Monday, May 17, 2010

Poop on the Floor, Part II

As we recently moved into our new apartment, Dan and I considered the floors.  (Ok, I freaked out over the really old wooden floor with giant gaps between some of the planks.  Images of fat mice waiting in the shadows beneath the floorboards for bird crumbs plagued my thoughts.) 

We knew we wanted to make a bird room out of one of the two upstairs bedrooms.  Since the neighbor with sensitive ears "suggested" though the wall that we move the birds to the other room, they have made their home in the slightly larger, carpeted room on the other side of the apartment. 

Carpet + bird poop = big mess

Dan and I bought melamine-coated sheets of MDF and plywood, and 1"x2" strips of pine.  The coating on the plywood is durable and water-proof, and kind of has the feel of formica counter top material.  We constructed giant floor protectors beneath each grouping of cages.  The pine was attached to the sides and acts as a lip to help contain all of the seeds, crumbs, and feathers.  I plan on using silicon caulk to seal the inside edges, but haven't gotten around to this yet.

It's already been helpful with weekly bird cleanup!  I can easily scrub away stray poop, and splashed water is contained within the area.  It's much easier in my opinion to sweep away debris below the cages instead of getting out the vacuum several times a week.

More pictures within the new bird room will follow...

2 comments:

  1. Quick question - as a fellow bird owner, do you happen to know if the 'Poop Off' product (comes in a bottle with a scrub brush on top) is safe to use on a cage that is in-use? Or is it one of those products where the birds should not go back in the cage for several days after it is used?

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  2. Poop Off works just fine, but I find that I need to let it sit for a while to loosen the dried on stuff. It smells innocuous and I don't have to worry about the birds breathing in fumes. I recently ran out of Poop Off and made my own cleaner from distilled vinegar, water, and some lemon & cedar essential oils....and it works even better!

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