Sneezing caused by coconut hull. Just a warning.

Got Uglow a new toy yesterday. This one had chunks of coconut hulls hanging from it to which he went nuts over. 10 minutes into it he had a sneezing fit that wouldn't stop. I took the toy away from him and put him in the shower until it cleared up. I took the toy apart and removed the coconut hulls and reassembled it.

Anyway, not sure if it's just my guy or a species thing, but watch out for dried coconut hulls in toys. Better safe than sorry.

Could also have been something that had gotten on the coconut shells from either the store or manufacturer, no? Or an individual sensitivity? I mention this because I've used dried coconut hulls with my ekkies, before. And to no ill-effect.

But it's good to know of the possibility of coconut shells triggering an allergic reaction in birds. Just in case.

Thanks for sharing!

Anansi said:

Could also have been something that had gotten on the coconut shells from either the store or manufacturer, no? Or an individual sensitivity? I mention this because I've used dried coconut hulls with my ekkies, before. And to no ill-effect.

But it's good to know of the possibility of coconut shells triggering an allergic reaction in birds. Just in case.

Thanks for sharing!

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Yeah I agree. but I don't think it's store related because he's playing with other parts of the toy with no issue. Maybe it's these particular hulls from this particular manufacturer. Maybe they were moldy? I've never given him an actual shell before and this was the first time he's ever been exposed to the fibrous hull of a coconut. I think for the time being I'll avoid them since he's plenty active with his other toys.

edit: Just reread what you wrote Stephen and to clarify the "hull" I'm referring to is the softer fibrous outer hull of the shell itself.

Something similar happened to me with one of those bird kebob toys made of dried yucca. Dexter has had a few of them and enjoyed shredding them apart with no problems, but the one I put in his cage the other day made him sneeze and cough, so I took it away (and threw it away). It took him a long time to cough it all out, too. I was getting worried.

Same thing with Jasper. I don't know what it's called but it's the brownish/redish disks on this toy: Nature Cluster

I had to remove all of them and now he's fine. Makes me wonder if the little fibers get stuck in their mouth or something and they're trying to get rid of them.

Uglow said:

...edit: Just reread what you wrote Stephen and to clarify the "hull" I'm referring to is the softer fibrous outer hull of the shell itself.

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Yeah, I understood what you meant. And I'm definitely not dismissing the possibility that it could be the the outer "skin" of the coconut, itself. After all, the other accounts in the replies to your post have a common theme. When shredded, they all have the potential to crumble into fine dust. And we all know how sensitive parrots' respiratory systems are in general.

So some are perhaps more sensitive to these particles than others. Definitely a good thing to watch for when buying new toys for one's fid.

I view it as akin to knowing that some ekkies can be sensitive to corn. So if your guy is on a fresh diet and develops toe-tapping or wing-flipping, you have an idea of the most likely culprit right off the bat and can swiftly do something about it.

That's got to be one of those individual bird things.

Eckie's are very sensitive birds.

Mine play with those types of toys all the time with no ill effects.

But I don't keep Eckie's anymore.

Birdman666 said:

That's got to be one of those individual bird things.

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Yeah, that's what I'm leaning toward as well. My ekkies have no issue with any of that stuff, either.

But then again, I have friends who could dive headfirst into a big dusty mound of pollen in the middle of Spring without adverse effect.

Me? Not so much. Lol!

Uglow has such a huge selection of toys, so you can easily eliminate suspect items and he'll be just as happy!!

I haven't observed similar with my Ekkies, but they are not/were not eager to play with toys.

I want to know more about that insane tree stand!

Scott said:

Uglow has such a huge selection of toys, so you can easily eliminate suspect items and he'll be just as happy!!

I haven't observed similar with my Ekkies, but they are not/were not eager to play with toys.

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Yeah, I think I lucked out with my little guy. He's so eager to play that he goes after anything within beaking distance. As soon as I approach his tree to hang something he gets there before I a have a chance to secure it. It cracks me up every single time.

chris-md said:

I want to know more about that insane tree stand!

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When I was visiting Uglow before I picked him up he would hang out on those smooth java trees and i noticed how slippery they were for him and how sparse the branches were. I decided to make my own.
I found a place online that specialized in untreated and sandblasted manzanita and grapewood branches that had natural texture to them. Then I purchased heat treated poplar and pine lumber, stainless steel screws, birch ply wood for the base, and some rubber casters.
Assembly took about 3 hours and the top of the tree is removable so I can wash it in the tub. Tied some rope to it to fill in the gaps he had a hard time maneuvering, made a rope basket for his food dish and added some eye screws to hang toys from.
If you would like, I can probably go into greater detail with links and some assembly info.

Uglow said:

...If you would like, I can probably go into greater detail with links and some assembly info.

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Uhmmm... heck yeah? The tree looks amazing. You did an amazing job!

And, of course, we wouldn't exactly hate seeing more pics as well. Lol!

Anansi said:

Uglow said:

...If you would like, I can probably go into greater detail with links and some assembly info.

Click to expand...

Uhmmm... heck yeah? The tree looks amazing. You did an amazing job!

And, of course, we wouldn't exactly hate seeing more pics as well. Lol!

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you got it.

Post it here! I think a lot of people might be interested, assuming they are cheaper than the more common A&E trees.

Well uglow, Spill the tree beans