Wicker and straw toys

[suzhouchen]

My RB2 likes wicker balls and straw hat type toys. He can down one in a day. At 8 -15 bucks a toy, this is expensive. Yet it is his favorite.

My question is, would it be safe for him to chew on a straw hat or the straw placemats? Does anyone have any experience with this type of thing? Also is cotton material strips ok to tie on the cage bars for them to tug at?

[tabooh]

chewing on straw mats and hats may or may not be toxic this would all depend upon if it is natural or chemically treated. I would suggest not to allow your baby to chew on any of the above mentioned. Better safe then sorry.

[jenseits]

I've started buying toy parts rather than whole toys. Still not super cheap, but cheaper (and bird safe)

For example: Wicker Munch Balls for small pets at Drs. Foster and Smith

[RubyMuse]

I get my guys things like wicker and grape vine wreaths from the dollar store (not the craft store though because those seem to have some coating on them)

I also recently got two palm leaf placemats from Ikea. One was $3 and one was $1 and I tried them out with two of my birds. I rolled them up and shoved them in between the cage bars and they both loved them and made a huge mess with them.

I think this stuff is as safe as say cardboard or other stuff they shred.

I do really watch them to make sure they don't injest things.

[maggy]

I use strips of cotton T-shirt to tie natural tree branches in place as perches, and have done so for eight years with no problems for my BE2. I can't get straw products that aren't treated as Australia is very strict about treating organic stuff coming into the country, but I do give Dusty those little wicker balls from Ikea.

[MissV]

Oh, so straw IS okay? Michael's craft store has a lot of untreated products, including ones made from grapevine and straw. I was wonderng about the straw, but I did pick up some grapvine mini wreaths.

Has anyone tried bamboo? I found that its safe but haven't picked it up yet...I want to though, it seems like a great chew toy!

[jenniferag]

One toy I got at the bird store has dried bamboo on it... The birds seem to like it..

[suzhouchen]

Originally Posted by MissV

Oh, so straw IS okay? Michael's craft store has a lot of untreated products, including ones made from grapevine and straw. I was wonderng about the straw, but I did pick up some grapvine mini wreaths.

Has anyone tried bamboo? I found that its safe but haven't picked it up yet...I want to though, it seems like a great chew toy!

I never thought of bamboo. My fiance has gobs of bamboo growing in his back yard. It has never been sprayed and is totally organic. I could harvest a bunch of bamboo and weave it into balls and let it dry. What do you think...is bamboo healthy?