Paper for shredding

[nrm123]

Hi, in the pet stores ive seen paper rolls for birds to shred, I thought whats the point in paying for it when i have paper at home. So i scrunched it up and tied it to the cage. just making sure that normal copier paper is ok for the birds if they digest it instead of tearing for fun?

 

[MomtoPercy]

I believe normal copier paper is fine, yes. My bird doesn't shred paper, he prefers cardboard and egg cartons. I've given him a roll of adding paper and he very neatly unrolled it into a huge pile and didn't touch it further. He did however shred the cardboard tube that was left when he finished unwinding it!

 

[Birdman666]

My birds have been turning telephone books into confetti for over a decade now.

It's a free bird toy that really holds their interest, and gives them something they can chew up to prevent them from chewing up the things they are not supposed to chew up....

 

[nrm123]

ah thats good because my bird hasnt really left it since i put it in the cage. Even perches on the ball of paper which makes me think it may be female as if it was in a nest? So inked paper is suitable aswell?

 

[Birdman666]

I've been using it for over a decade. It's the glossy/photo paper with the chemicals on it you want to stay away from.

 

[nrm123]

I've been using it for over a decade. It's the glossy/photo paper with the chemicals on it you want to stay away from.

ok thank you

 

[RavensGryf]

I've also done the phone books before. Robin makes little dry spit wads from newspaper. Pieces chewed into tiny balls all over lol.

* I was always wondering about the egg cartons - since I've heard of people using them before I assume it's safe, but my question is, even if an egg didn't crack in it, I wonder if there is a remote chance of Salmomella or anything from the shells... Or, are our store bought eggs cleaned in such a way that it can't be an issue?

 

[Betrisher]

I shred up all our junk mail and put it in the rummage basket for the birds. They don't eat the shred, just pull it out and make an uber-mess all over the floor. But that's OK: they get so much fun out of it, that I really don't mind a paper uber-mess. For chomping, they prefer egg cartons and cardboard of a particular stiffness and texture. Some cereal boxes are OK, others they won't touch. All corrugated cardboard is great as is anything made of wood or plastic.

Sadly, Dominic has recently discovered the rubber gasket on the fridge (he spends much of his day on top of the fridge, remodelling cardboard boxes and turning them into confetti for me). In an effort to deter him from degassing my fridge, I put an old wooden chopping board over the door so Dom couldn't nom. Of course, the first result of this was that everyone got brained by the (rather heavy) chopping board falling on top of them when opening the fridge. This was good for our collective waistlines; not so good for our collective heads. The second result was that Dominic began turning the chopping board into matchwood which settled onto the top of the fridge gasket. Again, whenever anyone opened the door, a shower of splinters would fall in their hair. Sigh. The third thing was that Dommie learned to hop onto the fridge door as you open it and get a couple mouthfuls of rubber before you scoot him off. Wicked old bird!

Watch your bird and take note of what he likes to chomp on. Then, find ways of giving it to him in different places: a basket or box, stuck in his cage bars, tied to a string etc etc. Chewing is the most important Work our parrots do and they really can't get enough of it.

PS. Note to self: ring fridge-gasket-man in the morning...

 

[MomtoPercy]

Whahaha!! Dom is such a card!

Re the egg cartons : I lightly mist them with apple cider solution and nuke them on high for 30 second's. Not sure it does anything but it makes me feel better . He doesn't eat them though, just shreds them. But yes, his tongue does spend some time in contact with I.

 

[Birdbrain91]

I have phone books in all my cages and they don't do much with them. They like the news paper lining because its not a toy. All they want to do is chew my baseboards and the kitchen cabinets not their toys. I keep trying new ones eventually I'll find one they like.

 

[Betrisher]

I've found the only solution for the chewing of one's house is to systematically cover everything they go for. So, all my kitchen cupboards now have plastic storage boxes on top of them that the Beaks don't like to chew. The skirting boards are off-limits (having three cats and a dog, the floor is not a safe place for Beakies), but I'd be putting something unpleasant in front of them until your birds forget about them. Wood is useful: most birds get sick of paper and cardboard over time and really appreciate the chance to get their teeth into something substantial. I use untreated pallet timber, which I can easily get locally for free. I cut round 'biscuits' out of it, which I string on stainless steel kebab sticks or jute twine and the leftover length of now-swiss-cheesed timber is hung from the top of the cage. This is the Beaks' favourite thing to do: they hang upside down from the bit of timber and chew it until it's gone. Takes about a day.

My lovebirds like nothing more than a hedgehog made from a paper towel cylinder stuck all over with bamboo chopsticks. They will worry away at that until it's turned completely into splinters and get lots of swinging and chasing and flying about as a result of it. They also like toilet roll cylinders, but once those hit the floor, they're forgotten. None of my birds spends any time on the floor, so everything has to be hangable. Hubby is just in the process of enclosing all our network cables in PVC conduit. Guess why?

 

[clofromco]

Love this..great ideas.