Dangers of Bird Toys / Perches

[xafsmom]

Lisa sells Tweedles.

'nuff said.

[pippy]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

Lisa sells Tweedles.

'nuff said.

[clawnz]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

It's common sense to ditch any toy that's frayed enough to cause harm. Even minor fraying on boings or rope perching can mean exactly that - ingested material. Also those multi-branch manzanita perches I see everywhere now... it'd be very easy for a bird to play and slide a branch tip under the leg band. Then you're stuck with a stuck bird who might possibly bite its toes off to attempt escape.

Not a fun scenario.

Thank you! We like to think we all have common sense. But!
The Chinese sold us Baby Food with added Poison in it. Sold us kids toys with lead paint. The list goes on and on.

If your birds leg band is that loose I would have it removed.
I.E. it can get caught on some of the cages. stiels posted a pix showing exactly that. (on another forum).
As for a bird getting stuck on a small twig that does not break? or be able to slide back off of it. I would question has this ever happened?

We have a shrub called Parapara also called Birdcatcher. My news letter from the Bird Resuce details 30 Wax Eyes/White Eyes, caught in just the one shrub.
Life has it's risk's.

[mommaof3]

I don't know if I would want my birds banded because during my research I have seen more cons then pros to it. And microchipping there is no real chance that someone would think to scan them. So I guess I am going to have to be vigilant with my babies when I get them. I know birds probably enjoy outside time but in my area we have hawks all around, so taking them outside without being in an outdoor cage or something safe would scare me.

As far as the toys thing goes I won't be buying them for a while but I was planning on taking pictures of them before I bought them and sharing what I thought to be okay with all of you. I trust you guys on here and have learned alot from everyone. And the safety of my babies is priority ONE. But again it is just like checking my kids toys if you are uneasy about it it has got to go. That and regular checking to make sure everything is still in good working order and clean.

[xafsmom]

Originally Posted by clawnz

Thank you! We like to think we all have common sense. But!
The Chinese sold us Baby Food with added Poison in it. Sold us kids toys with lead paint. The list goes on and on.

If your birds leg band is that loose I would have it removed.
I.E. it can get caught on some of the cages. stiels posted a pix showing exactly that. (on another forum).
As for a bird getting stuck on a small twig that does not break? or be able to slide back off of it. I would question has this ever happened?

We have a shrub called Parapara also called Birdcatcher. My news letter from the Bird Resuce details 30 Wax Eyes/White Eyes, caught in just the one shrub.
Life has it's risk's.

Common sense is a commodity that's rather rare. Sad to say.

Actually, it happens quite a bit because most people don't know what properly sized leg bands are on birds. Further, the 'small twig' multi-branch perches are manzanita. Thus, wildly strong small twigs.

As for sliding back off of it? Absolutely they could, but WILL they? Weirdly, I've known 4 GCC's that have done this on these particular perches and in plain sight of their owners, had - in and eyeblink - chewed their toes to the point of the toes falling off from the damage.

Moral of the story? Be careful with manzanita multi-branch perches.

[clawnz]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

Common sense is a commodity that's rather rare. Sad to say.

Actually, it happens quite a bit because most people don't know what properly sized leg bands are on birds. Further, the 'small twig' multi-branch perches are manzanita. Thus, wildly strong small twigs.

As for sliding back off of it? Absolutely they could, but WILL they? Weirdly, I've known 4 GCC's that have done this on these particular perches and in plain sight of their owners, had - in and eyeblink - chewed their toes to the point of the toes falling off from the damage.

Moral of the story? Be careful with manzanita multi-branch perches.

Thank you!
It is always good to get info like this, even if it is something that is not good. We can all learn from it.

I do know how freaked out Tweety used to get when she got her deformed toes nails caught. (They were like nearly closed hooks).
So I can see that if a band was loose enough, but I would get rid of the band! Not the wood.

All birds that get handed in to SPCA and Bird Rescue, here in NZ are scanned for a chip. Not that a Teil is a good candidate for chipping due to it's small size.

[clawnz]

Originally Posted by xafsmom

It's common sense to ditch any toy that's frayed enough to cause harm. Even minor fraying on boings or rope perching can mean exactly that - ingested material. Also those multi-branch manzanita perches I see everywhere now... it'd be very easy for a bird to play and slide a branch tip under the leg band. Then you're stuck with a stuck bird who might possibly bite its toes off to attempt escape.

