Parrot proofing your house.

[Weka]

Thanks for your input, cml! Yeah, I'm going to try to get a drying rack for works so they can "off-gas" in the garage for a bit. In winter this might mean I need to figure out a safe way to keep things warm enough for drying to occur, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

As for plants: I absolutely agree that "better safe than sorry"; but as a lover of exotic plants it's frustrating that there's not much hard data to be found online. What's poisonous for a human child or dog might be harmless to a bird, and vice versa. Ah, well. I guess there aren't many phytotoxicologist birdkeepers out there...


Here's another thing I'm wondering about -- I keep hearing about parrots destroying books, yet I see quite a few YouTube videos (Michael's included) that have open bookshelves. Any thoughts on this? I have over 400 books, some of which are irreplaceable. That being said, I could always get a more secure place to keep the rarer ones in. Also, what do owners do to insure their birds don't accidentally slide behind high bookcases? I'm thinking duct tape as a temporary solution, but there has to be a better way...


Best,

W

[cml]

Here's another thing I'm wondering about -- I keep hearing about parrots destroying books, yet I see quite a few YouTube videos (Michael's included) that have open bookshelves. Any thoughts on this? I have over 400 books, some of which are irreplaceable. That being said, I could always get a more secure place to keep the rarer ones in. Also, what do owners do to insure their birds don't accidentally slide behind high bookcases? I'm thinking duct tape as a temporary solution, but there has to be a better way...

I'll take a photo of our bookcases in the livingroom. Basically you need to make sure there is no way of them getting down behind it, in any way. This can be achieved in many ways, like anchoring them to the wall, putting up boards on top of the shelfs that line up towards the wall, or what Ive done: Making sure the shelfs reach all the way to the ceiling.

Irreplacable books I would put in a bookshelf with glassdoors. Mine dont ever land on the shelfs (but used to love to hang out ontop of the whole bookshelf, until we did what you'll see in the pic) so I dont worry too much. Still, I dont keep books or trinkets there that I would mind getting destroyed. But again, mine has never in two years landed on the shelfs (knock on wood), probably because I put the books all the way out, so there is no room to land on.

Ill snap a picture of our setup later!

[cml]

Sorry for pic quality, didnt take out the camera but snapped it with my phone this time.

Books all the way out to the edge of each shelf, boxes ontop of each bookshelf, all the way up to the ceiling (its less than 1/2" to the ceiling from the boxes). Works like a charm.

[Weka]

Hum! That's definitely one solution -- one that also uses up unused space. Thanks, cml!

[Pajarita]

My parrots would have a field day with those cardboard boxes, though...

[cml]

My parrots would have a field day with those cardboard boxes, though...

How? Mine completely ignore them as there is no way for them to land. Do your parrots hoover like a chopper while chewing ?!

[GreenWing]

Sorry for pic quality, didnt take out the camera but snapped it with my phone this time.

Books all the way out to the edge of each shelf, boxes ontop of each bookshelf, all the way up to the ceiling (its less than 1/2" to the ceiling from the boxes). Works like a charm.

This pic made me LOL because it's so organized and fid-proofed!

[Pajarita]

My parrots would have a field day with those cardboard boxes, though...

How? Mine completely ignore them as there is no way for them to land. Do your parrots hoover like a chopper while chewing ?!

The little ones can hover real well but the others would just hang on with their claws dug into the cardboard or grab the spaces open for the hands (I have all different sizes parrots, from cockatoos to little budgies). Mine think that cardboard was invented so parrots can chew on it (I give them new boxes to chew two or three times a week and they love them to pieces -literally -LOL).

[cml]

My parrots would have a field day with those cardboard boxes, though...

How? Mine completely ignore them as there is no way for them to land. Do your parrots hoover like a chopper while chewing ?!

The little ones can hover real well but the others would just hang on with their claws dug into the cardboard or grab the spaces open for the hands (I have all different sizes parrots, from cockatoos to little budgies). Mine think that cardboard was invented so parrots can chew on it (I give them new boxes to chew two or three times a week and they love them to pieces -literally -LOL).

Too bad for you . Mine ignore the boxes and dont even fly close to them (in their minds it's a WALL).
But I doubt your birds could get their claws through these boxes, unless they are razorsharp and the bird is strong (like macaw muscle strength) and focused on just that.

[Pajarita]

You have an amazon and a pionus, both famed for their perch 'potatoness', so yes, I am sure yours ignore them but not all species are like that. Cockatoos and conures are explorers and go EVERYWHERE and the toos not only have real big sharp claws, they have huge, powerful beaks and can go through anything! I'll give you an example: I have metal grid platforms hanging from ropes from the ceiling and, around the hook that goes into the beam (they are big and heavy), I've had to put real thick plexiglass sheets because, if I don't, they fly up, hang on to the rope and chew all around the hook until they reach the beam and make a hole large enough for the whole thing to come down (the grays do it, too). My umbrellas went through the sheetrock on a wall and had chewed through the supporting beam behind it in a single afternoon during a breeding season to the point that I had to call a contractor to reinforce it with a metal gird before we replaced the sheetrock.