By Susan Chamberlain
I need to buy a new birdcage for my lovebirds because the metal grate
At the bottom of their current one has become rusty. I really like the cage dimensions, and I would consider replacing it with the same model cage. If I were to buy the same cage, is it possible to powder coat the metal grate myself? Where would I buy the paint?
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This double yellowhead amazon is standing on
stainless steal cage grating. |
Unless you are in the business, it is highly unlikely that you could powdercoat cage components yourself. Simply explained, powdercoating is a step in the manufacturing process whereby electrostatically charged paint particles are sprayed onto grounded metal cage parts. The particles are electrostatically held to the metal. The parts are then heated to melt the powder into a paint-like substance and cure the finish.
Some cage companies will provide you with a small bottle of touch-up paint for nicks and scratches, but this would be insufficient for a badly corroded bottom grating.
Sometimes what we think of as "rust" is actually just a coating or grime. Clean the cage grating thoroughly so you can evaluate it properly. Follow these cage-cleaning tips:
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Wash The Cage Grating
* Use a power washer, hose, hot shower, steam cleaner, dishwasher or other effective means. I put small cage gratings in the dishwasher (don't tell the dinner guests!) and am always amazed at how well they turn out. Painted parts may not hold up well in the dishwasher, but metal-tone gratings usually come out sparkling.
* Use a steel wool soap pad or wire brush to scour a metal-finish cage grating. Use a nylon brush or scouring pad on painted cage parts.
* Rinse well, and permit the grating to air dry overnight, then inspect for residual dirt and repeat the above steps if necessary. |
If you elect to repaint cage parts, choose a "nursery-safe when dry" paint intended for use on metal. Read label instructions prior to use. Call the 800 number on the paint can for further advice. Never apply paint near your bird. Wait for nice weather, and paint in a well-ventilated garage or outdoors. Be sure fumes do not permeate your bird's living area. Although the paint label may state non-toxic-when-dry, such paints are usually harmful if inhaled. Remember that "non-toxic" applies to humans. Paint products are not routinely tested on birds, so manufacturers cannot guarantee their safety for avian use. Permit the paint to dry for at least 48 hours before moving your bird into the cage. Don't allow your bird to eat paint chips or any other non-food product. I do not paint cage bars, as I've found that a good cleaning is usually sufficient to get them back in shape.
Now I'm going to tell you the big secret: Many major cage manufacturers offer replacement cage parts! That's right ...you can often purchase replacement dishes, gratings and even cage trays! You don't usually see these on pet shop shelves because of space limitations and because many distributors do not carry a full supply of replacement parts. They must often be ordered directly from the manufacturer, and this takes additional effort and time. If you know the brand and model number of your bird's cage, ask your pet shop professional to order you a new grating. When purchasing a new cage, order a replacement grating for future needs!
Finally, when replacing your cage, consider buying one with a stainless-steel grating. Stainless steel doesn't rust, and it can be easily cleaned with steel wool pads.
Now let's go a little further down the cage, to the contents of the tray:
There are different kinds of bird litters out there. How do I know which to use, and which may be harmful to my birds?
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Even this recycled-paper cage litter needs to
be changed daily. |
First the bad news: The use of cage "litter" is not an excuse to avoid cleaning the cage tray. Whether you use paper or a litter product, a complete daily change is recommended for optimal sanitation. If you don't change it daily, you risk missing important changes in your droppings and urates, which may indicate health problems. And, if litter isn't changed religiously, bacteria and fungi can grow, and miller moths can hatch.
Some litter products are lightweight and are sent flying when a bird flaps its wings. The dust from some litter products can aggravate lung problems and allergies in humans; choose a dust-free variety.
Dr. Donna Muscarella, Senior Research Associate at Cornell Veterinary College in Ithaca, NY, said, "Aspergillus is ubiquitous in the environment, and any organic substrate (food, corn cob, walnut, etc.) will support its growth - especially if contaminated by feces or if allowed to remain moist. Bird owners must be fastidious about keeping any bedding material clean and dry."
