Not long ago, I received an e-mail implying that most everything found in pet shops are dangerous for animals and especially dangerous for birds in the parrot family.
I was told by a person who seemed to have much experience with birds
that this concern was when the lead scare about China's imported toys
and other products (pet products) was first a concern, but not anymore.
I think it is not a problem anymore because
1. it has been resolved on the Chinese side and
2. on our American side; their imported products are going through stricter quality control from the American distributors of those products.
Of course as another bird owner pointed out that you have to know your
bird or any pet for that matter and what is safe for them.
My example:
All Cockatiels chew.
If you ever got your bird a wooden ladder you will notice that
eventually many of rungs are chewed off.
Here is one example where the bird's safety depends on it's habits:
If you get your bird a plastic toy and chews on that;
you should remove the toy because plastic has too many chemicals for any bird to take into it's body.
Unpainted, unvarnished bird ladders are definitely safe!
As much as my birds are chewers, I never had any problem with them
chewing on their plastic water cups and plastic feeder cups.
If our birds were chewing on them:
1. I might try getting them more chewing toys and if that did not work
then
2. I would try other kinds of watering devices for birds and probably
use glass bowls at the bottom of the cage for feeders.
My conclusion:
Local pet stores in general sell the appropriate products for our pets, our birds and yes even for our Parrot birds like Parakeets and Cockatiels.
However as I already explained in detail, we need to know our own pet's specific individual behavior to know if something normally safe is safe or not.
With new pets, new Cockatiels, trust that the product labeled safe for your pet is safe and just observe your pet, your bird to make sure it is safe even if your animal chews more then most, is more energetic etc.
Also, if you hear from a reliable source and not only from a hyped-up advertiser that a certain item or food might not be safe then adjust your judgments accordingly.
Labels: bird, birds. parakeet, Cocakatiels, Cockatiel, parakeets, parrot, parrots, pet, pets, safety, toys
