Is my bird eating wood??

Aerski

New member
Oct 24, 2018
19
0
Florida, Miami
Parrots
M2 - Crystal (RIP) GCC - Birbo
Iā€™ve noticed how all of my M2ā€™s sticks are all chewed up. Sheā€™s actually broken three sticks weā€™ve placed in her cage IN HALF over time. So I observed her to see if she was actually eating the wood or just chewing it, I saw her keep the piece of wood in her mouth for a whole hour, then she swallowed a piece (I think) and dropped the rest. Thereā€™s no wood in her droppings from what I can see but I think sheā€™s actually eating some of the wood.. that might also explain her appetite- she hasnā€™t really been wanting to eat lately despite us offering plenty of bird seed and fruits/veggies.. so I searched online and got that it might be out of boredom. Problem is, I give her plenty of toys; she leaves them in her cage and just chews them too. Never uses the swing, just breaks it in half..

I donā€™t know what to do at this point. I canā€™t replace every stick in her cage with PVC pipe. She even ate the stick she sleeps on, ive replaced it so many times already. (Also, Iā€™m saying ate but she might have just chewed it). Iā€™m really concerned for her health and what to even do..
 

ChristaNL

Banned
Banned
May 23, 2018
3,559
157
NL= the Netherlands, Europe
Parrots
Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
Toos and macaws are born woodchippers.
I rather have them chew through a carload full of them if it prevents them from chewing on their own feathers.

If you too is not eating ...-> CAV NOW!

If you want to know for sure: weigh the stick that goes in the cage, and weigh everything that comes out (shards, splinters etc.etc.).

Ingesting some small particles cannot be avoided (that is why everyone makes such a big deal about using safe, non-toxic woods) and overhere is why they promote willow and fruittrees, because they actually get some good stuff out of chewing the bark.

But if your bird had been swallowing larger pieces...there is an issue!
So CAV first for a health and crop-check; after that (or during the visit) re-evaluate the cage, the food, the place of the cage etc.etc. because something is definately off if animals start to eat undigestable stuff.
(and if the not-eating is not caused by wood...get some disease-tests done!)
 

ParrotGenie

Member
Jan 10, 2019
946
19
Indiana
Parrots
2 umbrella Cockatoos One male named Cooper and female named Baby 1 Little Corella male named Frankie and have 5 Cockatiels three named Male named Pepper, Fiesco for the female and female named Wylie.
Are you sure she eating the wood? U2 love to chew wood, it just how they are.
 

ToMang07

Active member
Jul 14, 2015
1,012
17
Maine, USA
Parrots
Willow the Umbrella Cockatoo
Chewing birds are happy birds
Just replace with safe wood, branches/ toys, etc.
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Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

SammyAndyAlex

Member
Sep 9, 2018
141
25
Parrots
Sammy - Jardines Parrot - Hatchday: 4.2.2014
Andy - Congo African Grey - Hatchday 6.12.2018
Alex - Congo AfricanGrey - Hatchday 19.1.2021
You could buy some of those hard stone/cement perches? I dont have them for Sammy, but s/he shouldnt be able to destroy them as easily.
 

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