Eating fuzzballs & misc specks.

[getwozzy]

This sounds like such a silly question and I feel REALLY silly asking it- the current blanket on the couch (knitted afghan) has A LOT of fuzz balls and Chili just has a hay day picking them off- except I don't know if he's actually eating them. Lol I know if they eat too much of paper and cloth it could lead to impacting- so should I switch out the blanket? He finds fuzzballs and miscellaneous specks all over the place though :/ I try to redirect him to other places and toys but somehow he always finds the teeniest speck of whatever.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

lol, Rosie does this to the carpet XD I have to vacuum really well before or she'll eat a bunch of random stuff.

Better safe than sorry, I say switch the couch blanket.

 

[Betrisher]

LOL! Think yourself lucky! Dominic likes to find tiny specks and fuzzballs on human skin. He'll start by preening my husband's beard and moustache. Then, he'll move to his ears and *then* he starts helpfully removing moles and skintags. There's something kind of confronting about a grown adult man going 'Eeeeek!' and squealing like a girl...

I'd move the afghan. It's so hard to know how much they ingest and how much they discard. Also, it's not pretty when a bird gets a claw stuck in knitted fabric. Better safe than sorry, I reckon.

 

[weco]

I would change the blanket or exchange it for a sheet.....but then all of my birds create T-shirt lace, so I guess a sheet might be a target too.....

 

[getwozzy]

For now I'll switch out the blanket- I didn't even think much of it until I saw him walking along the back of the couch "grazing" for fuzzballs ...I've been meaning to make a cover for it anyways (futon) and this is just the motivation- I have a toddler who spills, dumps, smears, and destroys things and now a feathered toddler who inspects the most microscopic specks I think "how the heck did you even find that?!". Thank goodness the new house won't have carpet!!

 

[getwozzy]

Lord save me if glitter ever gets spilled shinnnnnyyyy...

 

[MonicaMc]

You should buy some fake grass!!!! Then toss some seeds, pellets and toys on top of it!

Let birdy free and see if he likes it? Of course, this is hoping he doesn't decide to eat the fake grass! LOL


Or another option.... get some large, clean pebbles... large enough that they can't be eaten... and toss in food and treats?

 

[Betrisher]

I read somewhere... can't remember... anyway, somewhere, of a person who gives his cockatoos a tray of dirt to dig in. I thought that was a very good idea, since that's what they do in the wild. Only thing is, you wouldn't want to use commercial potting mix because of the risk of fungus infection. Would just nice, native dirt be OK d'you think? Dominic loves to scrabble around and rummage in things (he has a rummaging basket filled with shredded paper and chew toys) and I know he'd just love the chance to dig. So, would a tray of dirt be safe enough for him???

 

[getwozzy]

Monica- this guy eats EVERYTHING. or at least tries to!!! *sigh* this is seriously like having two toddlers- between chili and my kid I'm pretty busy these days lol I think chili would probably eat the fake grass. :/ I like the rocks idea though.

Trish- I LOVE the dirt idea!!! I think Chili would LOVE it!! I think native dirt would be ok- as long as you know it hasn't been contaminated by anything...?? I know our property has been owned by hub's parents for almost 40 years so I'm sure I could find some "clean" dirt.

 

[MonicaMc]

You could also go to a hardware store and buy a bag of sand.... like playground sand???

 

[Betrisher]

Monica, I reckon I'll nip into the beach and relieve it of a shovelful or so. Beach sand has interesting little shells and pebbles in it and our beaches are pretty spotless. I'll just soak the salt out for Dom.

Aside: Hah! It must be five o'clock! As I type, I can hear my Little Warrior calling outside the window - he's doing his usual afternoon hunt and I can set my clock by him.

He's an Australian Hobby (Little Falcon) and he lives a block away at our local hospital. He and his wife have been there for as long as I've lived in this house (about eighteen years) and raised many chicks. Their nest is in the disused brick lip of the old boiler chimney. What fascinates me is that hardly anyone realises what's going on over their heads! I point out Little Warrior and people go 'Ooooo! Aaaaaahhh!' as if it were a miracle that a hunting falcon could exist in suburbia. Why do people no longer *look* about them any more?

Well. I was wrong. Not Mr Warrior, the tiercel, but Mrs Warrior is out hunting today. She's quite ruddy and a bit larger than hubby. Also, he has a black band on the underside of his tail which is quite distinctive. Either way, all the local birds are having a honkfest as they shout their alarm calls that Mrs Warrior is out shopping for tea.

