Caution~Mousebird Toys

[waterfaller1]

Gryphon likes to play with toys. Not as much as parrots do, but he does like to tap on them, and he messes with everything on my desk.
So I thought...soft, cuddly items when I set up his cage, since he is a single bird at the moment. And a few small colorful toys to mess with.
Then I started seeing pieces of something sticking off his face in the morning, something white. The other day he had a lot, and some in his beak. Which brought me to mind of one little baby that Susanne had, that did not make it. A necropsy showed it had ingested some string.
So just use caution when selecting toys, and I wanted to make sure nobody looked back at my photos, and thought something like this one was appropriate. Come to think of it, I don't really know any bird this toy would be safe for. I threw it out.

the white string one on the right in this photo

the top is a wooden piece, with small plastic heart on wire.

 

[KimKimWilliamson]

Hmm, lots of bird toys come with string, even rope perches....I wonder where to draw the line?
I would think that toy would pose a strangling/tangling risk as well....?

 

[waterfaller1]

OMG..I had not even thought of that!!!!!! Good point Kim.
We would not allow a grip net to become frayed at the edges, for the same reason. It's all in how we look at it. I had thought it looked nice, pretty plain and natural when I first saw it. I just underestimated how much he would mess with it. Could you imagine a real active bird with this toy? I also have a rope perch that is not double ended. By that I mean it has a link on one end, but the other flanges out and has beads. I guess it is really more of a boing, but I have stretched it out and used it as a perch for him. The ends are quite hard and braided, but I am still going to take a closer look at it or at least monitor it.

 

[Anne & Gang]

thanks for the warning!!!

 

[srtiels]

Carole,

Good points. I have noticed that these little brats I am weaning will try and pull threads from a towel and eat them if it is on the cage or even close enough to it, where they can use their little feet to pull it into a cage.

 

[waterfaller1]

Good morning..again.{went back to sleep for awhile..lol} I found a big piece of this in the bottom of the cage near his sandbowl too. He puts bits of romaine in it too. Not sure if he's trying to make a nest, or a salad.

 

[srtiels]

Not sure if he's trying to make a nest, or a salad
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With the rainey season upon us, what he is doing is putting the lettuce in the sand so that he can shimmy (bath) on it.

 

[waterfaller1]

Come on..that was funny...

 

[srtiels]

Come on..that was funny...

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When it is raining outside, and I give Little Bit and Belle some lettuce they will rub themselves against it.

Actually with the BN, it was Gryphon that was the first one that started butting greens and the kiwi skins in the sand bowl, and the others copy-catted him

If you notice, he will also be down there eating some sand too.