Opinions on corn cob used for bird cage lining?

Question

up until a few months ago i always used newspaper on the bottom of my bird cages. then an aquaintaince of mine thru rescue told me she switched over to corn cob. i figured why not ill give it a try. i love it, there seems to be no smell and less dander in my home. now another friend of mine is telling me how bad it is. so i started my research and im finding pros and cons for both newspaper and corn cob. what do you use and why?

Answer 1

When i had birds (budgies, zebra, and society finches) I used corn cob and had no issues with it. riased two or three baches of eggs and every thing. Its better than paper, and much better than wood chips. in my opinion.

Answer 2

You should have stuck with newspaper.

The only benefit to corn cob is that it's easier to fit into the drawers.  

Corn cob holds moisture, which in turn leads to mold and bacteria growth.  It's far less sanitary than newspaper.

Newspaper can be found for free.   One or more layers can be removed each day - removing the droppings and food waste, rather than allowing them to remain on the cage bottom.

Bird droppings are a great indicator of overall health.  They can be seen on newspaper, and monitored on a daily basis.  

Corn cob and other litters are often dusty, and blown out of the trays by flapping wings.  If birds aren't dusty enough,  corn cob dust probably doesn't help.

There is some threat of crop impaction if they eat cage litters, though most birds will not eat litters, they will play in it if they have access.

I tried corn cob.  Didn't like it.   I thought it was filthy.  Just my opinion.