I'm considering buying my IRN one of those spiraling cotton accessories
that hang from the top of the cage, are they safe to leave in the cage
when the bird is unsupervised?

I know rope accessories can be dangerous if they are eaten by birds, does
this apply to cotton based products too?

I like to avoid buying him things that require supervision unless he's using
it when I have him outside his cage and he has my full attention.

They are not safe. They can be ingested and cause blockages, or strings can get wound around toes and cut off blood circulation. I have a freind who had a flock of cockatiels play happily with their rope perch for months before deciding one day to not only eat it but feed it to babies. She lost several birds even though she found them within a few hours and took action. Boings and other ripe perches are best left on the play gym rather than in the cage.


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I don't like to think about where I would be if that little budgie had never fluttered into my life.

Thanks, plastic toys are okay though right?

The plastic itself shouldn’t pose any danger as long as they are constructed safely, but I’ve found most birds prefer natural fibers that they can chew up


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I don't like to think about where I would be if that little budgie had never fluttered into my life.

Thanks

What do you mean by constructed safely?


I've lost faith in assuming pet stores would naturally sell safe products.

As in no sharp pieces that can cut them, pieces that can catch toes, get wedged in beaks, etc.


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I don't like to think about where I would be if that little budgie had never fluttered into my life.

If you plan to use plastic toys, I'd go with the hard, thick acrylic types. I'd stay away from soft plastic that can be chewed through. Birds can also ingest micro pieces of the plastic which will stay lodged in their crop or tracks (I've seen surgery pictures, not cool). This actually hits home for me because I've been giving my sun conure those cat balls made with soft flexible plastic for years up until I saw the pictures of crop impaction.

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I believe the reason I lost my Pacho was due to her eating pieces of a rope/cloth perch that was in her cage.
I knew she was ripping it up but had no idea she was eating it.
I still feel terrible about that. I should have recognised the danger but I didn't.

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cockatiel family :
Lucky (M pied)
Baby (M pied)
Pinky (F lutino) R.I.P.

Sunny mother (cinnamon)R.I,P.
Cheeky father (whitface)
Angel (eldest lutino F)
Mango (middle pearl F)
Popeye (male grey M)

Does anyone know of any sites that only sell safe bird toys?
It seems that even a lot of the popular reputable sites are
selling stuff that could be unsafe.

I'm honestly a bit surprised that they're even allowed to sell
unsafe products, I would have thought there would be some
sort of approval process to stop this at least for the legitimate
big stores.

I have a couple of these for my IRN

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e9/b0/c6/e...9d7b9064b7.jpg

Do you think they'd be okay?
I do see little slivers of plastic hanging off but I'm not really sure if
that's anything to worry about.

They're easily his favourite toys so I would hate to take them away from
him unless absolutely necessary.