soon to be new bird owner trying to do research before the big day.

[Eulino]

hello! im a college student looking to become a bird owner. college tuition and apartment life is pretty rough financially sometimes but i have been saving up and soon plan to make the big leap to getting a quaker.
ive been doing my research on temperment, cage agression, training methods, different types of wing clipping techniques i might need to stay legal in certian places, diet, etc.
however one thing that has been thwarting me is the chaotic nature of the internet on *crafting materials* of all things. i was hoping to pinch pennies by designing my own parrot toys out of crafting materials but everyone seems conflicted on whats safe, whats not. for example, metals. i got a definate answer that stainless steel was safe, and zinc was bad. but every other metal under the rainbow im getting both positive and negative answers to.

between that, and advice on maybe a checklist of things i will need i might not have thought of, would be increadibly helpful.

 

[Mya the ringneck]

hello! im a college student looking to become a bird owner. college tuition and apartment life is pretty rough financially sometimes but i have been saving up and soon plan to make the big leap to getting a quaker.
ive been doing my research on temperment, cage agression, training methods, different types of wing clipping techniques i might need to stay legal in certian places, diet, etc.
however one thing that has been thwarting me is the chaotic nature of the internet on *crafting materials* of all things. i was hoping to pinch pennies by designing my own parrot toys out of crafting materials but everyone seems conflicted on whats safe, whats not. for example, metals. i got a definate answer that stainless steel was safe, and zinc was bad. but every other metal under the rainbow im getting both positive and negative answers to.

between that, and advice on maybe a checklist of things i will need i might not have thought of, would be increadibly helpful.

There are plenty of things that you could get to make toys.

I have made a few toys for some birds.

One thing you could do is get online or go to a store and get a lot of those Chinese finger trap toy things and tie a few together with a thick yarn. (the birds will like to shred the toys they get so this would be a good one for them to shred)

Another thing could be just some wood for like crafting because the birds can chew on the pieces and chunk them.

One more thing that you can get is just some bells in a craft section of a store and use a harder string to tie them together in a staggering pattern and the birds will enjoy playing with them

 

[wrench13]

Craft store stuff is made in China. And made in China means that there are no or little control over what is used to make the item. THise finger traps mentioned above? I can assure you the cheapest dyes and coloring agents are used and the materials likewise. Absolutely no guarantee that they are not toxic, or do not contain mold, bacteria, rodent droppings, etc etc, since these type products were never designed for any sort of ingestion. As far as metals, stainless steel is THE safe one. You are not likely to find metal objects with coatings other then zinc, nickel or chrome, all of which are toxic if ingested. Used to be cadmium coatings too, but cadmium is not only toxic but highly carcinogenic and has been mostly replaced in industry by other coatings.

If the bird likes bells, you should save up and buy a few stainless tubular type bells, they will last your birds lifetime and beyond! FOr wood, I would go to the local box store type DIY store and as if you can pick thru their wood scrap barrel. You MUST stay away from treated lumber!! Safe woods are softer ones like pine; harder woods like oak are too hard for any parrots except macaws and large cockatoos. THese DIY stores are usually very happy to let you take this scrap lumber for free, but you will need to cut it into pieces your parrot can handle.

 

[Mya the ringneck]

Craft store stuff is made in China. And made in China means that there are no or little control over what is used to make the item. THise finger traps mentioned above? I can assure you the cheapest dyes and coloring agents are used and the materials likewise. Absolutely no guarantee that they are not toxic, or do not contain mold, bacteria, rodent droppings, etc etc, since these type products were never designed for any sort of ingestion. As far as metals, stainless steel is THE safe one. You are not likely to find metal objects with coatings other then zinc, nickel or chrome, all of which are toxic if ingested. Used to be cadmium coatings too, but cadmium is not only toxic but highly carcinogenic and has been mostly replaced in industry by other coatings.

If the bird likes bells, you should save up and buy a few stainless tubular type bells, they will last your birds lifetime and beyond! FOr wood, I would go to the local box store type DIY store and as if you can pick thru their wood scrap barrel. You MUST stay away from treated lumber!! Safe woods are softer ones like pine; harder woods like oak are too hard for any parrots except macaws and large cockatoos. THese DIY stores are usually very happy to let you take this scrap lumber for free, but you will need to cut it into pieces your parrot can handle.

maybe made in china but you can go to a pet smart and find toys that are made from them

 

[wrench13]

@Mya true ! I stay away from colored woods/fibers for Salty's toys when possible.

 

[Mya the ringneck]

@Mya true ! I stay away from colored woods/fibers for Salty's toys when possible.

oh ok i was just giving a suggestion because i have used them before and my birds loved them and had no problems. and you can sterilize them easily