we ALL share the environment. please handle with care.
Joined: Mar 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 366 Location: central jersey
plastic eater « Thread Started on Oct 28, 2009, 8:08pm »
So Sandy has started doing something a bit out of the ordinary for her. She has always had a demolition beak when it comes to shreddable things and bells, but she has started chewing on/breaking off pieces of plastic off of her food dishes. We replaced them with metal ones so now she has no option. Has anyone else noticed their fids doing this out of nowhere? We tried giving her a mineral block or cuttle bone but she doesn't touch it. Could this behavior be due to a calcium deficiency? We took all of them for their regular check-up and the doc said her calcium was a tiny bit low. He told us not really to worry about it, but now I'm wondering if this behavior is due to that. Since she won't touch a cuttlebone whole, about how much should be scraped onto her food on a regular basis? thanks!!
God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages.
Joined: Aug 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 3,246 Location: Western NY
Re: plastic eater « Reply #1 on Oct 28, 2009, 8:52pm »
If she likes to chew get her some toys with wooden pieces on them. Rocco chews up pine 2X4's by the yard. As for the low calcium you can just scrape cuttlebone on the top of her food. Use enough so you can see it. You can get liquid calcium from the vet or you can feed a slice or two of almond. I have to watch Ollies plastic toys for chewing Yogi
Re: plastic eater « Reply #2 on Oct 29, 2009, 2:16am »
Hi Yogi. I had forgotten that you too have a Patty! All of my guys chew on anything and everything. I actually get soft wooden blocks from Birdsafe.com that attach to the sides of the cage. Detre, Patty, will chew to bits!
Joined: Aug 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 1,661 Location: SE Florida
Re: plastic eater « Reply #3 on Oct 29, 2009, 2:07pm »
A while back, I noticed that Andi's plastic water and food dishes were missing a small part on the top, but I think she has stopped. I never saw her do it.
Strange that I never see her pulling out and chewing on her tail and wing feathers, but she is still doing it.
we ALL share the environment. please handle with care.
Joined: Mar 2006 Gender: Female Posts: 366 Location: central jersey
Re: plastic eater « Reply #4 on Oct 31, 2009, 8:52am »
Thanks Yogi, we will upgrade her toys to chewable rather then shreddable. I think between the scraped cuttlebone which we've been doing for a few days now and some almonds, we'll be OK.
Diane, thanks for the cite...we'll be putting in an order soon.
Jill, we've actually sat and watched her attack the plastic dishes, and she's even tried to attack the metal ones now so I think it really is just her urge to chew on something a bit more substantial and not just shred. My little wierdo is growing up
Joined: Jun 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 2,303 Location: West Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Re: plastic eater « Reply #5 on Nov 2, 2009, 12:17pm »
Tiki rarely chews on anything except paper toweling and Mango likes to remodel Kleenex boxes during her spell in the family room each evening. That's when she's not tracing the veins on Kay's hand
Joined: Jan 2008 Gender: Female Posts: 72 Location: Port Orchard, WA.
Re: plastic eater « Reply #6 on Nov 4, 2009, 1:31pm »
My amazon loves to chew up plastic, bottles caps, yogurt lids, toy soldiers, hair rollers etc. She likes that stuff better than toys, of course I run them thru the dishwasher before she gets them.
Joined: Feb 2005 Gender: Female Posts: 1,715 Location: Butte, Montana
Re: plastic eater « Reply #7 on Nov 8, 2009, 5:10pm »
My birds aslo just like paper products. I buy adding machine rolls and put them in the cages. Also Teka goes under her newspaper and chews it all up ---all the time making cooing sounds. Every morning I have a mess to clean up when I clean their cages! I have bought mucho number of toys, and they like the paper best. Caragh and I do a little fight with a folded paper every night on my lap. She loves it! I lightly tap her beak and she tries to grab it in her beak, then she laughs like everything. She loves little games! Pat
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