Best 'litter' for house pigeons?

[tacothechicken]

Ok guys! Wallace my pigeon has been inside for about a month or so now and I've been keeping him on what's essentially a really wide cotton scarf thing ???? which I've been pulling out and simply shaking the droppings off of every few days. But I've now found a breeder who I'll be receiving a hen and a pair from who I also plan to keep in 2x4 cage ( pair per cage eventually to be doubled in size) whith flight time in house daily. Because of this I think id like to witch to some form of litter scoop method to not hurt their feet and keep things clean but I dont want to worry about: 1) birds getting sick from ingesting or scent of bedding 2) bedding getting blown through cage bars when birds flap their wings 3) litter smelling up the room
So is their any sort of cat litter, sand, cob bedding etc that fits this? Or should I just stick to custom cage liners to be removed and shaken out regularly? I love the idea of just using cat litter which I can scoop out etc but I dont want smell or dust getting flung from the cage.

 

[blackoaktammy]

I use corn cob bedding for my button quail. It keeps odor down and stays in the cage much better than shavings.

 

[Serin]

Newspaper or paper towels changed daily. You gotta clean their cages every day to remove their dust or it gets airborne.

 

[tacothechicken]

@Serin oh i totally blanked on the dust aspect I have been cleaning his cage out each evening, and i also have a pretty strong air purifier in the room anyways (I have a skink whos bathroom breaks stink up a room in seconds) and a spider which requires pure air to stay healthy as well (one of the few things that can kill a semi adult tarantula) I assume a fabric cage liner would be fine to as long as it was shook out and washed regularly? I dont suppose one can assure quality cleanliness dust wise if a lot of litter is involved but should a small layer be ok? Just enough to easily scoop out poop whithout causing a mess or have them walk through it. I could always by the plastic cage flooring used in widowing boxes as well to keep them from tracking poo, but I dont know if that's safe for their feet long term wise :/

 

[Serin]

Cloth taken outside, shaken out and and washed daily can work, I used to use fleece in my cage but papers are easier. A little shavings changed daily is fine, the issue with litter is letting it go a week or so as you can with smaller birds or rodents. With pigeons, that lets too much debris build up to have flying into the air every time they flap.

 

[tacothechicken]

@Serin makes sense and I totally understand right now hes molting and it looks like somethings been murdered hrs after cleaning featherwise Let alone days +poop

 

[Serin]

Olive is molting too, has been for like six or seven weeks, I swear I could fill a pillow with what she drops, and the dust is worst this time of year too.

 

[jak2002003]

A wire grid raised over the floor of the cage is good, because poop will fall through and the bird will not get poop stuck to its feet and walk about the cage spreading it about. Also the bird will no be in danger from eating the litter or soiled seeds that fall on the ground. The wire should be quite fine to allow the birds to easily and comfortable walk on it without tripping.

I found normal dry sand was the best, cheapest and reusable. Then every few days you can take the bottom of the cage outside and sieve the sand to remove dust and dried poop. The sand can be reused for many months (so good for the environment and your wallet).

The sand will not smell so long as it always stays dry... so give the bird a bath outside the cage!!

You can place a perch in the cage so the bird can rest on it, and a flat wooden board or something similar for the pigeon to lay down on and rest if you think the wire will be uncomfortable on the birds feet (which I found not to be the case, as my birds perch and rest on the wire just as much as the wooden platforms and perches.