Not Always Available Safety Information I've learned

[Jeynonymous]

So I wanted to post all the safety info or advice I've learned that might have slipped under some people's radar. I know it had mine. Obviously feel free to add your own.

Poisonous: castor oil, anything avacado, fruit seeds like apple (arsenic)

Dangerous toys or hardware type:

- zinc (poisonous over time and builds up in their systems)

- nickel (potentially a carcinogen, I personally wouldn't use it and opt for stainless steel instead)

- cotton or fabric rope (can cause an impaction through the tiny fibers getting stuck, I believe in some part of birds that mammals don't have)

- cloth they can tear up (same as above)

- most rope at the hardware store is oiled twine or rope (best never to use this unless it's from a pet supply, never get it from a hardware store or blind online somewhere)

Other Advice:

Bird toy companies, especially on etsy, usually use zinc hardware to cut cost and will sometimes make patronizing statements like 'it takes a lot of biting, just watch your bird' or 'you have to remember it's outside the cage'. Hardware is NEVER totally outside the cage. Washers are usually easy to get to the edges of. And no one can watch their bird twenty-four hours and zinc apparently builds up in their system over years and years. My thought is to always ask about hardware or find uncoated stainless steel replacements or a company that outright uses stainless steel. Though I've only found stainless steel replacement parts, not a company that uses that but at least if they use nickel I figure they are likely not knowingly endangering your bird to cut their costs, as information on nickel is hard to come by on it being potentially unsafe.

It's best to keep temperatures in the room somewhere between 68 and 75 and not widely fluctuating. At least for conures. I have two conures so that's my bias on all this.

Stainless steel cages are best.


Recommendations:

- Harrison's is the only bird food I would trust. Period. Anything else I've looked at has sketchy additives like petroleum based ones or sugar.

- Planet Pleasures seems to have mostly a very good catalogue of toys

I'm sure there are a lot more but these are the things I've got off the top of my head and if they keep even one bird safer it was worth the time. I know I would have liked this list for my Spikey and Nibbler.

All my love to your feathered friends.

 

[Jeynonymous]

Oh! Also! Always find out if your heater or other appliances used near your birds has teflon or other chemicals, usually by asking the manufacturer.
It might not be obvious as a lot of products have strange things or coatings inside even just through trying to keep things okay during shipping. It's a similar thing to the reason many snow globes have antifreeze in them, as that's so they won't freeze in transit over the ocean.

 

[onamom]

Great advice here! Thank you for this list.

 

[Jeynonymous]

Great advice here! Thank you for this list.

You're very welcome. I'm glad I could help out

 

[Sunflower89]

Hi Jeynonymous

Thanks for this advice. I am pretty careful with everything in my house because of my IRN but I did not know about the ropes. My IRN has chewed through the rope on one of her toys for a while now.

I have removed it but what do I do now. How do I prevent something from happening she does not seem to have any issues. If you know anything or how to proceed that would really help.

Also what about ink on toys?

Thanks for your time

 

[Jeynonymous]

Hi Jeynonymous

Thanks for this advice. I am pretty careful with everything in my house because of my IRN but I did not know about the ropes. My IRN has chewed through the rope on one of her toys for a while now.

I have removed it but what do I do now. How do I prevent something from happening she does not seem to have any issues. If you know anything or how to proceed that would really help.

Also what about ink on toys?

Thanks for your time

Now, I'm not a vet but from my personal experience I wouldn't worry too much about the rope as long as your buddy is acting okay. My Spikey was, unfortunately, chewing on ropes religiously for years before I knew it could be a problem. The issue as I understand has to do with accumulation of little particles over a long time. As long as there's no more chewing hopefully you caught it before it got to a crisis point.

It's a similar thing to zinc toxicity where it takes a long time to show up, and why unreputable sellers on Etsy use it on their toys to save money and then say things like 'make sure they aren't chewing it excessively'. As though you can watch your bird twenty-four seven. But it 'must be fine' because it could take years instead of them dropping over right away.

When it comes to ink or dye, I can't say I love it but if I feel like I can trust the brand of toy I sort of throw up my hands a little given there are so few options I trust at all. Like I'll buy Planet Pleasures and trust the dye on there's is alright because they mostly talk a good game and their toys seem better then any others I've gotten. I formerly trusted stuff too much because 'oh, it's from a pet store!' only to realize that the irregularities I was seeing were most likely mold or etc. And, of course how legally animals are considered property and not your family under the law in my country and therefore companies aren't required to care as much as if they were making things for humans. Though the pickings are so slim that PP is literally the only company I would recommend for toys.

I have no idea how people manage to make their own toys out of pieces of wood they get outside or at a hardware store unless they have some degree in trees and know somehow that no pesticide got on them or I would probably just do that to be honest. I wish I lived in the right climate to plant my own bird safe tree to take branches off.

