# we love our tiels but...do you feel like you brought home too many??



## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

So I have four and I love them all. But WOW....what a mess they make. I have one cage for them and it's not too big. But it seems like I'm cleaning the cage, floor, and playtop everyday, and cleaning the floor 2-3 times a day because the seeds scatter. 
I didn't realize how messy they would be. 4 tiels seem like 8x's the mess. I know a lot of you have several birds on this forum and maybe more then 1 or 2 cages. 
So how do you clean up the mess and how often? 
Do you feel like you bit off more than you could chew if you have several tiels? It doesn't mean we love them any less.
I feel like 2 would have been the right number for me but I can't bear to sell any of them.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I was there last year, I had over ten tiels and it was just way too much. My hubby wasn't doing anything with them, I was doing everything, and I was just overwhelmed. We talked about it and decided to downsize. It was the right decision for us (although the way it happened initially was undesired) and I'm happy with the four we have now. 

With my four, I only have one cage, which I clean once a week. The tiels have their own room, so the mess isn't that big of a deal for us. When they were in the living room I was vacuuming every day lol.


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## Ghosth (Jun 25, 2012)

I would suggest you consider either a drop cloth for the cage area, or similar. I use plastic boot trays with a thin layer of cat litter to catch bird droppings and seeds. Either are easy enough to clean, in my case once a week.

I recently have added a third, and I was having issues with him. Well mostly with Cara wanting to chase him with murder in his eye. But after separating them and putting the new bird in a smaller cage for a week things are starting to turn around. 

But yes, there have been many times in the last month that I went "why did I buy another one?"


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## flippityjib (Dec 13, 2012)

Two budgies and two tiels doesn't seem like too much for me right now. I do vacuum every day, wipe down all poop off perches and platforms everyday. If I don't it's just such a big mess the next day when I do. So I try to constantly keep up.

One thing that was a surprise to me...I knew tiels were twice or more as big as my budgies, but I am amazed at how must messier they are than the budgies! WAY more messier!  Their poops are huge! They shoot out away from the cage. Food gets so far away from the cage I can't figure out how they do it!

I have cleaning rags just for the birds and Poop Off and a hand vac. just for the bird room. They are on carpet so that keeps the mess in one place at least.

I don't mind cleaning up after all of them, but now I wonder how much more messier it will be when I bring my conure home. Anyone have any input for what to expect?


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

flippityjib said:


> Two budgies and two tiels doesn't seem like too much for me right now. I do vacuum every day, wipe down all poop off perches and platforms everyday. If I don't it's just such a big mess the next day when I do. So I try to constantly keep up.
> 
> One thing that was a surprise to me...I knew tiels were twice or more as big as my budgies, but I am amazed at how must messier they are than the budgies! WAY more messier!  Their poops are huge! They shoot out away from the cage. Food gets so far away from the cage I can't figure out how they do it!
> 
> ...


If your getting a conure you will have the mess of all the birds you have now x's 2, just for the conure. Very messy birds with huge poops. Just saying...
I do have a hand held vac just for bird seeds. I go through paper towels and Kleenex constantly just for wiping poop here and there. I can deal with the seed, but I can't stand the poop. So gross.


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## dearblythe (Nov 15, 2012)

the mess increase when we jumped from one tiel to two was insane. the mess that they make in a day is what sadie would make in like 4 days!

i do everything for them and it can be a bit frustrating that their daddy doesn't help (he does work long hours though, so he's excused). it's like a game to them - pick a seed up, throw a seed out. pick a pellet up, throw a pellet out. pick a piece of vegetable up, throw a piece of vegetable out.


wouldn't trade those two babies for the world though!


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## raazi (May 3, 2013)

either sell two or use something around it to catch the poop.and clean iiit once a day.i have a worker , thanks to him he does all the work .i really know what big and smelly the poop are.also try to give seeds in a big plate so that it wont scatter


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## RATTIE (Aug 28, 2008)

I had 22 Budgies and 2 lovebirds indoors at one point so the 2 tiels I have now is no problem for me. To help contain the seed I feed my birds in plant saucers on the floor of their cages.