Don't confuse "bedding" products with cage "litter." Bedding is usually composed of lightweight wood shavings or fibers and is intended for use as shelter or nesting material. Litter products are formulated to manage droppings and other cage debris. The latest products are made of compressed, pelleted or crumbled materials and are heavy enough to remain in the cage during bouts of wing flapping.
All Pet PineÒ (crumbles are kiln-dried to eliminate mold and fungi, and compressed to absorb three times their weight in moisture. The crumbles are composed of 100-percent pine. No aromatic hydrocarbons are emitted and no chemicals or additives are used in the manufacturing process. It's nearly dust-free and is flushable in small quantities. Visit www.naturesearth.com for more information and a retail source.
Bird CountryÒ (is a pelleted, finely ground winter wheat-grass product that has been autoclaved to kill mold and mildew in the nontoxic, organic material, and air cleaned prior to packaging to reduce dust. According to the manufacturer, the pellets break down and pass safely through the digestive tract if ingested, but a bitter herb is added to the product to discourage birds from eating it. Visit www.mtnmeadowspet.com for more information and a retail source.
Yesterday's NewsÒ (is a pelleted, recycled paper product composed of 75-percent recycled newspaper and a softwood sawdust binder. It's heated during the manufacturing process, then compressed into hard pellets and crumbled for absorbency and avian comfort. The weight of this low-dust product makes it resistant to wing flapping. If you are unable to find Yesterday's News in pet shops, contact the manufacturer for a local resource: www.yesterdaysnews.com
Another product made from recycled paper products is Cell-Sorb Plus. Ò Visit
http://www.cell-sorb-plus.com/ for a local source.
Nest box and brooder materials should be absorbent, dust-free and nontoxic. Veterinarian Michael Doolen of the Oakhurst Animal Hospital in Oakhurst, NJ, said, "The only time birds need bedding is in the nest box." He cautions against cedar, corncob or walnut products in the nest box, and recommends clean pine shavings like Kaytee'sÒ; a recycled newspaper product like Yesterday's NewsÒ (see above) or Care FRESHÒ (a soft, absorbent pet bedding made of virgin wood pulp. Check out Care FRESH at http://www.carefresh.ca/.
Use alternatives to cedar shavings. Plicatic acid, emitted by cedar, has been associated with asthma and inflammatory and allergic reactions. When inhaled, the aromatic oils in cedar can be harmful to birds, especially babies in the nest box. Aspen or clean, white pine shavings are preferable to cedar. Pine shavings contain a milder irritant called abietic acid, which may result in a weak allergic response. Kiln drying removes phenols from pine and other softwoods. Aspen is a hardwood and does not contain phenols. Kaytee offers both pine and aspen bedding products. Kaytee products are available in pet shops and through many mail order bird supply catalogs. Go to http://www.kaytee.com/ for more information.
Never use cat litter in the birdcage! It often contains clay or odor inhibiting chemicals. Crop impactions and poisoning may result if birds eat these products. Supervise your bird to ensure it is not eating any cage litter, paper, nesting or bedding product. Even though a substance may be nontoxic, crop impactions can occur. Choose a cage with a grating high enough above the bottom tray to prevent the bird from reaching the litter.
What about newspaper? Basic black newsprint is not toxic, and it has even been shown to inhibit the growth of some bacteria. Newsprint can rub off, turning snowy cockatoos grey. It's unsightly, but harmless. Find a way to keep the bird away from the newspaper, switch to a pre-cut tray liner or buy unprinted newspaper.
Whatever your choice for the bottom of the cage, keep it clean and keep it dry!
BIRD TALK reader Helen Killion shares her home with Amazons, conures, Bourke's parakeets, finches and parrotlets. She writes: I'd like to build a nest box out of plywood, but don't want to use glue to hold it together. What can I use to hold my nest box together?
