I clean Birdie's cage on a regular basis, but a lot of times it is just the lower half. Every tow months or so, I clean the whole thing which can be interesting since Birdie is a true homebody and will not get out of the cage, except by accident. He will not allow me to remove him from the cage (although he will get on my finger if he accidently gets out of the cage - which is truly accidental as he doesn't mean to get out and doesn't want out).
Birdie is a not-too-bright bird that is befuddled by the cage door being open; he has a hard time deciding how to navigate around it on the way to the food bowl. On one occasion, years ago, he actually climbed out and onto the top of the cage (by accident I assure you) and he couldn't figure out how to climb back down to the open door. So, it is for the best that he doesn't like to get out of his cage.
So, the challenge is to clean the cage while he is still in it. I take everything out except for one small perch, whcih is where Birdie stays until I put the cage back together. I take off the bottom pieces and clean them in the tub, drain the water, and then it is time for the wire portion.
The cage barely fits into the bathtub, but once in there I use the shower hose to rinse off the wires. Then I use a plain (no soap) scrubber sponge to remove any residue. Lastly, I clean the bird. Birdie loves a shower, so I decrease the pressure, bring the hose head below Birdies perch and arch the the water towards him.
That is both of our favorite parts of cleaning the cage - Birdie looks so content as he bobs and weaves his head around to get it in just the right position (sometimes in the water, sometimes out of the water stream). The last picture says it all - ahh, the perfect position.
Birdie--You are a real cutie!
Bogie--What a great posting! You are enough of an animal psychologist to figure out just what to do for each of your dears. Good for you!
Posted by: Cop Car | January 22, 2012 at 10:38 AM