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Safe Scents for Bird

SuddenBird

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Hi, I’ve seen some advice for keeping the smell down when owning birds, but most of it is usually ‘[product] is great when sprayed in rooms other than the bird room’ or ‘ try boiling water and dried peel/cinnamon on the stove/etc.’

My issue is that I currently live in an apartment with other people so my bird stays in my room. The apartment doesn’t smell but my room does. I clean often, but the room is on the smaller side, so it’s quick to stink up again. How do I keep it smelling fresh? I don’t burn candles/spray scents/use oils or incense, but I can’t boil fruit in my room and doing anything to the rest of the apartment doesn’t really help the affected space.
 

Lori:D

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I’ve seen this website but I don’t know how safe it actually is…
Do you have anyway to increase airflow? My bedroom has shutters with mesh and i try to remove any old food or anything that has a weird smell… maybe you could move your bird out of the room and deep clean?
 

Shezbug

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How often are you cleaning? I clean my macaw cage out daily (it’s in my bedroom) and my room doesn’t smell.
What exactly is the source of the smell?


@Lori:D Those candles are not safe- they burn and they omit scent when the wax melts…. They might be a touch safer than the average smelly candle but they’re still a candle.
 

tka

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No candle is safe. Burning the wick itself produces smoke and particles which are not safe for birds.

Frankly, I'm surprised that your room smells. We have two Pionus in our study and it never, ever smells. This is because I change cage papers and hoover the inside of cages daily, remove fresh food after a couple of hours, sweep up dropped fresh food, and hoover up dropped dried food and general mess at least daily if not more. I also crack the window open for ventilation.

Stay on top of daily cleaning and you won't have a problem with smells.
 

Mizzely

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The only time my bird cage smells is if he throws a piece of fruit or veg and it isn't discovered right away :lol:

Best thing I can recommend is spray down the room with vinegar water and open a window. The vinegar will evaporate and leave the room smelling fresher.

If the droppings are smelling, that could be an indication of a bacterial infection.
 

Momo & Mido

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I saw this thread and was like... does my house smell without me knowing???

I'm not as clean as someone who cleans daily, but as far as I know it doesn't smell here in my living room with 3 lovebirds. I clean with water and vinegar.

Really curious to know. Do you maybe use apple vinegar in the water you give to your parrots? The rescue where I volunteer at uses it and that sometimes affects the smell of their poop.
 

Feathery

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What about using an air purifier? Check to make sure that it's bird save (no ozone off put, like the UV-C light that's used to kill germs. I recently learned this here!) Just a plain HEPA filter purifier. I have one in my birds' room and there isn't a smell.

I do change the paper daily and remove uneated fresh food after a few hours. I also have began to place a paper towel inside the cage directly under where they perch to sleep since they poop a lot! I take it out in the morning when I bring them breakfast and replace with a new one. It helps to keep the bars cleaner. They've not yet spent much time at the bottom of their cage, so it hasn't been an issue so far.
 

rocky'smom

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Those or any candles are NOT safe use around any parrot family members. I use vinegar/water solution that I make myself. Save orange peels and dry them out in the oven with a pilot light. It will take several days but when they are no longer pliable. Save them in zip lock bag. For 1 quart of air freshener: 1- 1/2 cups of distilled white vinegar 1 cup of potable water bring to rolling boil, toss in several dried orange peels (6 whole peels). Cover and turn off the flame. Leave for several hours to add light orange scent to the spray. Strain out orange peels and pour into clean spray bottle. It will make just under a quart of liquid.
 

Olliebirb

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I was also confused… my budgies never smell! Birds shouldn’t smell and usually don’t. The only time they would smell is if you haven’t cleaned the bottom of their cage in a very long time. Also I agree, masking the smell is not the right way to go because it still wouldn’t be clean. If your room is clean and the bird cage is clean then I don’t know how to help. Maybe try filtering your room?
 

SuddenBird

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I clean the cage every day and change the paper. Admittedly, the room does not have the best airflow compared to the rest of the house, which I try to rectify as best I can by airing it out (but I get nervous of a chill since it still gets cold here) and, like I said, the room is very small so it tends to take on scent quickly. It’s not living room size - it’s a tiny apartment bedroom.

Tbh, I never notice the smell until I leave the room and come back. It’s not like the room smells disgusting… it just smells like bird?

I will definitely look into air filters. And I’ll try the fruit peel+vinegar/water. Is there one vinegar that works better than others? Usually I use watered down white vinegar, but I also have apple cider vinegar?
 

rocky'smom

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Plain white vinegar is all I ever use.
 
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