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Cascade Disinfectant for Birds
by barbie84
Well i cant realy think of 150 words to say about a disinfectant spray but i will try, so here we go.
This disinfectant is made by a company called cascade, they make lot of pet cleaning products, bird cage cleaning spray which i am reviewing now, reptile viv cleaning sprays, cat litter tray cleaning sprays and rodent spray ... cleaners to name just a few.
All of there disinfectants come in a spray bottle which makes them very easy to use and at just £1.99 for 500ml they wont break the bank either.
I use this bird cage cleaner on all of my indoor bird cages, once you have emptied the bottom of your cage just spray about 4 squirts of this into the bottom tray and wipe clean.
Using it on the bars of the cage you do have to scrub a little to remove any dried on substances but it does the job reasonably well and the least hasse part of it is you dont need to rince the cage after as it is not toxic to animals.
Before i brought this i used to use bleach on my cages but this took me longer to wash it off than to actually clean the cage in the first place.
It smells lovely as it smells of citrus fruit which both me and my birds like the smell of.
This is a bacterial spray as well so you dont ned to worry about the germs lingering behind, it even says that it kills salmonella, how true that is i dont know.
This spray is well worth the price as you dont have to worry about the chemicals affecting your birds or germs surviving.
thanks for reading
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Shaws Egg Biscuits For Birds
by The-ex-Raven
Egg Biscuits
"Nutritious and tasty treats for all cage and aviary birds" to quote the box. I buy these regularly for my parrot bird from the big pet-stuff-store down the road, at £1.55 a box they not that cheap but I only feed as a treat and they last a couple of weeks. The name 'Egg-biscuits' to me implies they are ... based on 'egg-food' but these are nowhere near as nutritious but they do look better.
For those who haven't come across egg food it is a dried or moist high protein food mix that contains many strange things (for example insect parts and bits of fish) It's good for breeding birds and moulting birds though can be fed anytime to give your bird a boost. I feed this pretty regularly too as my Bird still persists in plucking himself now and then. Egg food really helps with his feather growth - when I first got my bird he resembled a plucked chicken, couple of months on he was looking much better.
Whilst nowhere near as nutritious as egg-food theses biscuits still make a good treat in addition to a birds regular diet, contents do include 33% fresh egg which gives them a fair protein content. Good if you have a picky parrot as they will easily be tempted into trying these biscuits.
Packaging + Directions
Shaws Egg Biscuits come in a yellow box, which is clearly 'labelled' and easy to find in most pet-shops - has pictures of a finch, budgie and canary on box. Upon opening you will find 5 biscuits in a plastic wrapper all in their own little cases.
Personally I don't follow all the instructions which state " Place biscuit on bottom of birds cage, for young birds grind up biscuit and add to food. Store in a cool dry place." Well storage is obvious as these are biscuits, and if you have a young bird or a small bird then breaking into small pieces and adding to food is a good plan. My cockatiel also enjoys pecking away at a bit of egg-biscuit but a whole one would dwarf him !
The bit I don't agree with is putting on the floor of cage - daft ! - why would you want to put it where your bird may well poop on it ? and if like me you have not yet cleaned your parrots floor today....well enough said. Much better off in their food bowl or simply handing it over. (also good to jam into a Kong toy if they have one)
The packaging also 'plugs' Shaws other bird products 'Nibble deterrent' spray and ' Bird Wash' (in my humble opinion waste of time products and wouldn't bother - I use diluted solution of hibbiscrub cheaper and as if not more effective)
The Biscuits...
They look and smell edible, actually smell really nice a bit like baby rusk biscuits rather than a bird food. They look appetising too, they're a temptingly golden colour biscuit with a topping of poppy seeds.
Ingredients: Whole eggs, wheat flour, sugar, poppy seeds, natural flavours. Colours and preservatives:ECC additives.
The only concern I have is the sugar content...OK here goes....I admit it.... I've just had a nibble of and they do taste rather sweet, bloomin tasty though. Another small bite reveals these biscuits aren't 'super-sweet' but definitely enough to make the bird go 'nuts' for it. Tastes a bit like crunchy cake and is nice and crumbly, with the poppy-seeds these are a bit like a health-food biscuit. I assume they're fit for human consumption...if not nevermind they taste good but now the parrot is giving me evil looks...
Typical analysis: Protein: 11% Fat: 4.0% Fibre: 0.3% Moisture: 13.0% Ash: 0.95%
If they gave a Recommended Daily guideline for animals it would make the world a better place....bit difficult as is dependant on breed and size but still.
What the Parrot thinks...
OK so he talks but not that well....but he is always straight out and over to me when he spies the biscuit box, which is always a good indication you have something he wants. Its the bobbing up and down of the head the 'gimmie that' gleam in his eyes and the mad whistle noise that lets me know how much he wants one. He would scoff these all the time if I let him and always enjoys ripping up the paper case once biscuit all gone.
What the Cockatiel thinks...
Smaller older and somewhat senile, Charlie Cheep is not so enthusiastic about such things. However put a piece of biscuit on top of his cage and he will come out for a peck at it, I assume he enjoys them as he pecks away untill it's all gone...
What I Think
I'm concerned as to how nutritious these are compared to what they claim and personally don't think they do much good. That said fed now and again I think theses will do comparatively less harm than feeding human biscuits. Not keen on the sugar content really, but admittedly they taste good.
Compared to egg-food I mentioned earlier these look alot better smell alot better and are tempting enough to taste. Egg-food is not really that pleasing to look at and definitely NOT tempting to try with bits of bugs in it, doesn't smell as nice either.
I buy a box of egg-biscuits every so often and and feed parrot half a biscuit and Cockatiel a small bit every 3-4 days or so as a treat....it's more a once a week type of treat rather than an everyday thing. Oh and the dogs like to clean up any crumbs that come their way too...messy bloomin bird...biscuit crumbs everywhere.
If your looking for nutritious treats look elsewhere, definitely think these are more designed to be appealing to the human owner rather than being what's actually best for your bird. I only recommend these for an odd treat.
Wouldn't recommend for young birds at all, better off getting them used to healthier fresh foods as treats and egg food for added vits. and protein. There's better things to feed but this is a good substitute if your spoilt bird is always after your human biscuits....buy him his own he will hardly notice the difference.
For further information you can contact the makers of this product at:
Shaws Pet Products Ltd,
Aylesbury,
Bucks, HP19 8RB,
United Kingdom.
Email: info@shawspet.co.uk
Site: www.shawpet.co.uk
To find out more about egg-food ask your pet shop and check out here for a some idea of what it is:
http://www.parrotfood.co.uk/eggfood.html
Thanks for reading,
You can also find me elsewhere under same name, this review is also posted over on Ciao with photos....- Egg-food compared to these Egg-biscuits, Bird enjoying his treat, and more.
Manda :o)
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