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How to a Keep Bird Cage from Smelling: 6 Easy Tips to Follow

How to a Keep Bird Cage from Smelling: 6 Easy Tips to Follow

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The purpose of this blog is to share general information and is written to the author's best knowledge. It is not intended to be used in place of veterinary advice. For health concerns, please seek proper veterinary care. In addition, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

There are lots of reasons why birds make the perfect birds.

First, compared to other pets, birds are relatively easier to care for. They don’t mind being on their own, require minimum grooming, and can live in a small household.

Moreover, they’re suitable for children, as they can teach them about love and responsibility.

Unfortunately, despite being almost the perfect pet, there might be this horrible smell that spreads from the bird cage to every inch of your space.

So, in this article, we’ll teach you how to keep bird cage from smelling, so you can enjoy the presence of your birds and give them all the love they deserve.

Why Does My Bird Cage Smell So Bad?

Several Budgies in a Bird Cage

Raising birds in the house is a great way to relieve stress and enjoy their amusing companionship since birds are sociable with humans and other birds.

However, if you’ve been keeping birds for a while, you’ve definitely noticed the stench.

Yes, in some ways, pets can smell, but this doesn’t explain the bad smell that might even push you to give your birds away.

As a matter of fact, you should only be able to notice the smell of your birds and their cage if you’ve been sniffing on purpose.

Before thinking about the best tips and tricks to get rid of the cage’s smell, you need to understand why it smells so bad in the first place.

  • Poor hygiene is the main culprit. If you haven’t been paying attention to the cleanliness of the birds and the cage, then the smell will spread around.
  • When birds make a mess, you need to remove it as soon as possible. The poop can get attached to the birds’ wings and feet, spreading around every time they move.
  • If your bird is sick, its poop will smell more pungent. In this case, you’ll notice that your cage smells worse than usual, so you need to take your bird to the vet.
  • If your bird has a problem with its internal organs, it might have a bad breath. This bad breath will make your bird stinky and affect the cage’s smell.
  • Some hormonal changes can affect your bird’s smell and subsequently change the cage’s odor.

In the mating seasons, parrots and other birds smell stronger to attract their mates.

  • Your bird might smell bad because it’s anxious or scared, but usually, this smell goes away within a few days.

A recent change in the bird’s surroundings, like the introduction of another bird or a cat that keeps scaring it, will cause hormonal changes that affect its smell.

  • A change in the bird’s diet can also affect its smell. Generally speaking, birds usually smell like the last thing they ate.

So, if you’ve been feeding your bird something that smells bad, they’ll smell as bad, and the odor can linger for a few hours. In this case, the cage will smell too.

How to Keep Bird Cage from Smelling

By sticking to the following tips, you’ll be able to enjoy the presence of your birds without worrying about the cage’s smell upsetting your family members or guests.

1 – Discard Old Food

Budgie Eating

Before adding new food and water, it’s essential to discard the old. Old food can get moldy and stinky, spreading the bad smell to other parts of your house.

When the birds eat and drink, the food gets wet and attracts insects. Adding fresh food every day will keep your birds healthy and will minimize the odor coming from the cage.

2 – Use the Right Bedding Material

Using a bedding material like newspaper sheets or any other paper product to line your bird cage will make cleaning easier.

The idea is to stack several sheets on top of each other, so you only discard the top one when it’s time to clean.

You should avoid using heavily printed papers or glossy ads because they contain chemicals that might harm your birds.

3 – Spot Clean

If your birds spill food or cause any kind of a mess, don’t wait and remove the mess as soon as possible.

This will prevent the bad odors from lingering and spreading to the room where you’ve placed the bird cage.

This method isn’t practical when it comes to cleaning bird poop because birds eat and poop all the time. However, it will prevent food and water messes from becoming worse.

4 – Clean Around the Cage

Cleaning a Bird Cage

Whether you have multiple birds or a single one in the cage, flying around will spread the debris into your house.

Several particles can stick to the bird’s body and spread around when it flies. These include food and poop.

Also, when the bird flies, some of the feathers might fly around and end up on the floor.

Put a mat under the cage so it’s easier to clean. You can also use a vacuum cleaner once a day to remove any debris.

5 – Clean the Perches and Toys

Some people spend a lot of time tending to the cage and forget about the accessories inside. These too can become too dirty and make your cage smell.

Moreover, they can become covered in parasites that can eventually make your birds sick.

It’s crucial to remove the perches and swings every week to give them a thorough cleaning. You should soak them in hot soapy water and use a hard brush to scrub them.

If the perches are made of wood, they will take more time to dry.

In this case, you should have some spare perches to be used until the older ones are dry and ready for use.

Plastic toys and swings should also be thoroughly cleaned. Just like perches, it might be a good idea to rotate toys until the old ones are clean and dry.

This will also guarantee that your bird won’t get bored with its toys.

6 – Do Some Deep Cleansing

Cleaning the cage thoroughly should be done once a week if you have big birds like parrots or once a month if you have smaller ones.

When you’re deep cleansing the cage, you should remove the sides and the base and wash everything with hot soapy water.

Use a brush to scrub away any dry food particles or poop because they can make the smell linger and dry the cage before putting the birds back in.

If you keep the birds inside all the time, it might be a good idea to leave the cage in the sun for an hour or so.

You should also clean the rug or mat under the cage to ensure that it’s always clean.

Use an unscented carpet disinfectant to get rid of any microorganisms that might cause the bad odor.

Final Thoughts

Unlike common belief, birds shouldn’t smell, and you should only be able to smell their cage if you’re sniffing close to it.

But if your bird cage has been spreading an unpleasant smell in your house, there are a few things you can do.

First, it might be a good idea to know why the cage smells so bad.

Second, you should follow a daily and weekly cleaning schedule to keep the cage clean and prevent it from smelling.

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