Not a fun scenario.

Maybe I should of said 'Dangers of Bird Toys / Perches / Man made products'.
I agree those leg bands are a real worry, they should be removed unless it is law to have them.
Details of leg bands getting caught in things including the cage are noted.
Yes your Fid will bite off their own feet to try and escape in very short order.
There is also a thread where someone broke a Tiels foot trying to force off a leg band.
As for those nice strong thin branches, they make an ideal place to corn cobs and the like.
If a leg band is so loose enough to get caught it should be replaced with a correct size band.
I did see a pix of a man made bird stand/ gym with hooks all over it, to hang things from, would this not also be very dangerous for a leg band?

[clawnz]

skthurley skthurley is offline
Chick

Cockatiel Information
Cockatiel Experience Level: Cockatiel Lover

Profile
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 208
Angry DANGEROUS TOY: Habitat Defined Enrichment Pod: Millet Muncher
At the bird show in Richmond Hill this weekend I bought one of Super Pet's newest toys in the Habitat Defined Enrichment Collection. It is called the Millet Muncher.

I loved it because it has decent sized holes that I could easily put shreddable material in and hide goodies for my birds in. I LOVE providing foraging opportunities for my birds and this toy seemed perfect.

Here is what it looks like:



http://www.superpetusa.com/product-l...et-muncher.htm

I had it in Jack's age for about a week... but now it is in the garbage. I suggest all of you with smaller birds like budgies, parrotlets, lovebirds, linnies, etc stay away from this toy. I thought the holes were big enough, but obviously not.

About an hour ago I was sitting, watching some tv, and observing Jack ripping and shredding with this new toy.... when suddenly he got really quiet. Up until this moment, he had been chirping and going on with excited noises as he usually does when foraging and shredding through newspaper and other materials for goodies. When I looked over at his cage, I saw that his head was stuck in one of the holes to his new toy and he was frantically trying to pull his head out. I jumped up to see him slip off the perch he had been standing on, and dangle with his head still stuck. With a scream, and near tears, I ran over to his cage, reached my hand in to hold his body. He was alive, heart beating quickly, and thankfully he remained still in my hand. With my free hand I ripped off the top of his cage, and went to grab the toy. As I wondered how I would get his head out, Jack gave a frantic pull and out came his head. With relief, I watched as he flew to the playstand behind me, then back to my shoulder. Asking him to step up onto my finger, I observed no wounds on his neck, only a few ruffled feathers. My boy is safe.

And the new toy is in the garbage!

Please do not buy this toy for your birds and pass this message along to other small bird owners. This might be more suitable for a conure, but not the cockatiels and budgies that it is suggested for.

I am so thankful that I was around to see this happen. Had I not been, I may have found a hung parrotlet. I would have been devastated to lose my boy to a toy I had purposely bought to enrich his life

Once again, please pass this story along to fellow bird owners.

Here is another man made item that can place a small bird at risk.

[chinniechantel]

I am so glad your bird is ok, what a scary story, and how very lucky to be there. I bet you almost had a heart attack.

I am so glad to read that there are great pet stores out there, I am sure there are. I just wish I saw more of them!

[jaded1313]

One toy that almost every store carries that almost killed Zoey (m2) when I first got her, the kabob. Zoey was playing with it while I was at church and she got the first (bamboo, or whatever kind of wood it is) piece of wood off. Which left a big piece of string and the other bits of wood at the end as a weight. She got the string around her neck and couldn't get it off. She basically hung herself. I got home in time, but barely. I rushed her to the vet (afterhours, the weekend before Xmas) and they (giving lots of credit to God here too) saved her.
She had never really bothered with the toy before that day, so I didn't know that was possible.
I posted this story where I bough the kabob and they weren't really interested, they just said it was "bad luck". Personally I wouldn't chance it again, or if I bought the toy I would restring it on a SS kabob, or just let her play with the pieces. I came so close to losing her... she had blood coming out of her mouth and everything...I just wanted to post this as a warning- if you have a playful bird, be REALLY careful of this toy. I almost lost my Zoey, I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone else.
(below is a picture of the kabob)