Moon's Graden

To take off on this...

What type of cage litter is recommended if one wants to use this?  I
KNOW that many people dislike the litter because it might "lead" one
to change it less often (horse pucky... someone who doesn't change
simply won't change it whether it's papers or litter).  

I use corn cob for the bottom of one of my cages (no grate; the other
two do have them so I just use papers).  Corn cob isn't the best
because if ingested it can't pass through the system (and can collect
and over time kill the animal; mine DO NOT eat the litter, BTW, the
'keet is so old and set in his ways he never even touches the bottom
of the cage).

In a store here locally they have a LARGE play area, and the bottom
used to have cob in it.  Now it has a very fine dark brown round
substance... honestly it looks like dark millet seeds to me.  

EVERY bird that is in that play pen has this gunk in its cere.
Sometimes just one or two of the little seedlike bits stuck in there,
but still... this CAN'T be good!  I called up and asked what it was
and the high school clerk there said, "Um.... uh.... it's corn cob."

Anyone know what this is?

amy

I used to use it in the bottom of my 'tiel's cage (under
a grate that was well out of reach of the 'tiel's beak),
but I got a new huge cage that had no grate
and I did not feel safe at all about using it in the
bottom of the cage where he could freely access it. So,
I am back to using paper towels. (I tried wax paper, but
it is not abosorbent and since I got the grateless cage,
the little boy *loves* to walk all over the bottom and
check out what food he has dropped down there which
caused him to pick up droppings on his tail and feet. With
the paper towels, the droppings are absorbed and dry up in
an amazingly short time and I rarely find any droppings on
his tail feathers or feet.)

BTW, I have a 50 pound bag of unopened walhut shell
sitting in my garage if you want to give it a whirl :)....

--Darla Sharp

Susan

The big reason I use paper towels with my 'tiel is
because he is a lutino (pale yellowish-white color)
and newsprint would make him a very sorry looking bird!

When I had a pionus, I started out with newspaper, but
switched to plain newsprint (you can get this from the
newspaper company in your town, just call the local herald
or whatever) so that I could easily check for irregular
droppings, *** etc. I did not know about this, but was
told about it by a great breeder, Phoebe Linden, who also
writes for the Pet Bird Report. My pionus was eating all sorts
of fresh foods and made a real mess on the bottom of the
cage and there was no way I could tell if I was looking at
***, strawberry, or red newsprint from a car sell-out!
The plain newsprint is absorbent, off-white and great.
I simply use the paper towels now because it is easy to get
them at the store. If I ever get my amazon (sigh!) I will
start back with the plain newsprint.

Hey!---Thanks a bunch for the mulching suggestion! I would
have never thought of it!!! I keep looking at that bag of
crushed walnuts thinking, "Who am I going to get to take
those off my hands!" I got no takers from my post....

I can always use gardening tips!

Darla Sharp

I would be cautious about using newspaper in cases where the cage
doesn't contain a grate.  Years ago, I used newspaper under turkey
poults and lost a number of them when their hips dislocated from their
legs sliding out from under them to the sides.

In my cages, I always use the cheapy, unscented, old fashioned kitty
litter.  It works well to dry out everything.  I used to have problems
with fruit flies before I used it.  No more.  Furthermore, it is not
that much different than some grits.

Matthew Klein