Another aside: Gee! Birds are keeping me on my toes this arvo! I was sitting here typing this post and keeping an eye out the window when Dommie flew through the door, turned left and landed on my back!!! Honestly, I nearly launched myself through the window! I'd put the Beaks away after their exercise and training session and left Dom out on the playgym for his exercise. He must've gotten lonely. (Yes, he still bit me as I carried him back to his cage. Maybe not *quite* so hard as last time...) And now it's time for the flocks to make their way home: Rainbow Lorikeets, Scaly Lorikeets, Little Lorikeets, all flying eastward and calling loudly to each other. Galahs, Corellas and SC2s coming over in dribs and drabs, also calling loudly. Eventually, the Big Flock will go over at around six o'clock and there'll be no hearing yourself think until they've gone. I love watching them and do every afternoon.

 

[getwozzy]

You could also go to a hardware store and buy a bag of sand.... like playground sand???

I have a couple bags of playground sand- its what I use in the pan of Chili's jungle gym.

Would there be any concern if they ate too much sand?

 

[getwozzy]

Trish- that must be amazing to watch all those birds!! That would be so cool to see a flock of cockatoos lol

Here we have a couple pairs of red tail hawks that hang out in the half-dead pine tree...it's so tall they can see everything! I've even seen a bald eagle perching in it! We also have Great horned owls that nest in the trees behind our house.

 

[MonicaMc]

Sometimes I enjoy watching the wild birds and their antics, regardless of how common they are. Being in the city, birds have become accustomed to cars so will walk right in the middle of the street without taking off. Still afraid of humans, but cars? Eh... who cares. I've honked at some birds before in the hopes that it'd get them moving out of the way of danger! One pigeon didn't care and just kept on walking, a couple of geese just kept on meandering across the street (it's a semi-busy street during peak rush hours), but a little dove was freaked out enough to fly 4' away... still in the road. Also honked at a small flock of pigeons in the street down town. Birds didn't care! They didn't fly off... so had to drive slowly through them and hoped they'd get out of the way of cars coming in all directions. I prefer the 'country birds' who have a healthy fear of cars, less likely to get hurt. Still, I'll even take a few minutes to watch the 'city birds' and admire their plumage and antics.


getwozzy, I can't easily answer that myself. Wild parrots eat a lot of dirt and pebbles, yet in captivity a lot of people say that grit and such is bad for them. I think, at best, you just need to watch him and see if he eats any of it or not.

 

[Betrisher]

Shirre, I could watch birds all day!

I'd love to see your Red-tailed Hawks! I have a friend who lives on Vancouver Island and she describes watching the Bald Eagles hunting in family groups - I'd love to see that too! And a Great Horned Owl!!! Be still, my beating heart!! Here is a pic of my Parliament:

 

[getwozzy]

I have some pictures of the GH owl somewhere... At night we can hear them hooting, but there was one day I heard the crows going NUTS! Just down right BONKERS. I thought what the heck is going on out there?!? So I went outside and lo and behold, a mere 50 ft away sat a GH owl perched in a maple tree looking very confused. I felt very sorry for him because the crows were being relentless and obnoxious!! But I went and grabbed my camera instead since there wasn't anything I could do!

 

[Betrisher]

Yes, often it's the smaller birds that alert you to a bird of prey in the area. One morning, I was sitting here, reading parrotforums.com when I heard the Noisy Miners making a huge fuss outside. I went to look and couldn't see anything remarkable. Just as I turned to go back inside, there was a great flurry in my casuarina tree and a big fat Swamp Harrier flew out of it! He'd been right over my head and I hadn't seen him! (Stupid glasses don't work any more). As soon as he moved, every little bird in the area came and mobbed him until he flew off! Poor thing.

 

[getwozzy]

The Swamp Harrier is a very handsome bird!! I love watching the red tails. I think it's just one pair- and the most I've seen at once was 3 (baby!). We live next to a major river with filbert orchards on two sides (lots of squirrels!!), and we have a field for the horse (lots of mice!)...so there's plenty of food!! Sad thing is- that pine tree is getting topped soon. I've never seen a nest in the top, but they hang out on the tippy tippy top top lol it'll be sad if they leave

 

[Obandoceleste]

This sounds like such a silly question and I feel REALLY silly asking it- the current blanket on the couch (knitted afghan) has A LOT of fuzz balls and Chili just has a hay day picking them off- except I don't know if he's actually eating them. Lol I know if they eat too much of paper and cloth it could lead to impacting- so should I switch out the blanket? He finds fuzzballs and miscellaneous specks all over the place though :/ I try to redirect him to other places and toys but somehow he always finds the teeniest speck of whatever.

Omg yes, I'm having the same problem with my baby cockatiel right now and I really don't know what to do cause it's all he does and I can't get him to stop eating the fuzz balls off of my blankets I'd appreciate any advice or ideas on what to do about it. I can't even put him on his little play area cause he'll eat the newspaper too. I've tried distracting him with millet or his toys but it won't work and he hates millet. So any help would be greatly appreciated!