VERY inexpensive bird toy

[mabird]

Hello all!
You know how you can buy a child a REALLY expensive gift & they'd rather play with the box or in the laundry basket or something? Well, that's kind of how I feel about this "toy" that all of my birdies have seemed to fallen in love with...



It is simply those wicker paper plate reinforcers that are oh so common at BBQs, etc. You can find them many places at this time a year & up here in good old NH go for 99 cents for a package of 4. I found these at the grocery store... I plan on stocking up for the winter months, since they are a seasonal item.
No, they are not cute, however, they seem to really love them & are SO AFFORDABLE!!

[phonelady61]

you know i think i would be leery of giving my birds something like this . where do they come from ? china ? I would be leery of giving my birds anything made in china cause they could be made from toxic matierials . You just have to be so carefull anymore what we give our families ,our selves or our fids with the world being the way it is . I mean cantaloupe was not safe at one time and now tomatoes you just never know anymore . I would also be worried about my birds ingesting the splinter from this matierial .

[mabird]

Well, I guess you have an understandable concern... However the packaging did say (on this particular set) "untreated, all natural wicker".
But I guess in this world today, it's best to be cautious.

Thanks.

[Sashagirl]

I was about to say the same thing about the possibility of it being made in China and also if any glues are being used it wouldn't be safe for our birds.Nice call Phonelady61.

Marcia

[mabird]

Ok, enough with the ganging up on n' bashing me... I tried to share an idea... as with ANY idea on here it is up to the parront to use their own judgement as to what they feel is safe for their bird.
I am NOT a novice bird owner, I have given loving, wonderful homes to feathered friends for over 23 years and have NEVER lost a bird to anything other than old age. So, please unless you see something dangerous, or that is an observation that someone may not make right off on their own, please use a little tact, and refrain from going into attack mode on posters. I'd have had no problem with a simple, polite , " you may just want to be cautious of where it was made and that it is truly bird safe" response.
However the know it all & judgemental attitudes that I have been witnessing more often on BB lately are very upsetting
We are supposed to be a family here... a community helping eachother out raising our fids... it's not what you say necessarily, but how you're saying it. This is not a competition to see who can make themselves sound as they are best bird advocate.
Do you realize that I actually have friends here on BB that have either run a post by me before posting or not posted something they have a legitimate question on out of fear of being bashed, or attacked by other posters?
NOT NICE!
SERIOUSLY... is that what you want?
People come here to share, enjoy, and sometimes in need of serious help... don't chase them off, or make them feel uncomfortable. Embrace them. Please, please choose your words carefully.

[mabird]

Originally Posted by Sashagirl

I was about to say the same thing about the possibility of it being made in China and also if any glues are being used it wouldn't be safe for our birds.Nice call Phonelady61.

Marcia

And no, of course there are no glues used on them.

[Poohsbirds97]

I think it is a neat idea Mabird. I know from reading your post you check out safe material, so I know you did this time as well. I am headed to get some of those ( and yes I will make sure they are safe for the birds) and make some for my not so sweet triplets. Maybe I can win them over with these. Thanks for sharing.

[nvranemptynest]

Thank you for sharing! Wicker is a wonderful toy, and certainly no more risk for our birds than any of the soft, porous materials that we purchase (wood, rope, etc.) ...and that includes toys manufactured specifically for birds.

I've noticed the same about "bad wording" and some plain old nastiness on BB lately. It makes for unpleasant and uninformative reading. Gentle and caring encouragement will get people to listen much better than trying to "force feed".

[SisterBlue]

Mabird, thanks so much for saying out loud exactly what I've been thinking. Just because I don't have 2,000 posts here doesn't mean I don't have 2000 posts worth of experience, you know? I am not one of those who panics at every little tiny thing and keeps my kids/fids bundled in bubble wrap.

I use common sense and the "everything in moderation" approach and it has worked just fine for me in the 25+ years I've had birds, and also with my kids as well. *Everything* can be dangerous in some context, but if I lived that way I'd never leave the house.

The superiority complex some have is astonishing as well... "You only change YOUR birds' water TWICE a day? OMG you're a terrible bird owner! I change MY birds' water FOUR times a day! I'm gonna call animal control and have your birds taken away!"

An exaggeration, of course...but very much the tone of so many posts here. It's sad.

-SB

[Kevin]

Unfortunately with any large group of people some people jump the gun a bit and come to conclusions like any message board whether its a muscle car website or pet related. Being that text can be taken out of context so easily without the ability to sense the tone or means in which it was meant can cause some trickling down effect in future replys within a thread. Sometimes almost as playing the game chicken where you pass 1 fact around the room and it comes out completely different. Kinda just how the internet works.

Anywho please try and read the post and if you have to re-read it to see if you can better grasp what and how they are saying something.