Paper towel rolls.

[JSimko]

I was told by a breeder that paper towel rolls use glue that contains led, so it is no good for birds as a toy.

[retret]

agree, also I read somewhere that anything that we use in the bathroom is not a good toy for the parrot so bathroom tissue core is not good..

[birdgirl]

oh no I make most of my parrot toys with parper towel rolls I will stop as of now

[Amanda]

I'm glad you brought this up, JSimko. I always give Bijou toilet paper rolls and I just started giving Rio paper towel rolls. I'm going to take it out of their cages right away.

[Mrs.Birdy]

THANKS J.

[jackie]

is it just in the glue, because i've always cut the rolls into smaller pieces and left out the glue part incase it was bad for them.

[birdygirl]

For those of you who's birds like paper towel rolls they make bird safe cardboard tubes in fun colors at the Windy City Parrot. windycityparrot.com

[JSimko]

I believe that it is just the glue, however it just about covers them. It is much better to just buy the cardboard tubes from a pet store or online as long as they are bird safe.

[Amanda]

Sorta out of topic ...

But I also read that the ink from newspapers are toxic to birds. I have replaced the newspaper from Bijou's cage with paper towels. Rio doesn't go down the bottom of her cage so I'm not worried about her eating/shredding the newspaper at the bottom of her cage. However, Bijou is forever trying to shred the newspaper from her cage (even through the grate) ... so I've decided to put paper towels in her cage. I'm hoping that this behavior will be over as soon as "breeding" season pass.

BTW, we found out that Bijou is a "female" when she laid 2 eggs this week. She has been acting very territorial about her cage and it's been a challenge trying to give her food and water. I have to distract her with a stick (which she beats up) while I have my other hand inside her cage. Or, I also get her to "step up" onto a dowel and remove her from her cage before I service it.

[parrotboy]

As you are talkin about tubes!!
i went to a pet shop once and their was this aviary with lovebirds in and the only "toy" they had was a tube the size of a toilet roll. it was hanging on the side of the aviary horizontally and the birds were getting so much pleasure out of crawling in one side and out the other!! so i decided to make my own when i got home what i did was got an thick apple brach and drilled a big hole straight the middle big enough for the birds to crawl through!! i then attached it to the side of the aviary! i then put some nuts in it to entice them in!! they luv it. they crawl through it 24/7 and some birds sleep in it! lol

[Amanda]

That's a good idea, parrotboy! I have something similar in Bijou's cage. My husband made her a tube from PVC, drilled a couple of holes and hung it on top of the cage. She also has a coconut hut ... it's a real coconut shell that has some holed drilled into it and it's also hanging in her cage. I bought this coconut hut for only $4.00 and she loves it!

[Mrs.Birdy]

Those are great ideas for my budgies. My cockatiel is too afraid of things like that to try and besides I'm afraid she'll get stuck inside one.