Is it safe to give my bird used bird toys and perches?

happycat

New member
Mar 9, 2012
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Virginia, U.S.
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Kakariki (Kirby) Cockatiel (Shiro) Jenday Conure (Jojo)
My sister works at Petsmart and they gave her a big bin of used parrot perches, wooden ladders, and toys. If I wash these, can I give them to my parrot?

Some are tree branch type perches and some are the type that are made to trim a parrots nails.
 

noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
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Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
In my opinion, not the wooden ones (or pumice ones)--- F10 is for non-porous surfaces (aka works on metal, plastic, etc). I would NEVER share a wooden or porous toy with another bird. There are too many viral illnesses that could survive and Petsmart doesn't test for them either...F10 doesn't "kill" 100% of viruses, and again, the efficacy rating for f10 is based on non-porous surfaces. Wood absorbs chemicals (as it is porous, as is pumice), so the harsher ones are also a no-go for me as well. I wouldn't do it.

If it is plastic and can be properly sanitized, then maybe....I think sharing toys is dangerous---Many people (myself included) won't even buy toys from a place that houses birds, as certain diseases can be carried home on them.
 
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SailBoat

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Jul 10, 2015
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Western, Michigan
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DYH Amazon
Wood and other porous products can be washed with Hot Water and Dawn (original) dish soap and a good solid scrubbing. Flush with fresh water (drinking water) and set in bright Sunshine until dry! Turn the bits during the day to assure that every surface gets time in the Sun.

We tend to underestimate the ability of good old bright Sunshine to kill off micro bugs, etc...
 
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ParrotGenie

Member
Jan 10, 2019
946
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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.
My sister works at Petsmart and they gave her a big bin of used parrot perches, wooden ladders, and toys. If I wash these, can I give them to my parrot?

Some are tree branch type perches and some are the type that are made to trim a parrots nails.
You can use them and as someone suggested F10 or grapefruit seed extract solution and let it sit for a few minutes to get contact time, if it wood, or rope perches let it soak in solution. Dawn soap and good solid scrubbing. With wood perches and wood toys to sterilize it, throw in oven bake them for an hour at 180 to 200 for 1 - 2 hours is fine. If larger then direct sunlight for a few days will do. You can also use a steamer as well.

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noodles123

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2018
8,145
472
Parrots
Umbrella Cockatoo- 15? years old..I think?
Let me explain why I said what I said (because now I look paranoid).

Any store that sells birds is likely going to be exposed to PBFD at some point (unknowingly). If a bird has PBFD, it can take many years for them to show symptoms and latent carriers (contagious birds) often will test negative if they are not showing symptoms at the time--even if they test negative, they are still contagious (if infected). Carriers can live their whole lives without ever showing symptoms (all the while infecting other birds). Due to the very wide incubation time-line, cost and questionable accuracy of testing methods, it is uncommon for birds without symptoms to be tested for PBFD, as the tests often produce false negatives and because without symptoms, pet stores are not going to suspect that anything is wrong (or waste money on testing). Therefore, you could get perches that were exposed to PBFD without knowing it, and when it comes to PBFD, there is no disinfecting of porous surfaces. The virus is extremely small and one of the hardest to eliminate from the environment.

"Psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) is a common viral disease of captive and wild psittacine species throughout the world. PBFD is caused by a circovirus which attacks cells of the immune system and those cells that produce the feathers and the beak. The disease is thought to be specific for psittacines, and all species including budgerigars and cockatiels should be considered susceptible. "
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5225/1f08f3db4bcfaea2e3930785ac6dc0c3bf3b.pdf

The following advice on disinfecting after PBFD exposure comes directly from The American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Infectious Disease Committee Manual 2013:

"Suggested disinfectant for housing facilities: While specific data on the susceptibility of PCV to disinfectants is unknown, it is known that other circovirus are among the most environmentally stable and disinfectant resistant of all viruses. The goal in a contaminated facility is to wash the virus out of the environment, expose
contaminated surfaces to prolong drying and direct sunlight and then seal any remaining virus to a substrate with paint (or equivalent). Any contaminated surface that is porous (not made of metal or plastic) should be discarded. All metal, concrete and plastic surfaces should be washed with a sodium hypochlorite (e.g. Clorox)-containing detergent, rinsed and allowed to dry in direct sunlight. The procedure should be repeated 3-4 times. Air handling systems should be professionally cleaned by a company experienced with decontaminating hospital air systems. Once repeated cleaning has been accomplished, a pressure painter should be used to coat
all remaining surfaces (floor, walls and ceiling). If a diseased bird has been maintained in an incubator, one should make certain that the fan and motor housing are decontaminated and PCR negative for viral DNA before the fan is returned to service. PCR-based testing can be used to evaluate the success for virus removal from the
environment.

https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.aazv.org/resource/resmgr/IDM/IDM_Psittacine_Beak_and_Feat.pdf

There are members on this very forum whose birds have PBFD, and almost all of them likely contracted the virus from other captive birds (those purchased from pet shops and breeders).It can even be spread via dust on human clothing (and many people go in and out of pet shops daily without a second thought). The virus doesn't just pop up on its own--there has to be an exposure to contaminated materials. The wooden perches/toys of an infected bird (whether symptomatic or asymptomatic) are constantly exposed to fecal matter, feather dust, oral secretions etc--all of which harbor the virus)....SO, with that in mind, this is one of the reasons that I would never recycle porous perches. This is also why I do not purchase wooden toys from places that house birds (due to the potential exposure to feather dust and irreparable viral contamination).
 
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