Fresh cut bamboo

[JohnH]

Is fresh cut (green) bamboo safe to let my cockatoo chew on?
I found some growing in the woods behind my neighbors house.
Are the leaves safe?

 

[JohnH]

Found a couple posts that says it's ok. If anyone knows otherwise please speak up.

http://www.birdsafe.com/woods.htm

http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/56669-why-no-leaves.html

 

[JohnH]

 

[ParrotLover7]

I just read and it said it was safe.

 

[SailBoat]

Wait, you're in NY! What, you live next door to a Green House?

 

[Flboy]

Awesome idea! I would assume sugarcane is the same!

 

[JohnH]

Also came across some sweet looking vines. Some as thick as a baseball bat. If they turn out to be safe to use this bird is going to have one hell of a jungle gym.

 

[SailBoat]

Awesome idea! I would assume sugarcane is the same!

Take care that it is wild grown and not part of a farming operation1

 

[Flboy]

Awesome idea! I would assume sugarcane is the same!

Take care that it is wild grown and not part of a farming operation1

I hear you! Where I live, you take a piece of live sugarcane, stick it in the ground, it grows!

 

[SailBoat]

Awesome idea! I would assume sugarcane is the same!

Take care that it is wild grown and not part of a farming operation1

I hear you! Where I live, you take a piece of live sugarcane, stick it in the ground, it grows!

Yaaaa, I know what you are saying about that reality!

 

[JohnH]

SailBoat are you any good at identifying vines?

 

[SailBoat]

SailBoat are you any good at identifying vines?

Only the ones that I do not want to make contact with! We have one of those booklets on leafs that includes trees, brushes and vines. That's as technical that I get with that stuff!

 

[Flboy]

Give this site a try:
PA BCI Plantae leaf -- identification guide -- Discover Life

 

[JohnH]

I think I'm going to have to wait until spring when the leaves come in to make a positive ID.
Thanks for the link Flboy

 

[JohnH]

Here's a couple pictures of some vines

 

[JohnH]

My little buddy is going to town on the bamboo branches.
Very happy to have found another cheap toy.
My neighbor is happy too. He won't have to cut back the bamboo as often.

 

[JohnH]

Update:

I've been reluctant to update this post because I didn't want to jinx myself. Fingers crossed. Here goes. Since adding bundles of bamboo every few days, my birds plucking has decreased 99%. Found maybe 3 small feathers since introducing the bamboo.

 

[EllenD]

That's very interesting...Is he actually eating the bamboo or just chewing on it? I have a ton of huge, long bamboo shoots that I have in several vases around my house, I often wondered it it would be safe for the birds, and my Senegal needs something new to chew on, he's going through wooden toys like water! I think I bought most of this green bamboo at Home Depot, they had a blow-out sale at the end of the summer. They're huge, so if they are safe for birds to chew on/eat I'll give one to Kane and see what he thinks.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

 

[JohnH]

She chews it. Before you try your bamboo can you post a picture of it. When I was researching this topic someone pointed out that the stuff sold at stores usually is not bamboo. It's a different plant that looks remarkably like bamboo and it's not safe for parrots. The leaves are different. That's how I was able to identify it.

 

[JohnH]

Btw i cut the branches off the stalks and stuff them in the cage like a bouquet of flowers. The bird breaks off the smaller branches then strippes the leaves then chops the remainder of the branch into toothpick size pieces.