Many metal parts of bird toys, cages and household items contain toxic (heavy) metals including lead, copper and zinc. These are generally more of an issue when they are rusted, but non-rusted metal can also be a problem. Birds may lick or chew on pieces of metal on toys, electronic items, painted objects, costume jewellery etc and become poisoned.
Sometimes there are residual particles of metal within the gut, but sometimes the metal is invisible, having been already fully absorbed into the blood stream.
Only a small amount is needed to cause a problem. Symptoms include vomiting, weakness, wobbly balance, seizures and even death.
Please inspect your bird’s cage and toys for rust and be mindful that not all toys from pet shops are safe. Metal parts on toys made out of stainless steel are the only ones that are guaranteed to be safe.
Monitor your bird when they are out of the cage to ensure they’re not chewing on things they shouldn’t. We all know that birds like to get themselves into trouble!! Here is a picture of Tiago the Amazon Parrot, stealing fruit from the fruit bowl. That’s fine, but the metal fruit bowl could cause intoxication if Tiago chewed on it. The xray shows a view of a parrot with a large piece of metal sitting in its gizzard.