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## flippityjib (Dec 13, 2012)

Hellena said:


> If your getting a conure you will have the mess of all the birds you have now x's 2, just for the conure. Very messy birds with huge poops. Just saying...
> I do have a hand held vac just for bird seeds. I go through paper towels and Kleenex constantly just for wiping poop here and there. I
> 
> Oh great! Good to know...  Good thing I love 'em so much.
> ...


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

raazi said:


> either sell two or use something around it to catch the poop.and clean iiit once a day.i have a worker , thanks to him he does all the work .i really know what big and smelly the poop are.also try to give seeds in a big plate so that it wont scatter


I don't think it is right to recommend they sell 2 of their birds just because they've gotten a little messy. It is not the birds' faults, and the owner knew how messy the birds were when they got them. 

Also, cockatiel poop does not stink. If your cockatiels' poops stink they need to see a vet ASAP.

To the original poster:

I also have 4 cockatiels. I have them in a double stacked flight cage (1 flight on top, one flight on bottom). What I have done is gotten seed catchers custom-made so I have one on the top cage and one of the bottom cage. The seed catchers do not really catch the see like they claim to, but they keep it all in one spot. So, instead of my birds shooting seed and pellets across the room, it hits the seed catchers and falls to the floor nearest to the cage. The other thing I've done is lay a large section of fleece on the ground beneath the cage; this keeps the seed in place instead of rolling away and it also catches the poop from the cage top. So, I just roll it up, shake it out, wash it, and put it back on the floor (I wash the seed catchers at the same time because they get pooped on too). Before this, I was on my hands and knees scrubbing the crap out of the floor weekly because I just don't have time to mop everyday. Both of these things have reduced my stress and clean-up immensely.

I hope I helped!


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

flippityjib said:


> Hellena said:
> 
> 
> > If your getting a conure you will have the mess of all the birds you have now x's 2, just for the conure. Very messy birds with huge poops. Just saying...
> ...


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## Siobhan (Mar 21, 2010)

I have eight birds. Two Quakers, three tiels, a budgie, a pigeon and a starling. The starling lives in a separate room, and by herself she makes almost as big a mess as the others combined. The others have their own room, and it has a linoleum floor and I sweep every day and mop most days and change paper almost every day and refill all the water dishes and wipe off the most obvious messes on the cages and it's a big job. Every one of the eight has his/her own cage. And I wouldn't trade a single one of them for anything.


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I have 6 Cockatiels inside, but we also have others birds too – while some days it can be overwhelming, I have always got through it, and it is well worth it all! My mum and one of my younger brothers help out a lot too, my mum is a crazy bird lady like me, if not more.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Yes, I sometimes feel that way. Not because of the mess, but because it becomes harder to have a strong bond with each individual bird having so many. But I also feel that they have good lives, living in a flock as nature intended. The mess is impressive, but it's not so bad since I have a bird room. I could never have this many in the living room! There are towels underneath their favorite hangout spots, which get changed every few days. The cage gets a thorough cleaning once a week and a lighter one twice a week. It's hardly ever spotless but it doesn't bother me (or them).


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## Loopy Lou (Jul 26, 2012)

I have two tiels and a budgie, all of whom are moulting at the moment. Smokey's dropping big feathers, Echo's mostly dropping fluffy ones and the budgie is just finishing up a heavy moult. Lost count of the amount of times i've unclogged the hoover over the last week or so lol.

Tiels are so much messier than budgies, but since i got Echo, the mess has increased about 5 fold lol. Smokey is pretty neat with his habits but Echo is a champion seed thrower. She can ping a sunflower seed off my head from two yards away, i still don't know how! The birds are all in my living room because i like them near, even though i do have a spare room. It's a fair bit of cleaning and noise but i don't mind really. The cages and everything get a thorough cleaning once a week and a quick clean a few times a week, plus time preparing extra food and treats for them. Then of course there's hoovering and dusting a lot more than perhaps people without pets would

I don't think i'll be getting any other birds for a while now, but Bob the budgie is pretty old now and i can't imagine having a spare cage!

