Troy Eaves of www.birdcages.net submitted the following article about cage & aviary maintenance.

The Reward is Worth the Work

 All pet bird owners understand the importance and the effort that goes into keeping their favorite friend’s birdcage well maintained and cleaned. Sanitary environments not only keep the birds healthy and free of possible disease but can also make the interactions with your winged friends more enjoyable.

The task of maintaining the larger enclosure or aviary in particular can seem daunting at times. The following tips may  make the workload more efficient and effective:

Let’s Make It a Date
Like most chores, building a proper schedule prior to setting out to clean the aviary can make your work easier in several ways. The prior planning allows for you to avoid forgetting certain tasks like changing the water or preparing the food. Establishing a schedule also allows for the birds to be less stressed due to the consistency in which you will be entering and performing your cleaning.

The Task At Hand
Cleaning of the aviary can largely be split into two categories:

Daily Cleaning Tasks
• Changing the floor covering
• Replenishing water for drinking and bird bath
• Preparing fresh food

Not surprisingly, the chief purpose of these daily tasks are to assure that no contaminations occur, assuring the health conditions of your birds are always kept in optimal state.

Weekly Cleaning Tasks
• Thorough cleaning of walls, perches, and nestboxes
• Plexiglas cleaning
• Thorough cleaning of food/water dispensers and baths
• Cleaning the floor

The weekly cleaning duties necessarily involves your presence in the aviary for an extended amount of time. Depending on the size of the aviary this thorough cleaning can last anywhere from an hour to two hours. To ease the stress level a useful technique might be to partition the aviary so as to keep the birds away and out of sight while you work on one side of the cage.

Home Sweet (& Clean) Home
The sheer size of the aviary may at first make maintenance seem like a daunting task. Certainly the workload required to maintain the aviary is more  than that of a regular sized bird cages. Despite the commitment and dedication required for the aviary, the reward is just as great. The expansive space made available to your birds in an aviary grants them flight space and freedom that aren’t easily obtained by the smaller bird cages.

So when you start to falter while you scrub away at the seemingly endless bars of the aviary, think about the peaceful, safe, and sanitary paradise you are helping to maintain for your feathered pals. The work will sure be worth it.