Copper?

[Genlisae]

Pepper has a fascination with pennies. I don't really remember if pennies are made out of copper, but what about things that are? Is copper safe?

 

[indigo]

well, i think it is seeing as they sell copper bells.

 

[meghanxx4]

I know copper cages are bad... not suer about the toys.. i guess they are ok since they make the bells out of em.

 

[birdcrazy]

pennies are mostly zinc i believe

 

[indigo]

If anyone finds out for sure please post it - Serenities favorite bell is a copper cow bell.

 

[Genlisae]

I did a search and after several hours of "I suspect the copper caused my birds zinc poisoning" (Which I couldn't fully lend credence to) I found this.

http://www.multiscope.com/hotspot/metals.htm

This only mentions ingestion (via copper water pipes). Still looking for something solid on copper bells though, since it was after discovering Pepper's fondness for pennies (immediately removed because I don't know what is in them OR on them) I saw a copper bell that I just knew he would love.. but will not have if it is not safe.

 

[indigo]

The copper pipe thing you really do not need to worry about. What they were saying is water that has been sitting in the pipe for some time. If you've not used the water for a bite (like after you've gone away for a weekend of whatever) you'd probably let it run a bit anyways so there is no worries. Besides, the levels would not be high enough to be anything to be considered dangerous by far. Just let the water run a moment (I always do that anyways) and no worries.

 

[Peta]

This is one of the things that is a personal choice I think, copper bells are supposed to be safe, but personally I won't use them. I looked into this a few years back now, and ½ the sites said yes its okay the other ½ said no, its not okay. Confusing or what.

 

[Flyte]

Doesn't sound worth it to me, if people are mentioning zinc. I very nearly lost my umbrella due to zinc poisoning. They had an outdoor aviary and she had ingested a few tiny pieces from the fence just from 'gumming it'.. It never dawned on me. She went from normal to totally lethargic in about 1 day.
She spent a week or so at a major teaching veterinary hospital and when it was time for her to come home, the girls cried, they wanted to keep her. I had to give her injections for a few weeks, she was so brave. She developed an addiction for peanut butter, given to her daily to help pass the metal.
Boca was one to trust with that kind of thing.. I wasn't worried if she played with things because she never swallowed them. Just like a small child, she surprised me.
I used to give them those little hard plastic fake coins to play with but now.. with all the problems with Chinese imports.. I don't want to risk poisoning them.
On a side note- they had me spray down the metal parts of the aviary with vinegar to detox it for the birds. Never had another problem.
Good luck! My birds favorite toys are whatever packaging the toys came in!!

Sarah

 

[Keupi]

Hi all!

I dealt with zinc poisoning in my Senegal last summer and it's an ordeal I wouldn't wish on anyone. Luckily, my darling is alive today though he does have occasional spells with liver/kidneys/pancreas (a drop of milk thistle usually helps).

I've try to limit his exposure to any metal other than stainless steel. He does have one copper bell, but that's kept on his gym. I no longer give him those rolls (from paper goods) as the glue holding the last sheet contains excess amounts of zinc. Pennies and keys are also a no-no as the metal content is high - for all types of metals. Included with pennies and keys is the clothing I wear when handling Keupi - no zippers and snaps.

While I would love to give him 'all-safe' toys, to me no toy is 100% safe as the little devil finds his own way to play with each item (sort of a 'look mom, no feet while somersaulting with his beak').

Regarding water, I only give him purified water (Brita or Pur system) and that's due more to the nature of fids rather than the piping. I learned that lesson, again the hard way, with my parakeet (RIP) Fritzy. He had Giardia (again, survived but died a few years later from cancer). The small amount in the water won't hurt a human but can infect/kill a fid.

Hope this helps!

 

[Peta]

I use bottle water for my fids, as our water here is horrible, I won't even drink it so there's no way I'm giving it to my fids. I even put that through a filter system.