Life On The Inside

A little birdie told us about the last meeting and how there were lots of questions on how to make perches and stuff. Our big human thought we might like to tell you a little bit about some of the good stuff to make perches and stands out of. When our human got Shades (that ugly gray bird that shares our home), the vet who used to see him, whose name is Dr. Joel Murphy, wrote this neat book called "How to Care for Your Pet Bird." It has all sorts of neat stuff in it that has helped our human with lots and lots of stuff. One whole chapter is on safe and toxic plants for birds. That's where we are getting our information from.

Anyway...this book says that when you use a natural tree branch as a perch for us, your human should scrub it with regular detergent and rinse well. We liked Mr. President Ray's idea of baking it in the oven for awhile, too. You see, that not only destroys any bugs that might be inside the bark, but it also dries out the wood really good so there won't be any mold or stuff growing on it. (YUCK, just the thought of that makes me shiver!!)

So, what's safe wood? This book says that safe trees are: Apple, ash, almond, apricot, peach, plum, prune, all citrus, dogwood, elm, guava, papaya (can you tell he's from Florida?!?!?), pear, madrona (what the heck is that?), magnolia, mansanita, vine maple, goat maple and thurlow. The book says not to use junipers or spruces because they contain something called saps, which can be toxic and can irritate our skin or our breathing apparatus (OK, we'll be clinical and say respiratory system!). The book also says that trees with rough bark, like sugar maple, firs, cedars and Western hemlock can also cause a problem for us. And even though it is a fruit, the cherry tree is on the list of potentially poisonous wood and so is red maple, locust trees and holly.

Now, we know this list is long, but do us a favor and be careful. The signs of poisoning, as listed in Dr. Murry's book, are: Acute problems with breathing, diarrhea, vomiting, bloody stool, lethargy (that means looking or acting sleepy), loss of appetite, seizures, loss of balance, weight loss or behavior changes. If you see any of these signs in your pet bird, please take him to the vet right away. Don't mess around with thinking it will be OK. You could end up with no parrot at all and that would be horrible!

Well, we know this isn't a funny or cute thing to talk about, but we hope we answered some questions and gave you some information that will help you and your parrots!