Safe Coloring Methods

Submitted by: Diane Trifilo - October, 1996
Bird toy can be used for Large Size Birds
I make most of my bird toys, too, and here's what I was told are some safe methods:

1) Jello mix (unsweetened) or food coloring. Soak wood pieces or clothespins or whatever in jello mix and water for several hours or overnight. This give natural wood soft pastel coloring.

2) For bolder color - I like the method of using the confectionary coloring paste sold in bakery supply stores or where baking accessories are sold in department stores. This thick gel substance makes very bold coloring when only a few drops of water are mixed with a small glob of the paste. I brush this on the wood like paint and the colors are striking.

3) I was told by Gillian that tempra paints sold in all kids craft departments are also nontoxic and safe to use. I bought some pretty florescent color ones and painted those on a few wooden baby blocks I bought at a flea market. Emily, my CAG, LOVES these as hand toys.

Beads, Coloring and Sisal

Submitted by: Tristin - July 24, 1996
Bird toy can be used for Large Size Birds
For large birds, stick to Marabella beads and unpainted macrame wood beads for making toys. You can color them with food coloring or try frosting coloring in water. String hunks of soft wood on leather strips or natural sisal rope. Buy sisal in the small spools at a variety store, the stuff at the hardware store is treated with creosile. Nasty stuff. Try getting a 2x2x8 fir strip and cutting it in 4" blocks. Color and string. Macaws LOVE it.

Toy Safety Tips from Anne Johnson

Beware of Cotton Rope

Submitted by: Anne Johnson of Avian Antics Bird Toys - November 4, 1996
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Cotton rope toys pose a SERIOUS threat to the safety of your birds. I only recommend that cotton rope toys be used under direct supervision. As the cotton rope frays, it becomes a dangerous deadly trap. Birds can become entangled in the frayed pieces. Injuries that have resulted from being caught in rope toys range from amputation of single digits to an entire foot. The worst cases that I know of are birds who strangled to death while struggling to free themselves. Sisal rope is a safer alternative to cotton rope

Check Bells Carefully

Submitted by: Joanie Doss - amazons@Alaska.NET - June 17, 1997
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
I have seen many toys I would love to buy for my Amazons but won't because of the bell that is put on the toy. Some of these bells are downright dangerous. The following are some of the things I found about bells:

1. The material they used to make the bell. Some of the metals are not bird safe.
2. The clapper in the bells are not attached so that they can take the rough play. Those beaks can break the clapper from the bell in record time. Also some of the clappers are made from lead.
3. Many toys say they are for Amazons but the bell is not strong enough or big enough to withstand Amazon assaults.
4. Some bells are dangerous at the top where they attach to a chain. The space where they attach is a size where a toe or beak can get stuck.
5. The bell is well made and right for Amazons but the method to attach it to the cage can pierce through a foot or beak.

Amazons love bells. They love to shake them and make deafening noises with them. It is a shame that a toy they love so much could actually hurt them. I have some large ones that I bought many years ago that my guys have used for over 15 years.

WARNING

Warning On Plastic Tops Of Water Bottles

DO NOT FLAVOR WOOD!

Submitted by: Beth - February 08, 1998
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT FLAVOR WOOD (rope, etc.) you use for your birds! You may want to add "color" to the wood, but PLEASE do NOT add a flavor! You don't want to tempt your birds to ingest the wood, and adding a flavor may do just that. Please DO NOT use any flavorings (jello, Kool-Aid, juices, whatever!)

If you want to COLOR wood, try using a food coloring & add a little vinegar to make the color set better.

*****D O N O T F L A V O R ANYTHING OTHER THAN FOOD!****

Be Really Careful What You Give Your Bird!

If Not Careful Your Bird Could Die

Is Sisal Safe???

PlayTray

Beware of Fibers!

Submitted by: Muffin - March 28, 2002
Bird toy can be used for Small Size Birds
My bird has been ripping the fibers out of one of those woody toys that has yarn knots in it, and it may be causing her problems. She has a yeast crop infection that has two factors playing in on it: a molt and the production of eggs. Her consumption of the toy's fibers may have impacted her condition, or it may not. But be careful with small birds and toys with strings, they like to eat them somtimes, and it may irritate the crop.

Batteries Are Not A Good Idea

Submitted by: ella - June 17, 2002
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Someone submitted the idea of tying a large battery in your birds cage so it could swing it back and forth. However, I don't think this is a good idea as a: the bird might injure itself, b:,battery acid may leak out. A better idea is to attach a pingpong ball with a bell in it or without.

Birdie Poison

Submitted by: Birdie's Best Buddie - October 10, 2002
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Human spit can be poisonous to birds. Do NOT use old toothbrushes, Chewed-on (or sucked-on)food,etc.

Cotton Rope

Bicycle Bead Fun!

Tissue Hazards ?!?

Glue

Submitted by: clara - June 27, 2004
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Don't use glue guns near birds. The fumes have killed some.
I have also heard they shlouldn't play with toilet/tissue rolls because the glue is not safe. A safer glue can be made out of flour and water.

Wood

Submitted by: clara - June 27, 2004
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds
Buy wood at the lumber yard.
Usually the cheapest pine is the best because it has no sealant or any kind of coating on it. Allways ask them before buying.

T-Shirt Danger

Submitted by: Jade - February 04, 2005
Bird toy can be used for All Size Birds

I'm a relatively new parrot owner, and I have a three year old Jenday called Sherman. I've taken great care to avoid using materials in his cage that he could ever get caught in. Today I came home and Sherman was hanging by his foot, his tiny little toes swollen two and a half times as big as usual. He had been caught in the cloth that his previous owner had put in his teepee, and had wrapped it not only around his band and his leg, but around his swing as well.

My warning is to watch out for any cloth that could ever possibly fray! Rope isn't the only danger. Had we been minutes later, his foot would have had to have been amputated.