Each toy should be proportionately sized to the bird to which it is being presented, especially if the bird is a large breed. A toy that is designed for a smaller bird will be easily damaged by a larger bird, and the larger bird may accidentally swallow harmful bits of the item. Make sure that any toys you buy are constructed out of untreated wood, chains that have been welded or closed, and leather that has been vegetable tanned. Jingle bells are just one example of an object that might cause birds to lose their toenails or beaks because of the small apertures. Before you make a purchase, you should check each toy thoroughly to ensure that it does not contain anything that could be harmful to your birds.
There are a lot of bird toys on the market, and many of them are unsafe. For example, smaller chains and ropes can be wrapped around the feet or legs of a bird, as well as the neck. Birds have the potential to become entangled in chain links, particularly if the links are not closed and the openings are large enough for their toenails to become entangled. Plastic chain might be harmful to your bird if it is not the appropriate size for him. Ropes present another hazard to birds because of the possibility that they will strangle themselves or become entangled in them. Particularly hazardous are ropes that have become frayed.
I had had a Cockatoo that, in order to maintain her grasp on a perch, would wrap the frayed ends of a rope around her toes. After discovering that she was unable to free herself, I severed the rope from the swing and threw it, along with the rope, away in the trash. She wound up losing the tips of two of her toes in the end.
A huge Macaw was having fun with a rope toy that consisted of a about 8-inch plastic top, eight rope strands, and a wooden block at the end of each rope strand. The person who owned the bird was not at their residence at the time. When she returned home, she discovered that her macaw had been killed by being strangled. A bird can be strangled using a rope strand that is only 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length.
When the little macaw started screeching, she was enjoying her playtime with a rope toy that had torn ends. She had the rope around her neck in this position. It was a good thing her owners were home because she managed to live.
A Pionus as a pet absolutely adored her cotton rope-covered Boing and spent a lot of time playing on it and swinging from it. Her owners made sure that any loose threads were removed right away, and they also made sure that her toenails were clipped regularly. One day, she called out to her owners in what seemed like a foreign voice, and they discovered that she was entangled on a cotton loop that had been disconnected from the rope. After doing checks, they were unable to identify anything else that contributed to the issue; so, they cut the loop but maintained the Boing. In a span of fewer than seven days, the identical occurrence occurred again. A string from the cotton rope that had been checked earlier that morning had been tangled around a smooth nail that was in the rope.
The figure eight-shaped rope toy that belonged to a cockatoo was one of his favorite things to fiddle with. When his owners returned home after being gone for a while, they found that he had chewed a hole in the rope and gotten one of his legs entangled in it. It’s a good thing they found him before he sustained any serious injuries.
An Amazon adored playing with toys that had sisal rope on them, so her enclosure was filled with them. Because of her habit of chewing on them, the ends of each one were frayed. Her owner discovered her as she was dangling from one of the frayed ends by her beak.
A bird store was visited in order to get a toy that came very highly recommended. The toy was a metal ring that had frayed rope wrapped in knots all the way around it. This was suspended from three chains, each of which was connected to a quick link. If the owner hadn’t noticed the bird in time, the bird would have managed to get all three chains entangled around its neck, and the bird would have eventually hanged itself.
Birds are powerful enough to pry open split rings, which can be exceedingly harmful because they can get their beaks, toes, or tongues hooked in them. Split rings, such as those used for keys, are an example of this type of item. There are a lot of toys that make use of these rings. After using her beak to pry open one of these rings, a cockatoo got her tongue caught in the ring and couldn’t get it out. Again, it was a stroke of good luck that the owner located the bird and was able to pry the object off of it before the bird lost its tongue.
It is common practice to thread pieces of fruit and vegetable onto skewers and offer them to birds as a kind of entertainment and as a source of food. Some of the skewers that are available feature plastic components that are prone to breaking, as well as components that might cause birds to become entangled. When shopping for a skewer to use with your birds, exercise a great deal of caution and pickiness.
There are a lot of toys out there that have woven cloth attached to them so that a bird can play with it. Since of this, there is a risk of injury because loose threads can become entangled around toes, feet, legs, and necks. A Conure had only been living in his new home for a few short months when he tragically lost his life after becoming entangled in some of these threads and his owner was unable to locate him in time to save him.