The first thing Killion needs to do is to be sure the plywood she purchases is formaldehyde-free. Used as a preservative in many building and household products, formaldehyde emits fumes that can be harmful to animals and humans. Unless otherwise certified, plywood and particleboard contain formaldehyde resins. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins used in pressed wood products made for indoor use emit more fumes than the phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins used in exterior construction. High temperatures and humidity can increase formaldehyde emissions. The good news is that such emissions tend to decrease as the products age.
I remember my Senegal parrots' first few nest boxes. They were made of plywood, and the birds had a great time chewing them into sawdust. The nest boxes were held together with tacks and builder's staples. Killion might elect to use staples or tacks to build the nest box -- as long as the metal parts are too large for the birds to swallow. Stainless-steel screws would likely hold large nest boxes securely together and would be difficult for the birds to remove. Avoid using galvanized products, as they contain zinc, which is harmful if ingested or absorbed into the body.
Reader Eric Strauss of Pennsylvania writes:
My 10-month-old Goffin's cockatoo has joined the ranks of the infamous "Finicky Cockatoo Association." His approved (by him) diet consists of pistachio nuts, almonds, pasta with tomato sauce and hand-fed bananas. He seems to have a youngster's aversion to fruits and vegetables. I have tried just about every pelleted product available, which, incidentally, I have succeeded in introducing new foods with my nanday conure. I've tried the cooked products that "no bird can resist," except mine. Nemo is starting to become rotund. I'm reasonably sure he isn't the only parrot with finicky eating habits.
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Keep your bird's weight down with healthy
food. |
Nemo's diet isn't all that awful. Bananas are high in nutrients, and the almonds are a good source of calcium. Pasta contains carbohydrates and the tomato sauce has a lot of good elements in it as well. The main challenge here is to coax Nemo to eatother foods so that his diet is broader based and less fattening.
You can fool some of the birds some of the time! Whirl a small quantity of avian pellets through a blender or food processor, and add a bit to mashed bananas each day. Increase the quantity after Nemo accepts the supplemented mash. Young birds often accept new food more readily than older, more opinionated ones. Establish good eating habits while your bird is a youngster. Never attempt to starve a bird into accepting a new diet or food.
A bird may not immediately recognize new additions to the diet as food. Serve the new cuisine in a dish with food the bird already eats.
Don't attempt to radically change your bird's diet if your pet has been recently sick. Instead, introduce new, more healthful foods gradually. Consult an avian veterinarian for specific advice.
When adding pellets to your bird's diet, experiment with several types of formulated food. Some pet shops offer free samples. Gradually increase the pellet-to-seed ratio in your bird's food dish. Try serving the pellets moistened instead of dry. (Remove uneaten portions from the cage after a few hours because bacteria will eventually proliferate in room-temperature moistened food.)
When converting your bird to a formulated diet, remove all food except the pellets from the cage for several hours each morning. Because birds naturally forage for food in the early part of the day, your pet will be more inclined to accept the pellets at this time.
Monitor your bird's weight and droppings when converting it to a new food. If weight loss or a diminished number of droppings become apparent, the bird may not be eating the new food. Droppings may change from green to a brownish hue when your bird begins eating pellets, which is normal.
Experiment with different versions of the food. Your cockatoo may prefer Amazon-sized pellets or "large bird" sized pellets. Your pet may accept carrot sticks but refuse diced carrots. Some birds relish cooked vegetables but scorn raw ones. Budgies often overlook chopped fresh vegetables presented in a dish, but will eagerly consume chunks of fresh produce when it's firmly affixed to cage bars with a clip. These guys love to gnaw.
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| This African grey eats a calcium-rich almond. |
Encourage your bird work for its food. String vegetable and fruit chunks on a rod-style feeder, and hang it from cage bars. This may be quite appealing to a playful cockatoo!
Let your bird observe you tasting the food. Express your pleasure in the new food, and encourage your bird to try it too!
If you have several birds, often all it takes is for one to accept the new food. The others will quickly imitate the leader! Bon appetite!