I wouldn't have it any other way


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

I have 9 tiels and I feel like I got WAY to many for my ability but they are so cute,they are irresistible


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## SunnyNShandy (May 24, 2012)

I noticed a huge difference in mess when I got my 2 boys Sunny and Shandy compared to a lifetime with a single tiel. In my Sammy's 25 years with me, I had a gazillion dogs and foster/babysat other birds - but always just one bird of my own. Huge difference in bird mess with more than one. But I got a portable vac and learned to adapt. I have added a third tiel recently and since Saki is not very tame, he is in the cage mostly for now (his choice; the door is open) and so there is more inside cage mess and WAY more seed being eaten but it's tolerable.

For me, it isn't the healthy mess that gets upsetting as I am used to sweeping daily and always cleaned Sammy's cage a few times a week, it is the meds and worry with sick animals that gets to me. After losing my Sammy and going thru that with his sickness/meds plus my dogs that are needy, finding out that Shandy was special needs too was very overwhelming. Getting a routine down for this was more important and HAS to be done. Sweeping and wiping can always be done that evening vs morning, etc. Meds have to be done on schedule. Their lives depend on it.

But I have it down to a science now. It is routine. Morning noon and evening meds. Morning food/water/greens freshening. Lunch snacks. Evening water freshening and fresh foods on top of cages. Weekly thorough cleaning. Couple times a week wiping and light cleaning. Just gotta get used to it.


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## caniche4 (Mar 17, 2013)

I have 2 Tiels, one just here over a week. I must be in the minority because I don't think they are messy at all. Mine are on 2 separate cages that I clean out every morning - with a deep clean once a week. I think the mess is kept down because mine eat out of covered dishes so seed does not get everywhere. I keep most of their perches at different heights but a bit away from the sides of the cage so poop doesn't get everywhere either. Until last week when Mabel started molting, it was unusual to find feathers outside of the cage. Having 4 dogs, I guess 2 little Tiels seems simple!


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## raazi (May 3, 2013)

They stink when its mating time.the best thing to do is that buy a new cage or sell the birds.because you don't doesn't them to get crowded inside.they need space


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## SunnyNShandy (May 24, 2012)

My birds dont stink at all? I have all males but still - I have had birds for over 25 years and no "stink"


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

SunnyNShandy said:


> Getting a routine down


I forgot to mention having a routine makes things SO much easier. We have a routine, and I think without it, it would be no where near as easy.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

raazi said:


> They stink when its mating time.the best thing to do is that buy a new cage or sell the birds.


I am confused by this comment...


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

i think s\he is saying that if the OP has too many birds than they should sell the birds, or buy a new cage?

if that is the gist, i want to disagree and say that when you purchase birds you make a commitment and you don't want to buy and sell on a whim.

i don't think the OP was saying she doesn't like her birds - she loves them! and it's totally legitimate to feel overwhelmed at times with work\responsibility


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I disagree too, you don't just sell birds...I mean, yes it would be better than giving them substandard care if they were to go to a better home. But I don't think anyone on this forum is the type to give their birds substandard care. I think we're all committed to giving them everything they need to be happy, even if we're still learning (as I always am!).

But they don't really stink during breeding do they?  All I can think of is nest boxes needing to be cleaned, and obviously getting gross if that is not done.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

i think that nestboxes might smell when there are chicks in there, and you don't clean out their droppings. i don't know. i've always thought birds are pretty smell-less


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## RATTIE (Aug 28, 2008)

None of my parrots have ever smelled bad even when breeding and I had 24 of them indoors at once before. My baby chickens/turkeys and my pigeons do stink though even when I clean the cages every day. I guess that I also don't notice the mess made by my 2 cockatiels because of the messes made by my other animals and my mom's 8 dogs.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> They stink when its mating time.the best thing to do is that buy a new cage or sell the birds.because you don't doesn't them to get crowded inside.they need space


My birds have never smelled when mating. Even my hen's egg poops have never smelled. Cinnamon super huge egg poopied on my hubby one day right before he had to go ride with one of his supervisors to another base (they were in the car for three hours) and they didn't even notice it on his uniform til they got out of the car. So no, not even egg poops smell bad. Nest boxes can get pretty smelly if you let it build up, which is why a lot of people will clean the boxes periodically. 

