Lead in power cords and transfer to birds

[saroj12]

So it appears electrical cords have lead on the surface. So it can transfer to your birds from your hands if you don't wash them. Any thoughts on this?

 

[lotus15]

Is this based on the fact that most power cords are wrapped / coated (not sure what the technical term is here) in PVC? Or is there a separate source of lead? If it's because of the PVC, that's why I've always been very paranoid about using PVC with Lola myself. Haven't thought about washing my hands after touching powder cords, though. I would think that it couldn't possibly be a large amount of residual lead, or else we'd see a lot more side effects (not just in parrots but in humans, babies, etc.). I think the real dangers are when it is chewed or ingested? (Disclaimer that this is all my unscientific, stream-of-consciousness reaction.)

 

[saroj12]

Is this based on the fact that most power cords are wrapped / coated (not sure what the technical term is here) in PVC? Or is there a separate source of lead? If it's because of the PVC, that's why I've always been very paranoid about using PVC with Lola myself. Haven't thought about washing my hands after touching powder cords, though. I would think that it couldn't possibly be a large amount of residual lead, or else we'd see a lot more side effects (not just in parrots but in humans, babies, etc.). I think the real dangers are when it is chewed or ingested? (Disclaimer that this is all my unscientific, stream-of-consciousness reaction.)

yes it's the pvc. I read about pvc for the first time yesterday and was so surprised! I was freaking out last night because I didn't wash my hands after plugging in the heater and handled food. Have to research this more.

 

[jmfleish]

From my understanding, depending on the type of PVC, the amount of lead in them is almost non-existent and it’s not anything that could come off on your hands, it’s part of the chemical compound of the PVC. Unless you are chewing and ingesting it, it shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[JLcribber]

Overhyped paranoia IMO. Jen explained it very well.

 

[jmfleish]

I will make a disclaimer here, vinyl is considered pvc and a lot of the rubber ducks are made of vinyl and other softer plastic toys like the rubber ducks. When dealing with that kind of softer plastic and giving it to you birds as toys, you do want to be very careful to make sure it isn’t vinyl. That’s a toy that birds can chew on and tear up and is why I don’t ever use any of them in my toys. I do have a few toys made out of the hard pvc that we use for water pipes. I consider this very safe mostly because the piping is far to hard for most birds to chew on, so the chewing is not an issue.

 

[lotus15]

I will make a disclaimer here, vinyl is considered pvc and a lot of the rubber ducks are made of vinyl and other softer plastic toys like the rubber ducks. When dealing with that kind of softer plastic and giving it to you birds as toys, you do want to be very careful to make sure it isn’t vinyl. That’s a toy that birds can chew on and tear up and is why I don’t ever use any of them in my toys. I do have a few toys made out of the hard pvc that we use for water pipes. I consider this very safe mostly because the piping is far to hard for most birds to chew on, so the chewing is not an issue.

Totally agree... I always cringe when I see toys with soft vinyl. While I'm not totally comfortable with hard PVC either simply because I'm so paranoid, its application is somewhat unavoidable with a lot of bird toys, like with end caps on some rope perches. I inspect anything PVC that I give to Lola regularly, though, to make sure she isn't chewing it (because she loves a challenge). But this is one of the reasons I try to avoid PVC gyms and perches and especially foraging toys.

 

[Clueless]

yes it's the pvc. I read about pvc for the first time yesterday and was so surprised! I was freaking out last night because I didn't wash my hands after plugging in the heater and handled food. Have to research this more.

Here I go down the rabbit hole......

I have a shower perch for MC that he only uses when getting a shower. It's one of my very first purchases. Is that pipe not safe for him to stand on for that brief time while i spray him in the shower?

 

[lotus15]

Here I go down the rabbit hole......

I have a shower perch for MC that he only uses when getting a shower. It's one of my very first purchases. Is that pipe not safe for him to stand on for that brief time while i spray him in the shower?

In my opinion, standing on a PVC shower perch is totally safe. It's the chewing/ingesting that I'd worry about.

 

[jmfleish]

Even the chewing I don't think will hurt unless they are breaking pieces off. The incredibly minute amount of lead that is in that kind of white PVC that is used for plumbing is going to be completely inert. It's part of the compound of the PVC and isn't going to just come off it. If you burn it or change the chemical compound in any way and mouth it during that process, then you've got a problem. That's my two cents.

 

[JLcribber]

Here I go down the rabbit hole......

Climb out of the hole and relax.