 

[kme3388]

I agree. My conures love chewing holes in my shirts when they are on my shoulders. If there’s a seam or anything they can chew a hole through they will. I’ve always worried about them ingesting the cotton.

 

[Sunflower89]

Hi Jeynonymous

Thank you so much for your reply!! I really appreciate it I am just so panicked. This toy has been in her cage for ages. She has been chewing it for a while. I have attached a picture for you to have a look at. It is one of the ones I keep there. I am just so careful with everything no hair spray, smells, nail polish, perfume etc etc car fumes you name it. I had no idea about the rope.

I live in Australia and I noticed alot of the bird toy stores have bad toys. They should not be allowed to sell them.

I am no vet either so I can not feel any lump in her crop but I am unsure of her droppings. Sometimes there might be too much urine. She seems to be eating well and active. I have been looking for a chart or someone to share thier IRN droppings to compare. Everything I see is conflicting. I have even tried at the pet stores to compare with thier birds.

What type of bird/s do you own?

I just saw your posts about non zinc perches, I had no idea about this either. Having a bird is difficult everytime I think I have her safe I find something else out. How do you know if its zinc or safe?!

 

[Jeynonymous]

Hi Jeynonymous

Thank you so much for your reply!! I really appreciate it I am just so panicked. This toy has been in her cage for ages. She has been chewing it for a while. I have attached a picture for you to have a look at. It is one of the ones I keep there. I am just so careful with everything no hair spray, smells, nail polish, perfume etc etc car fumes you name it. I had no idea about the rope.

I live in Australia and I noticed alot of the bird toy stores have bad toys. They should not be allowed to sell them.

I am no vet either so I can not feel any lump in her crop but I am unsure of her droppings. Sometimes there might be too much urine. She seems to be eating well and active. I have been looking for a chart or someone to share thier IRN droppings to compare. Everything I see is conflicting. I have even tried at the pet stores to compare with thier birds.

What type of bird/s do you own?

I just saw your posts about non zinc perches, I had no idea about this either. Having a bird is difficult everytime I think I have her safe I find something else out. How do you know if its zinc or safe?!

Sorry, I just saw your post, my health isn't great so I'm not the best at keeping up with notifications, I hope everything is okay!
In answer: I know my Spike and Nibbler had rope perches for years and I lucked out and they both seem okay. They both always ruined the things, chewed right down to the wire. And I didn't know about the problem until recently. So that might make it around... ugh, over a decade on each? So I've gotten really lucky and I'm not sure how but nothing goes in anymore like that. I'm sorry, that's all I know.

My little ones are a Sun Conure and a Dusky Conure.

On zinc: my impression is that it looks more multicolor in the light than stainless steel and any remotely reputable seller should answer if they use it... though, of course, if they were that reputable they wouldn't use it

 

[Jeynonymous]

Oh! Also! Always find out if your heater or other appliances used near your birds has teflon or other chemicals, usually by asking the manufacturer.
It might not be obvious as a lot of products have strange things or coatings inside even just through trying to keep things okay during shipping. It's a similar thing to the reason many snow globes have antifreeze in them, as that's so they won't freeze in transit over the ocean.

I recently found out humidifiers often have teflon if they have a heating element inside. Just an FYI example.

 

[Jeynonymous]

Hi Jeynonymous

Thanks for this advice. I am pretty careful with everything in my house because of my IRN but I did not know about the ropes. My IRN has chewed through the rope on one of her toys for a while now.

I have removed it but what do I do now. How do I prevent something from happening she does not seem to have any issues. If you know anything or how to proceed that would really help.

Also what about ink on toys?

Thanks for your time

Sorry, I just saw your post.

In answer: I'm sorry, I don't know much. All I can offer is what I've done which is stop having anything that has little fibers that fly everywhere when they chew it like cotton anymore. I'm not sure how to reverse anything. Maybe a vet could help? Though if nothing is obviously wrong maybe just removing the problem before it gets worse is enough. That's what I've done. Sorry I'm not more help.

On ink: i don't love it and I'd rather not have things that use it but my guys seem alright with the Planet Pleasures brand so I guess they must use safe enough stuff? Again, sorry I'm not a lot of help here but I would say get only toys with coloring from someone reputable and, or avoid.

 

[rheashard2]

These are things that never cease to be brought to bird owners attention. I've stopped buying items from a well known company. They have a full line of parrot toys, products. I needed a replacement perch for travel cage. In a hurry so didn't give it a good look. The washers were gray spray painted plastic. The store manager refunded my money. I wrote the company in protest. They basically said oh we're sorry. Product remain on shelves. It's can be frustrating when manufacturers are increasingly adept at lying by omission.