes about an hour to two to clean grates cage sides because Blu and posie love to shoot poop all over

Takes about half an hour to an hour to change papers pick up toys put back in coconuts etc
Wash drawers out of foraging toys because remi loves to throw them out then poop all over them

 

[Zilga]

It takes me a while, but my husband is way faster and thus does it more than I do. Also, it's wildly variable for us depending on species. Olive is pretty neat for a South American bird so her cage isn't too bad, and the Bourke's/cockatiel aviary is never that filthy because they poop on the papers and their food isn't everywhere (they also have larger bowl holders that get wiped down every day). The canary winged parakeets and Fig take up most of the time because they're gross and throw stuff everywhere.

 

[Linwood]

The cage is easy, it's cleaning up the floor and walls that takes most of the time (Amazon's love to throw food).

 

[TheBirds]

Thanks everyone! Sounds like I'm more or less on par with the rest of you as far as time committed to cleaning. The cleaning is actually somewhat enjoyable, as I love seeing a clean cage re-emerge, but the time sunk into such a menial task can feel wasteful sometimes.

Things that really sped me up:
- Steam cleaner: need I say more? This little powerful gun can get out the most toughest rock solid poops, and it's non-toxic, it's quite honestly the best thing ever 10/10 can't reccomend enough. I have the bissel.
- Spraying everything in vinegar/cage cleaner and letting it soak in before I start: I noticed what really slowed me down is the scrubbing, once you soften everything up its as simple as just wiping it up.
- Making sure to be dilligent when doing the weekly refreshes: I noticed the more thoroughly I wiped up Patches cage weekly, the easier the deep clean was as there was less to scrub, it was mostly just quickly rinsing it off and moving on.
- Having a dedicated bird vaccum: I bought a cheap vacuum (mighty mite) off of Amazon and literally just vaccuum everything with it. Patches loves to make a gigantic mess with all his pellets and treats so before I get anything wet I just go into his cage/perches and just vaccuum everything up. It speeds me up tremendously during my weekly cleanings. Also sometimes his poops become solid enough blobs that they just get sucked up by said vaccum.

Yes! I also find that spraying down the poop helps soften it, I use a poop-off type cleaner for grates which works really well but perhaps I should just switch over to a soap and water mix when it runs out. Unfortunately the steam cleaner couldn't put a dent in the dried-on poop But even being more liberal with a cheaper spray (i.e. soapy water) might help speed up wiping down of bars too. Your tip has helped remind me to work smarter not harder and be consistent about spraying everything down before attempting to scrub, so thank you.

I've found a robot vacuum has also helped immensely; I set it to run 2x a day and it picks up all the debris they drop from their cages including underneath and behind (i.e. harder areas for me to reach with a handheld). Luckily my birds don't fling their wet food on the floor or shoot poop out of the cage, or it might not keep the floors as spotless as it does now.

 

[greys4u]

Maleficent poops in her water bowl, I have to clean the bowl up 4 times a day, Where do you put your birds during cage cleaning?

 

[TheBirds]

Maleficent poops in her water bowl, I have to clean the bowl up 4 times a day, Where do you put your birds during cage cleaning?

The cage with my Pi (the one I trust the least!) has a water dish located higher up to try to reduce the liklihood of it being pooped in. I've also got it right below an easy-access slider door so I can sneak my fingers in and grab it before he even knows what's happened (It's one of those bolt-on frames with the stainless bowl that drops in)

 

[Vera]

I change their papers abouut every other day, and clean the cagebars and branches when i see dirt, about twice a week.
This only takes a few minutes.
The feesing bowls, drinkers and bath are cleaned daily.

They are in this cage since a couple months, and i think i should do a deep cage clean soon, but my small and fast birds aren't tame and can't be handled. I would need to catch them before i could take the cage apart and/or do a deep clean.
I have a small travel cage they could sit in during cleaning.
I think catching them could take hours and give them lots of stress.
How do you do this? The are in a indoor flight cage that is about 90x55x150cm.