Toys & Materials
My Parrot Toy Materials
We have put a great deal of effort into sourcing safe materials for our My Parrot products. Below is a general outline of the materials used in the My Parrot range of toys, including the reasons why we’ve selected them and what to expect when they meet your parrot’s beak.
Wood
Unless we say otherwise, our wooden components are made of untreated pine, and on occasion birch or maple.
All wicker-like components, unless otherwise described are willow, rattan or grapevine, unbleached and untreated.
All plant species we use have been rigorously researched for safety, and we assure you that they underwent no chemical or pressure treatments.
How wood is affected by your bird, depends largely on what species the toy is for, your particular bird's chewing style, the hardness of the wood and the shape of the item. For example; if you give a macaw a cube bead ½” big, with the hole drilled parallel to the grain, it only takes one second to break the bead in half. Fun… but brief. On the other hand, if you give a budgie a cube bead 2” big, it doesn’t matter which way the hole goes, the bead becomes almost insurmountable for the little fellow, making you a bit of a party pooper.
Sisal Rope
Sisal is a plant that has stiff fibers excellent for making rope. Most hardware shop sisal rope is treated with chemicals to protect it from the weather and infestation (so be sure to check before you buy). Our sisal and the sisal found in other products on this site has remained untreated. As a cord in bird toys, sisal is excellent. It is durable, of a rough and interesting texture and readily accepts dye. Some birds absolutely love chewing it and preening it.
Seagrass
Seagrass, as the name suggests is a grass that grows in the sea. It has special properties to reduce its salt intake. Seagrass has been used to make many things. As a cord or rope it has a brittle and crunchy texture (but is quite strong) and is quite attractive. The seagrass on this site is braided and untreated. In the process of turning seagrass into a cord it will be cleaned but having grown in a saline environment there will be a slight salt taste to it. Salt is an essential mineral for birds, however in large quantities it can cause rippling in wing feathers. If you’re trying to cut down the salt in your bird’s diet, you may want to skip toys with this in it. Seagrass has a great crunch to it, and is an enjoyable chew for most parrots.
Jute
Jute is a vegetable fibre used in a variety of manners and is 100% biodegradable, hence its common use to tie up garden rubbish. As a twine or cord it dyes well, is soft and quite fluffy and can be broken with a decent tug. All jute on this site is untreated. Most birds enjoy the texture of jute, and can eventually, with a bit of grinding, chew through it. Jute twine is common in a lot of different shops, and generally untreated (be sure to check!). When wet, jute can come apart pretty easily.
Paulie Rope™
Paulie Rope™ is provided specifically for the making of parrot toys and is quite tough. It consists of a non-toxic polyethylene diamond braid with a tight tension and no central core which means that loose strands from this product are few and stiff and therefore very unlikely to cause entanglement. The rope is 3/32" in diameter, knots relatively easily, can go through the dishwasher and is a favourite chewing item for all the birds.
Supreme Cotton Rope™
Supreme Cotton Rope™ is 100% cotton. Unlike many other cotton rope or polyester-cotton rope blends used in the production of bird toys it is unbleached and unpolished which means it is very soft and fluffy and pulls apart in short tufts easily. This aspect makes it much safer than other cotton ropes when it comes to loose threads. It is also digestible.
Polished cotton on the other hand is very strong and will normally fray into thin, cutting, dental-floss like strands that can easily wrap around ankles and toes causing strangulation or amputation. For well-made perches it functions quite well; being quite durable and reasonably easy to clean. Once the ends start unravelling though, it can become a serious danger.
For toys, which normally receive the more avid kind of attention from your bird, unpolished cotton, such as that found in Supreme Cotton Rope™, makes an excellent stringing product. Birds that like to preen (ie all birds) love this sort of rope for its great chewableness and snuggling factors.
Vegetable Tanned Leather
We only allow dye-free vegetable tanned leather in any of the toys we stock.
All leathers, except rawhide, go through a tanning process. The most common ways to tan leather is chrome tanning where leather is tanned using soluble chromium salts (mainly chromium sulfate), alum tanning, using a colorless aluminum salt (leather shoe laces are commonly done this way), and finally vegetable tanning which uses vegetable materials derived from tree bark and other plants, and unlike the other two, is normally left dye free.
Most birds LOVE leather, and though it can look pretty munched after a few weeks of chewing, it lasts for a long time. If the leather gets particularly wet it can shrink, harden and become brittle. When used as a stringing component, we’ve found that if it’s used to dangle something with a bit of weight, some of the larger birds will spend their first few minutes with the toy biting through it to make all the beads fall off, disrupting the idea of the toy a bit! So if you have a large bird with these tendencies, contemplate toys that have the 1/4 inch leather cord as its stringing component rather than the 1/8 inch.
Paper sticks
Our paper sticks are FDA (Food & Drug Association) approved for use in food products. They are dyed by us, using vegetable food-safe dyes. We just adore these sticks, and so do birds. They can be chewed and picked at and gradually peeled and bent. They are sturdy replacements for small doweling which can be snapped by a well-aimed bite.
