Cleaning a fiesty hen's cage ...

[Buy A Paper Doll]

It's a situation that can't be avoided: Melody's cage needs a good cleaning. But she does not wish to have her stuff touched. So she sits on her swing, chatter-scolding me for messing with her stuff, and as I try to take her perches and toys in and out, or wipe down the sides of her cage, she lunges and bites me!

I'm pretty sure there's not much I can do about the biting. It is, after all, HER cage. I guess this will be a 2 person job from now on; one to do the cleaning and one to distract the birdy.

I tried to tell her that if I were lucky enough to have someone to come and clean my house every week, I certainly wouldn't BITE her every time she comes inside!!! She just gave me The Stare that lovebirds are so good at.

[BarbieH]

Hmm. I may be able to help you out with this. This is how I clean Gracie's cage when she is completely nesty.

First of all, bird-proof the bathroom so that it can be a temporary aviary.

Next, get Melly out of her cage; best if she thinks it's her idea, like it's playtime.

Shut her safely into the bathroom/aviary, complete with running tap water.

Clean the cage in safety, but save the slide-out tray for last -- like after you return Melly to the cage. After all, you can clean the tray while she's in the cage anyway. ;)

[shylevon]

Barb
Why do you have the tap water running? If birdie is locked up there all alone in the bathroom, I would think a running tap would be a drowning hazard.

Also, why leave the tray till after the birdie is returned? Seems like cleaning it all at once would be easier.

I need to understand the method to your madness.

[BarbieH]

Hi Shy;

I leave the tap water running at a light trickle so Gracie has something to drink if need be. I feel more comfortable with that than I would about leaving standing water for her, as the running water is going straight down the drain. The sound of the trickle also seems to calm her down.

I leave the sliding tray until Gracie is returned because when she is nesty, she wants to return to the cage as quickly as possible. It helps keep her stress down by returning her ASAP. May not be necessary for a hen who is just rather hormonal, but it does help the bird return to the cage faster.

Thanks for asking. :)

[bellarains]

Hey Jennifer,

I just use an extra cage when cleaning B&L's cage. I just pop them in the extra cage, clean theirs, and then return them when done. It works really well if it is a nice day and I can take them outside in the extra cage while I clean their outside. They love to get the fresh air and sunshine, and their cage gets a better cleaning too.

TTYL,

Lori

[mjm8321]

When we have to clean Weesy's cage, we usually take off the bottom of the cage off and leave the top on a table or another secure surface. Once the bottom is all clean, we can usually get her out of the cage for a short period and even if she's present whiel we are cleaning, she'll not attack since she's outside the cage...that's usually ;)
An extra cage is always a good plan too, even though they get a bit "fired up" about it at times.

[LauraO]

Jennifer: You should just buy another cage now so you can put Melody in there when you're cleaning. It won't be long before you'll need another cage anyway :D.

[kimsbirds]

Our birdies go in their travel carriers with a nice bowl of sunflower while we power spray the cages outdoors. Works like a charm, and they learn to associate their carriers with something positive :)

[BarbieH]

Getting Gracie into a carrier is hilarious! She pops right back out like a little jack in the box. :D

[DeepLikeNin]

I definitely agree with the extra cage method. My girl is so young though, so not too fussy, but she doesn't leave me alone, and gets into the cleaning stuff sometimes, which is definitely no good. I have one of those carrying cages, and i put water and food in there, and try to move as fast as possible, but even when it's a prolonged full clean-up, she doesn't seem to stress too much about it. However, this may be because she's so young. but i feel so much better knowing she's stuck in another cage rather than wandering or climbing all over my stuff! it'd be nice if i had someone who could distract her though (as you were saying) -- but then i have to help out when they start freaking out because she's climbing their head... cage much easier for a full cleaning. :D

[DeepLikeNin]

hahaha, Mercuri has problems with that too.......i try to get her on her food bowl and stick that in, but sometimes she's smart enough to grab the side of the carrier on the way in. sometimes i can get her onto the door and close it...she looks disappointed then.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I was hoping to avoid putting her in the carrier but - like Kim said, maybe it will help her realize that the carrier isn't just for scary trips to the vet's office.

I might even start using the carrier for Milo as well. Usually he is content to hang out with his daddy (or with Melody) while his cage is being cleaned. But he is VERY possessive of his hammock and will fly across the room (yes, even with clipped wings) to attack me if he catches me touching it.

[Wheeliegirl]

This sounds just like Peachie! I take her out like it's playtime and put her in one of her favorite places, like our flatware drawer in the kitchen. I've bird-proofed our kitchen, so there's nothing there that could harm her anymore (unless a couple of dirty dishes count ;) ). She adores the time she can spend in there, and let's me work to clean her perches and bottom tray, as well as re-arrange or add new toys. If I try to clean her cage when she is not occupied, she flies to the floor, runs over, climbs up my wheelchair and tries to get back into her cage. She bites me and just is generally a pain in the you-know-what!

[Buy A Paper Doll]

I guess I've taken 2 steps back with the biting situation at my house.

Milo has been an angry little bird lately. He is frustrated that I won't let him stay with Melody all the time. They are not ready to stay in the same cage full time so I keep them separated when I'm not around to watch them interact. This morning, I tried to scratch his belly (a normal morning routine for us) and, well, my finger is still red where he put his beak into my cuticle and wouldn't let go. Apparently Melody picked up on Milo's anger and frustration ... so when I bent over to get my good morning kissies from her, she bit me on the lip. Twice.

Then this evening, I made the dumb mistake of trying to hang up Melody's cozy cave while she was in her cage. She hopped into the cozy as I was hanging it up, came out the other side, and put a nice little flesh wound on my finger. She even drew blood this time! Well, I was warned that female birds can be feisty if you mess with their cages, wasn't I ...