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Hey,

Is anyone out there using those cut to fit tray sheets for their birds cages. We are still using newspaper but I'm thinking of trying something different & leaning this direction. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Chris, I found a paper company that sells plain newsprint. I am sure you can find one in your area. You can get 18 x 24 inches or 24 x 36 inches. It comes in 50 pound bundles. I bought 1 of the small ones and 2 of the big ones and it will probably last me 2 plus years. I only use the small stuff in 1 cage so that will probably last 2 years as well. I paid under $100 for all 3 and it is well worth it. I don't use grates in the cages and I got sick and tired of having a stained goffin. LOL

Just Google "plain newsprint or newspaper".


Bev

Bev,

Thanks for the info.

Now please clue me in on why no grates?

swindiana57 wrote:... Now please clue me in on why no grates?

I do a slightly different variation -- I use grates w/o trays underneath. And no skirts. Newspaper covers the grate, and my birds seldom mess with their papers or go down to them except to gingerly retrieve a fallen morsel, and that rarely. Since I sweep the entire bird room every evening, this has proven very workable for me. No trays to catch trash I want to get rid of and no trays to hassle with cleaning. A visiting friend suggested it a couple years ago, and I only wish she'd visited YEARS earlier! In my cages, there would be at least a 2" opening if I used trays w/o grates, so Bev's arrangement wouldn't be safe for my birds.

Thanks for the info. At some point I hope to get the birds in their own bird room but now they live with us in the living room.

Hi Chris:

I don't have that gap so that's not a problem but I don't use grates because it is just more work for me. I have 3 sleeping cages and three big cages that I strip down and clean every Friday night. Takes me about 4 hours. My birds don't climb around the bottom of their cages so I don't have to worry about that either. It all boiled down to time factor. It just takes more time to clean those grates and I found they aren't necessary and I don't use the aprons either. They don't help contain anything. You just have to figure out what works for you. Some people need grates because their birds walk around on the bottom of their cage and you don't want them walking in poop.

Now in the SS cage I just bought there is a huge gap so I would have to use the grate on that one and I think putting the paper on top of the grate is a great idea.

Bev

Bev,

Sounds good & like we all learned a little something.

My macaws do walk on the bottom or at least the grate. So I need to keep them in.

Thanks,