Is all stainless steel safe for parrots?

[Kiwibird]

Despite the setback, I'm bound and determined to get that cage, and still want to start plans for a one-of-a-kind hanging play-gym inside the cage. Starting to look at parts and found these very cool looking "stainless" hoses and 4 way connectors. Curious though if they would actually be safe to use???

1 3M Flexible Chrome Stainless Steel Bathroom Bath Shower Water Hose Pipe | eBay

Stainless Steel Pipe Fitting 3 8" Thread 4 Way Female Cross Coupling Connector | eBay

 

[KimKim]

I know there are cages made from chrome and that chrome is made with the same stuff as stainless. But over time chrome can flake off and/or rust. That's all I really know about it.

 

[weco]

Rather than order those from China (they're made there & ship from there), you can ride down to your favorite major hardware or home improvement store & pick up all three of those supply tubes (also probably from China).....the flexible shower handle hose/kitchen sprayer hose has a polyethylene tube in the center of it, that carries the water...the two hard tubes are usually chrome plated brass hard brass.....the connector fittings are just rough finish stainless (not polished/shiny) fittings.....chromium, nickel, manganese and/or aluminum are added to carbon steel to make the various types of stainless steel.....

Those fittings are sized for 3/8" piping which is about the minimum diameter for small conures...for a larger bird, you would want to use 1/2", 3/4" or even 1" fittings.....for your 'zons, you'd probably want to use 3/4" fittings and maybe 1" for your goffin.....those hard water supply tubes are sized for 3/8" fittings, but the tubes are really about 1/4" in diameter, too small for even the smallest conure feet.....something confusing about plumbing sizes is that tubing sizes are actually smaller than pipe sizes for the same dimensions.....while those fittings & tube may have gotten your creative juices flowing, I'm pretty sure you would not be happy with the final results.....sorry ! ! !

Good luck with other ideas though.....

 

[weco]

I know there are cages made from chrome and that chrome is made with the same stuff as stainless. But over time chrome can flake off and/or rust. That's all I really know about it.

Those would be chrome plated.....there is not a chrome metal, a wire, tube/pipe made of chrome would be as brittle as ice & would shatter like a piece of ice.....think of plating as you would a pain finish, simply a coating over a specific type base metal/surface...stainless can be a coating, but is also a specific metal.....sorry.....

 

[Kiwibird]

I know you can find stuff like that at home depot, I just included the links as "examples". I was actually thinking of making a stainless orbital as part of a larger PVC structure (which would also include rope perches and natural branches). The rubber "conduit" tubing others use just doesn't seem like it would hold up (Kiwi has a thing for chewing on rubber). Thats why I was looking at doing up a stainless alternative. But I don't want to use anything toxic!

Edit: Here is the concept of what I was wanting to make with the stainless hoses:

Still working on drawing up the PVC structure, but I want it suspended in the cage, instead of using traditional perches that mount to the bars.

 

[veimar]

I dunno exactly, but I'd not trust anything in "stainless steel" coming from China. we once bought a vine bottle opener made in China, it claimed stainless steel, but it got stuck in the very first cork and came out completely straight! So that's their stainless steel, LOL.

 

[weco]

The rubber "conduit" tubing others use just doesn't seem like it would hold up

Edit: Here is the concept of what I was wanting to make with the stainless hoses:

OK, I understand what you're trying to accomplish, but with just 3/8" T fittings, SS will add about 2# of weight to your orbit, larger sizes (which you'll need for 'zons & 'toos) will increase your weight factor appreciably.....can't say I'm familiar with your "rubber conduit tubing," but that's OK...I may know it as something else.....many of the things we (today) refer to as rubber are actually one of the many vinyl formulations and may well be toxic.....

While I think you've got a pretty good idea, the materials available to you will probably end up making your orbit too small for your birds to properly grip and/or too heavy to safely mount.....I had an 8' length of colored plastic chain mounted above the cages for a while, until my patty chewed her way through one of the links and took a looping ride to bounce off a wall.....she was stunned & had some wind knocked out of her, but was otherwise OK.....it was kind of funny watching the whole thing.....now, the chains have been shortened to 18" but Heidi still doesn't climb on them any longer.....

Good luck with your project.....

 

[Kiwibird]

I guess I would be trying to go for one just big enough he could sit and swing in it. I don't want it so big that it dominates the inside of his cage (which is why I'm not terribly concerned about perch diameter since he needs a wide variety of perch sizes anyways, this could be the small). Something about this big is what I'm thinking:

As for the gym, this is not an exact design (I want to design my own with Kiwi's likes in mind) but the concept is the same idea of the kind of thing I want INSIDE his new cage, and the orbital would just be a part of the overall structure:

The cage I'm looking at is super big for a single zon (28X42X66), and I would like to make use of the space with more than a few rope perches kind of thing since Kiwi is a very active bird who loves climbing, swinging, challenging foraging ext...! I'm working on a CAD design layout of what I would want to do for the play gym, but those take a lot of time to complete. I will post that up when I'm done!

(If any of this makes sense lol)

 

[weco]

So far, I'm with you on your ideas, but your wanting to use stainless flex hose is not going to give you what you want because the diameter is too small for a 'zon, 'too or grey's foot and when you got one assembled, I'm pretty sure it is going to be way too heavy to properly mount inside the cage.....your purple example is about 18"-20" in diameter.....something else you're going to have to contend with is the different threads used.....take a flex shower hose.....where it screws onto the pipe at the top, that's a pipe thread, but at the bottom where it would screw onto the spray head, it it a different, finer thread & the same happens with the flex hoses for kitchen sprayers.....just sitting here mentally picturing how you would mate these different pieces together, instead of a flowing circle, you would need several adapter fittings just to match different threads.....

You might want to make a fact finding trip to your favorite Home Depot, Lowes or other hardware store with a large plumbing parts department and look at and mentally or physically measure the various threaded ends and what is required to finally get the together...I think you'll be surprised & frustrated at the same time.....for your flex hoses, you can get them in 18", 20", 24", 36", 48" & 60" chrome lengths, but not sure if you can find all in a stainless finish at the same store.....these long lengths are really extensions, so you'll want to be sure to check all of the various ends & fittings you'll need to build your orbit.....I'm sitting her picturing your enterprise & without figuring specific parts, I'm thinking you'll need two extra fittings for each T connection, so you'll probably want to draw each fitting your assisting parts person will point out to you.....

Have fun.....

 

[Kiwibird]

You know, I looked into some hanging structures and found one I REALLY think Kiwi would like:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CLRJUW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1CZYV9UV9WKC3&coliid=I2D0UIJV81SOWD"]Amazon.com : Zoo Max DUST2026 Paravent/Screen Medium 30 x 42in Bird Toy : Pet Toys : Pet Supplies[/ame]

It doesn't look hard to make, and would give him room to climb and swing. Now I need to research where to find bird-safe rope!

 

[weco]

For an out of cage device, you could probably make one for under $20 & still be able to take hubby out to dinner on the $90 you would save.....you'd just have to introduce your own grooves on the pipe/tube crossbars.....