Food Safe Vegetable Dye
We dye our wood components with food safe vegetable dye. They will run if they get wet and fade in the sunlight. You are welcome to purchase your toys dye-free, just make a note during check out.
Child Safe Glue
The glue we use is considered child-safe and food-contact safe by the FDA (Food & Drug Association) but we will always specify when we have used this glue in a toy so you can make your own choice about whether you want to give it to your parrot.
Non-toxic Plastic
Plastic comes in a variety of forms, but most of the time (not always though!) it is a very safe material because it has such a high melting point and the chemicals used in the process are not released otherwise. If your bird accidentally swallows a small piece, providing it is not sharp, it should pass through the digestive system safely.
Soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or vinyl, however, contains toxic chemicals as well as lead and cadmium, which is now believed to leach from the product when chewed. These chemicals and elements have been shown to cause a variety of diseases in children and animals if ingested.
It’s also important to realise that even if the plastic itself is safe, sometimes there will be dangerous residues left over from the manufacturing process. A good general rule of thumb to start from is if it smells dodgy even after going through the dishwasher throw it away.
We have researched all the plastic we use in our toys and only use clean, non-toxic plastic.
To better describe how the plastic will react to your bird’s beak we’ve separated them into three categories. Please be aware that this is a guide only and that we strongly urge watch your bird carefully with any new toys to ensure that the way it plays with the toy will not lead to any harm, before leaving your bird alone with it.
Soft Plastic
Often hollow or thin plastic that is pliable and easy for your parrot to chew and destroy. Through your parrot’s tugging, twisting and chomping, the plastic loses its original shape and becomes a patchy mutilated mess. It can come off in small or big bits with friendly edges.
Hard Plastic
Thick or solid plastic that takes a lot more damage from your parrot. Eventually, with certain parts and determined parrots, this plastic can be destroyed, but mostly it survives quite some time. The plastic will generally come away in small bits with rough but not sharp edges. However, the edges left behind could be sharp, so keep an eye on it.
Acrylic
Acrylic is a term that can be used to describe a variety of plastic but in this description we simply mean the stuff that looks like Perspex or is ultra hard. It mostly lasts forever and over time will take on only limited scratch damage from your beloved. However, acrylic toys can be broken. Due to the shape and construction of acrylic toys, it is possible to break or snap them if you drop them on an ultra hard surface. The break will be clean and only in one or two places, but it can also be very sharp and more often than not it makes the toy dangerous or unusable. So you’ll want to be careful where and how you hang them.
Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is steel alloyed with chromium that is highly resistant to stain, rust and corrosion. Nearly all stainless steel is produced from recycled scrap metal and comes in many grades depending on its final use.
The stainless steel types we use are either 304 or 316.
304 Stainless Steel resists most oxidizing acids and withstands ordinary rusting, but it does tarnish (dull and discolour). It is the most commonly uses stainless steel because of its immunity to foodstuffs, especially citrus fruit, and most of the organic and inorganic chemicals, whilst also having great strength and resistance to wear and tear.
316 Stainless Steel is even more resistant to corrosion and rust compared to 304 (hence its wide use in the marine industry), but has less resistance to wear and tear and is not as strong. The difference in strength is something contemplated when you’re hanging a great big anchor from it, rather than a bird toy.
Stainless steel is simply the best metal for your bird. It is rust resistant, zinc and lead-free, it doesn’t chip and is much more defiant to bird chewing. It is extremely resistant to corrosion from things like detergents and fruit juice, it is easy to clean and long-lasting. You can’t ask for much more really.
Information about other Materials
Latex & Rubber
Natural latex is made from 100% natural rubber which is sap from the tree Hevea Brasiliensis. Rubber trees are cultivated, mainly in South East Asia, with sustainability in mind.
Synthetic latex is derived from petrochemicals such as butadiene and styrene. Synthetic additives are added to achieve stabilization.
Both styles of latex/rubber are popular for pet toy production due to its soft and flexible durability. There have been no reported incidents of illness or death associated with this material, though some humans have shown to be allergic to some forms of latex.
Rubber and latex has proven to be popular with parrots who like to chew. It takes a bit of effort but with a good chomp and some tearing the material will gradually end up at the bottom of the cage in a heap of small bits.
Rust
Rust is the result when oxygen comes in long-term contact and combines with certain metal elements. The result is an oxide which weakens the metal’s structure and strength. Water, and more specifically, dampness, is even worse for most metals as the hydrogen contained reacts with certain elements to create acid which helps expose more atoms to the destructive power of oxygen. The colour of rust (whether it is orange, white or green) is actually the scorching of the metal as this reaction occurs.
The danger of rust all depends on what metal is actually rusting, and to be on the safe side all rusted metal or metal alloys (chemically combined metal elements) should be kept away from a bird’s nibbling.
Zinc Plated or Galvanised Steel
Zinc in low quantities is perfectly safe for your bird; in fact it is an essential mineral. However in metal, zinc can be quite toxic, due to it being present in such high and pure quantities. If ingested it has been shown to cause illness and even death. This is not an issue if your bird doesn’t chew the metal components, but a lot of birds do.
