Cleaning products

[Zack]

Hi gang, hope you and all your charges are well. Just have a question I am hoping you might be able to help me with.
I have finally bought an aviary, and before i assemble it and put my cherished inhabitants in it I want to give it a good scrub and thoroughly disinfect it.
Does anyone have any advice as to what I should use and also what I should steer clear of??

Thanks ;D
Karen

[hillcresttiels]

Hi Karen firstly if the aviary is second hand wash and scrub with warm water and soap then rinse,then wash down with warm water and vinegar then let it sit for 1/2 hr and rinse again.I use 1/2 litre of Vinegar to a 8ltre bucket of warm water and a stiff brush for scubbing this will help prevent heavy metal poisioning and kill any mites and diseases cheers Frank

[Zack]

Thanks Frank,
Yes the aviary is sencond hand, which is why I want to make sure there is no chance of anything getting remotely near my birds.
When you say use soap, do you mean dishwashing liquid or something similar?
Also is normal household vinegar ok, or do you reccommend a special variety?

Thanks
Karen

[Smiley]

Hi Karen,
Looks like that beat me to this one..I would use dish washing soap for this...and any vinegar as well...Rinse well.Let to dry for a day..


Natalie

[hillcresttiels]

Yep Karen just dishwashing soap and then with vinegar any type brown or white! oh and sorry Mother Hen I'll leave the next for you cheers Frank

[Smiley]

Thanks Frank

Also the best thing to use to strub with is a brush from a dust pan...it will get into all the nooks and crammys...



Natalie

[nova]

Hi there i have also hear apple cider vinegar is a great cleaner for Birds ect.

Good luck.

[AussieBirds]

Yes Nova it's great a good cleaner and will kill any nasties quick smart

John

[eckie]

hi
when i was cleaning out the old garden shed
to turn into a big aviary fr my eckies i used warm soapy water gave it a good scrub then washed it off and let it dry. then i scrubbed it again with water and vinegar.
i also scrubbed the floor as well as the birds like to go on the floor and can pick up germs from the floor.
i clean the floor evey week to make sure they dont get sick.
hope this helps

[mazbelle]

Hi I agree with all the replies of to cleaning aviaries. Amway has a product called "LOC" which I use to clean containers and the aviaries. I also use white Vinegar and another good thing is "Avisafe Liquid Concentrate" is what I also use. It is available from the vetafarm site. I get a large variety of birds in my care (being a wildlife carer) so I have to be careful. I scrub with the LOC, White Vinegar and when its dry I spray the Avisafe. There are so many diseases, virus's and infections out there, so we must be very careful. The sun is also a great natural bleach.................

Marian

[Zack]

Thanks for all the info!!
I now have a sparkling aviary. The detergent and elbow grease did the trick!

I'm thinking of putting pavers for flooring, as I have used them before.

Any ideas/opinions??

thanks
Karen

[fischer]

Hi Karen, Pavers are ok if you cement the joins between them and don't use sand, If you use sand it gives bird worms and all the other little critters a home because the gaps nearly always stay damp. Hope this helps, Cheers...Tony

[Zack]

Tony, Have you had problem with the sand and little critters before?

I was thinking of using brickies sand mixed with a bit of cement mix. I used this when I had budgies and it worked.
Sets and makes life hard for the creepy crawlies but still allows you to move it if you choose to, unllike slabs.

Thanks
Karen

[fischer]

Hi Karen, yes I did have a problem but I used a soft sand, brickies sand would be ok, but the point I was really trying to make is that totally dry floors are best, the really nasty critters, worms, need moisture in part of their breeding cycle, a dry floor
eliminates this part of the problem. What type of birds are you going to keep in the new aviary? as some species are more prone to worm infection than others.
Cheers...Tony

[Zack]

Tony, I am going to be keeping tiels in the aviary.
What sort of birds do you have and what flooring are you currently using?

Thanks
Kazz

[fischer]

Hi Karen, The floor should be fine for Teils, they are not too prone to infection like some Parrots. I have some Princess, Cloncurry, Red rumps and a couple of other miscellaneous parrots, about 20 Neophemas of various sorts, all breeding like mad at the moment, and an un-counted number of Lovebirds, Finches and Budgies, 250-300 or so ,I stopped counting years ago for my sanitys sake ;D.
Cheers Tony

[hillcresttiels]

Hi Karen I would use pavers and seal the joints to stop intruders and then i would place 3-4 inches of fine red scoria over the top.The scoria is a natural mineral which the tiels love,something greatly overlooked in Cockatiel Diets.The scoria is easy to maintain with a good raking and soaking on a dry day and a top up 2-3 times a year
Fine red scoria 5mm is like a crushed rock and available from most garden supplies and can be purchased in large plastic bags your tiel will luv you for it cheers Frank

[josiedownunda]

Is scoria ok to put over a dirt floor? If so how is it possible to clean out the seed and scraps and poop etc.?
Jo-Anne

[hillcresttiels]

I have mine over a dirt floor and as i mentioned raking and removing the top off it and then hosing it thru it comes up clean. i also keep topping it up yearly,ther is nothing wrong with a bit of poop mixed in as long as your birds dont have worms there is more chance of poop on a concrete floor than one mixed with stones i have had mine like that for years and never have they suffered from worm infestation or mites.cheers Frank

[josiedownunda]

Thanks for that Frank. Sorry if I had already asked that....it was on the old forum and I couldn't remember. So far the floor is still dirt but it is very very sandy soil round here so we really don't even get mud when it rains...the water just flows right thru the sand. I have 8 birds in the new avairy at the moment and they are loving it. 1/4 of the roof is mesh and the first day in there it rained...nice clean happy birds!!!LOL They spend more time in the open section than in the walled in area even sleeping hanging off the mesh. Is this usual?
Jo-Anne