Cage Bedding

The bedding on the bottom of your parrot’s cage has a pretty straightforward job. It collects their droppings and other mess, making it easier for you to clean, but it also plays a part in keeping your bird healthy. At one time or another, all of us have pondered the question of what to use to line the bottom of the cage. Although there are a variety of products which can be used, some of them are more effective and safer than others. This article will discuss a few popular cage beddings and name the benefits and cons, allowing for you to think your choices through and make the wisest decision. Remeber, any kind of bedding needs to be regularly changed, but some more often than others since they are thinner, they are more likely to be a breeding ground for bacteria, fungi and mold or because they are not protected by a rack. It is adviced to at least clean the bedding once a week, if not more often.

(News)paper / paper towels:

Many people have mentioned to favor any kind of paper bedding: regular paper, paper towels, newspapers, brown paper (etc.) especially combined with a rack at the bottom of the cage. Most inks throughout the world are no longer petroleum based. This makes most newspaper safe and non-toxic, although I would always advice to avoid materials you are unfamilar with or unsure about. It is however adviced to avoid glossy pages or the pages with colored ink, as these inks may contain lead and other harmful chemicals. Not only is paper a very economical liner (special paper towels cost a bit more) and easy to clean, but it also helps monitor the parrot's health since it makes is easy to check the quantity and quality of their droppings. Uneven surfaces makes it a lot harder to check. The downside to paper not seperated from the parrot(s) using a bottom rack, is that shredders might eventually start using the bedding for their nest or for fun and ingest droppings while doing so. It is essential to clean the paper regularly since compared to other beddings, it is very thin.

Woodchips / shreddings:

While many wood chips are safe, such as beech chips, watch out for cedar, redwood or treated pine. These are toxic to birds should they come into contact with them or even the scent, it can cause allergic reactions and skin inflamations. Untreated pine is fine unless ingested. Wood chips absorb moisture decently and reduce the chance for your parrot to come in contact with his own droppings and old food. Small, lightweighted woodchips can get quite messy if your parrot decides to flap around or dig into the bedding, which is why I would advice to go for the bigger chips. These are also fun to play with, they can be used to sharpen the beak and aren't easily ingested. However, using woodchips will result in having an irregular surface, which makes it harder to monitor the droppings. After a while, woodchips can also form particles and while these are kept out of sight by the bigger pieces, flight, wing flapping or digging can cause it to rise up. Besides paper, woodchips are one of the most popular cage beddings used for birds.

Sand:

Sand absorbes fluids really well, without high risks of bacteria, fungi and molds growing. This also reduces the chance for your bird to come in contact with his own droppings. However, there is some concern regarding ingestion, if for example the parrot drops food and tries to retrieve it. Another downside is that it can get quite messy if your parrot decideds to flap around or dig into the bedding. On top of that, sand isn't the most easy bedding to clean.

Cat litter:

There are two types of cat litter, one of them is clay, which easily produces dust and has the risk of causing respiratory problems. The second type is clumping litter, which contains ingredients which can absorb moisture and swell to over 10 times their size. This could possibly causing crop impaction, gastrointestinal tract obstruction and death if accidently ingested. Furthermore, some cat litters may have chemicals / additives that might not be good for your birds. Some for example are scented, which can be dangerous if unnatural ingredients were used. Cat litter is ment for cats, don't use it for birds.

Crushed walnut shells and/or corncob:

While these products are natural, they both provide a breeding ground for the growth of bacteria, fungi and molds when wet or in humid climates. One of the more dangerous molds that could possibly develope is called Aspergillus mold. It can can cause respiratory diseases which are difficult to treat and can be fatal. If ingested, corncob can remain in the body for years and cause impaction, bleeding and death, since it absorbs moisture and swells. The cobs will also absorb moisture from your bird's droppings, promoting growth of organisms. Walnut shells can inflame and irritate organs, causing internal damage and also bleeding or death if ingested. On top of that, their examinability is poor and make it very hard to monitor the droppings of the parrot.

Pulp bedding / paper pellets:

These are safe to use, however, some people are concerned since they caught their parrots eating them. They are not known to cause problems in the digestive system because the paper is broken down and passed through the system. However, ingesting the pulp isn't as much the problem as ingesting the stuff that might got stuck to it like old food, which is now probably full of bacteria, or even droppings. The irregular surface and usually grey-ish color also makes it hard to monitor the droppings and catch any sign of illness early.

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