Most zinc-coated hardware used to make parrot-paraphernalia has been electroplated rather than dipped. Zinc-dipped products will be extremely dull and rough in appearance and can get white rust when exposed to water. White rust is extremely toxic to birds if ingested. When an item has been electroplated it is somewhat safer, as there is far less zinc and it has been bound to the steel. The zinc, however, can still leech into water or soft foods with prolonged contact.
It is not a simple process to test for zinc, but it is reasonable to assume that if the kind of metal used has not been stated by the manufacturer it is probably zinc-plated. This is because zinc plating is the cheapest and most prevalent way to prevent steel from rusting.
Please note that some toothbrushes contain zinc or copper in their heads (either as thread or fastening for the bristles), both of which can be harmful to your bird.
None of the My Parrot toys contain zinc plated steel. For other toys and products we sell we have contacted the producers whenever possible in regard to the metal they use. When we know for sure what metal a toy or perch contains we will mention so in the product description.
There is a link to a great article by Ed Harris on testing for zinc located on our Health & Safety Index Page if you would like to learn more about this substance.
More information on testing for zinc in Parrot Toys, Play Gyms, and cages can be found here.
Nickel Plated Steel
A slightly more expensive style of plating, but it is non-toxic for birds. Nickel plating protects from rust when used indoors, but once taken outside or left in a puddle of water by the sink the end is nigh. Generally safe, but not very long lasting.
Chrome
Anything labelled as chrome is chromium plated. As a solid metal by itself it’s pretty useless, but it works very well as a thin protective layer over steel or other metals. Most often chrome plating is actually a layered nickel and chrome plating, but can also be used in conjunction with zinc. The chrome adds a bluish tone and protects the nickel (which has a yellow tint used by itself) against tarnish. It minimizes scratching and contributes to the corrosion resistance of the nickel. It is not particularly resistant to corrosion and rust unless there have been at least two layers of nickel before hand, for which in household hardware there is about a 50/50 chance. Chrome by itself is non-toxic to birds.
Non-galvanized or Plated Steel
Its very unlikely you will find non-galvanised steel anywhere, but for those birds who chew enough to get under the plating of a steel product, it has been shown to be non-toxic.
Aluminium
Aluminium is non-toxic but quite soft. Not brilliant for the big chewers.
Copper
Copper has been shown, on occasion, to be toxic to birds. Copper rust is definitely toxic to people, which is why all copper pots have a thin tin coating which protects the copper beneath and is safe if the tin itself rusts.
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc that has, on occasion, shown to be toxic.
Lead
Extremely toxic to birds! Common sources of lead in the home include lead paint, curtain weights, many stained glass window frames and tiffany lamps, foil from champagne bottles, old pewter, lead batteries and weighted ashtrays and toys. Lead is also often used for soldering other metal together. Pencil lead is made from carbon.
Tin
Non-galvanized tin is non-toxic, however most tin you will come across has been galvanised or deliberately rusted.
Iron
So long as it isn’t treated with antirust paints Iron is non-toxic to birds.
Wrought Iron
These days the phrase “wrought iron” can mean almost anything. It used to mean almost pure iron (often infused with carbon for strength) wrought into some kind of shape. In this form it is non-toxic for your bird, but it is always wise to research what they ‘actually mean’ when they say wrought iron as it can just as easily be some other kind of metal which may not be good for your bird.
Powder Coating
Powder coating is applying a (normally) non-toxic plastic paint to metal to protect it from rust and corrosion. It can be very durable against a bird’s beak if it has been done well, but can be easily chipped off in lesser-quality products. It is good practice to find out what kind of metal the plastic powder-coat finish is actually on.
Welding
Welding is the joining of metal parts by heating it to such a high temperature that it essentially melts together.
Soldering
Soldering is using an alloy of low melting point to join metal parts together. The most common solders are alloys containing tin, lead, zinc, antimony, bismuth, indium, gold, silver, cadmium and copper.
Glue in general
Glue is most dangerous during its application when, often, noxious fumes are released. Because birds are far more sensitive to inhalent fumes than humans or other pets (little bodies and rapid breathing being part of the reason) it is wise to perform your own gluing in a well ventilated room that your bird is not residing.
Once dry, however, glue becomes a tougher substance to classify safety wise. There has been little research into how various glues might affect your bird, however the two main ways it could get into your bird's system are:
- chemicals leeching from the glue via your birds saliva or
- some glue being chewed off the product, swallowed and digested.
Glue from a hot-glue gun
Like most other glue, not much research has gone into this substance, but anecdotally, once completely dry and solid this is a relatively safe glue to use in parrot toys, with no reported deaths or illness caused by the consumption of it.
Abaca
Abaca, also called Manila hemp (though it bears no relation to hemp except in some of its uses), is the fibre extracted from the very long leaves of the abaca plant, which is related to the banana. It is most abundant in the Philippines and is commonly used for rigging and other marine cables. It is also used for porous paper products like tea bags. The reason the brown Manila envelopes are called so is because they are created using pulp of Manila Hemp.
For the purpose of parrot products abaca is a non-toxic and stiff fibre. As a rope and compared to sisal it is thicker, stronger and coarser but with a bounciness that is quite appetising to the chewing beak. It also has a rich and varied colour that looks just lovely.
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