Some birds have been observed to have consumed the material found in Happy Huts, while others have experienced the loose strands becoming entangled around their feet. The death of one Lovebird was caused when it nibbled its way through the hut, got its head trapped in the open, and then strangled itself. It was discovered that a Timneh Grey had become entangled in the threads of his Happy Hut, which was so fresh that it had not yet been washed. The Timneh Grey was found hanging upside down. He had successfully freed himself, but in the process he had eaten off a huge chunk of his foot as well as two of his toes. He was able to pull through, but not without severe surgery, and it is possible that he will never be able to use his foot normally again.
Unsuitable cage covers, such as towels, provide another potential hazard because birds have the tendency to grab at loose threads and become entangled in them.
While she was having fun with a plastic chain, a Cockatoo managed to get one of her feet caught inside of one of the plastic links. As she attempted to free herself, she was dangling from the chain with her foot still caught in the link, and she was doing so by squeezing the chain even more tightly around her foot. When she yelled, fortunately, her owner was present and was able to extricate her foot, and there was no lasting harm as a result. The chain was removed, and the bird now enjoys playing with it on the bottom of the cage, where she is free to move it around and enjoy herself.
A human baby’s plastic necklace with round, square, triangle, and diamond-shaped links was being played with by a pet Senegal. The chain was made of plastic and came in a variety of colors. When the bird started to scream, the owner discovered that the bird had gotten his head caught in one of the links and was suffocating as a result. These are the plastic chains that are currently being marketed to customers as being completely risk-free for use around birds.
The owner of a Lovebird discovered their pet dangling by his neck from the stitching on the hat of a doll toy that resembled him and wore a straw hat. Again, it was quite fortunate that the owner was nearby, witnessed what had happened, and was able to set the bird free after it had been injured.
The owner of a Red-Bellied parrot heard the bird crying, and upon investigation, he discovered the bird flapping its wings and dangling by its beak, which was stuck inside one of the bells that were dangling from the toy. This was a bell that was in the shape of a miniature cow bell and it came with a clapper. When it became stuck, the bird was able to slip her beak inside to try and free the clapper, but it was unsuccessful. It should go without saying that the bells were discarded.
Many people give their birds items meant for human babies to play with. It is possible that some of these are risk-free, but the majority of them are not. Before putting them to use, give them a thorough inspection. When chewed, toys and perches constructed with soft PVC can be harmful to the animal. The problem of toxicity when chewed on has caused several human baby toys manufactured of this substance to be removed from sale and taken off the market.
The toy of a Moluccan Cockatoo consisted of a number of leather strips, as well as pieces of wood and beads that hung from it. She had one of her legs totally entangled in the toy, and she was unable to free herself on her own. However, the owner snipped the toy off of the bird and tossed it away, despite the fact that it was brand new.
A Quick Link, often known as a “C” link, is a popular type of fastener that is used to hang bird toys. These are now also available in stainless steel, which, in order to avoid zinc poisoning, is recommended to use rather than the zinc versions. If you have toys that are dangling from these connections, you need to keep a close eye on your birds at all times. These linkages can be undone by larger birds, which then run the risk of becoming caught on the open hook. A parrot was successful in opening one of these links, and she wedged her head in there somewhere between the aperture and the base of the hook. The hook stuck itself under her beak, close to her throat, after going up under her beak. It was impossible for her to escape. It was a good thing that her owners were home because they let her go. It is highly suggested that you use pliers to tighten any of these links if you plan on utilizing any of them to hang bird toys because doing so will make it much more difficult for the links to be opened.
In conclusion, I would ask you to check all of the toys that you give to your birds to make sure that none of them contain anything that could be harmful to their health. Take out any split rings that are in the toys for your birds. If you know the name of the company that makes a harmful toy, you should make it a point to send them a letter and let them know your concerns. If we all collaborate on this issue, we might be able to persuade them to be more careful about the toys and accessories that they produce for our birds to play with.
The list of potentially hazardous toys that was just shown is by no means exhaustive. Be on the lookout at all times, and keep in mind that these birds are pros when it comes to getting into trouble with anything!
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