And just because someone is feeling overwhelmed, doesn't mean they need to sell their birds. Yes, this is route I chose to go. But that doesn't mean that just because someone says they feel this way is what they're going to or should do. If they can still provide the right standards of care, the birds aren't suffering.


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## raazi (May 3, 2013)

I know its hard to sell them , because you love them.i know what mess they can make .but you can reduce it by the way others said.
Can you post your cage plzzz


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## raazi (May 3, 2013)

My worker always say, when cleaning the cage that the poop is stinking.but for me it isn't because I am inside the cage 4 or5 times a day to check every one out.I have 2finch 2tails,12 budgie
Also I am going to buy two more tails this week =)


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

You might want to get the birds checked out if their poop is smelling AT ALL, that is not a good sign or a healthy sign.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

agreed!! birds shouldn't smell. Ollie only ever smelt when she had a bad yeast infection. when your bird or it's poops smell, something could be quite wrong!


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

ollieandme said:


> i think s\he is saying that if the OP has too many birds than they should sell the birds, or buy a new cage?
> 
> if that is the gist, i want to disagree and say that when you purchase birds you make a commitment and you don't want to buy and sell on a whim.
> 
> i don't think the OP was saying she doesn't like her birds - she loves them! and it's totally legitimate to feel overwhelmed at times with work\responsibility


Exactly! Love them but the mess gets crazy. I love my kids and their mess gets crazy too.


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

I think it's the way with most things  but the bonuses and pros of animal owning and parenting thankfully outweigh the cons!


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## Hellena (Feb 11, 2013)

Nope I don't want to sell them. They are my special little friends and I love them all. I just know that there are a lot of people on this forum that have multiple birds and I'm wondering how they keep up with the mess. Because birds are MESSY! And we know that. Even if we get sick of the mess or feel overwhelmed it doesn't mean we don't want our little pals, we just need to figure out ways to control messy stuff. Some people are good with routine, I am too. I just haven't found one yet with my tiels because I have had them less than 6 months. 
My main issues are stopping seeds from "flying" out of the cage and arranging stuff in the cage in such a way that poop is not being piled on everything.


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## raazi (May 3, 2013)

Keep the food bowl middle , keep the perch away from the bars.just follwing this will help you out I guess.
And I am sorry about the things I said about selling


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> My main issues are stopping seeds from "flying" out of the cage and arranging stuff in the cage in such a way that poop is not being piled on everything.


Have you looked into seed guards? They aren't 100% effective but it may help...


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

Of all of my pets, my birds smell the least. In fact, they don't smell at all.
I love having two tiels, I think it's easier than one - the flock calling for me is not as strong. I started off with one tiel, and she flock called all the time.
As far as the mess, it's a small price to pay to own sweet, loyal, and loving creatures  I find people to be waaaaay messier! ( I work for a commercial cleaning company)


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## KerriMac0216 (Apr 7, 2013)

I love all my pets no regrets and My tiels dont flinch when they hear the vacuum...we use it often...They are messy little things...I tried the seed guards and found them to be equally annoying as vacuuming every day


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## Hemiboy007 (May 11, 2013)

all birds are messy some way or another  Hemi is pretty messy and i vaccum once every two days but thats the whole house as seed even finds its way to the bathroom lol i am currently planning to make my own "seed catcher" which goes around his cage to catch the seed he throws out, its pretty easy to make! also on ebay a lady makes them all you have to do is tell her the measurements of your cage


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## karendh (Mar 25, 2013)

My main problem in Malta, being a small island surrounded by sea, is that it is very breezy and my patio door is open all the time. Birdie's seed husks blow everywhere, especially when she has millet sprays, the seeds she throws out are grazed by her when she is wandering around. I have tiled floors so the poop doesn't bother me. Two birds or four, there will still be a mess so love them and enjoy them.


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