Where do you get your's?

[budgiebuddy]

No not really cause alot of the toys are in bags and alot of toys sold can be ruined if you wash them so I dont really worry about it but if it is like a hard toy that doesn't have ropes or anything i will wash it if it gets dirty.

[Natacha]

Hey, when you guys buy toys and stuff , do you always wash them before giving them to your bird?

I generally don't, specially if items are new; either things are in closed packages or I buy items from stores where the toys don't come in contact with other birds (and most of them have a policy that they won't take back a toy once you've purchased it since it'll have came in contact with your birds).

Used items I do wash thoroughly and I generally don't buy anything used that is porous...I bought used cages and carriers.

[Michael]

I don't know for sure how effective this is, but I try to keep newly bought toys "quarantined" for a few weeks before giving it to my parrot. I don't wash cause it will ruin them. Someone more familiar with biology, would you agree that if the toy is apart from any living host for a few weeks, most bacteria on it should then perish and pose no threat to parrot?

Most of the toys I buy come from the same bird store I got Kili from. So I think she is more likely to be immune to bacteria that may be present there. Furthermore, I bring her back there every few months and let her freefly in the store so I think it helps maintain a relationship between her and whatever "good bacteria" may be present. I don't bring her to any other stores though and use more caution when buying toys elsewhere.

[budgiebuddy]

What store is it that you got kili from?

[miajag]

I don't do that, but it's not a bad idea, especially for toys that come off a rack at Petsmart or something where various people have probably handled them while looking.

[entrancedbymyGCC]

You can't count on infectious organisms to "die off" like that, some can exist quite a long time without a "host". My husband has always been in the habit of washing everything -- I have taken to washing anything that came from a store where it was exposed to the elements and could have been handled, but not so much with stuff shipped in sealed packaging. In a dry climate, you can wash pretty porous things and have them dry and not be ruined. In a humid climate I might be more worried about mold growth than contamination. I wondered if we were unusually paranoid.

[Ark]

I buy most of my toys and food online now, from a few local online businesses. I have a favorite, that I order the most often from, because of the quality of their homemade toys as well as their service. I like using online stores that are based in my area because I receive my orders really fast (within the next day or two).

About "quarantining" toys that cannot really be washed, I don't know how effective it is, but if it helps you feel better then why stop doing it. Though personally, I would not rely on this method. I know diseases such as PBFD can live without a host for up to 18 monthes, but other nasties such as PDD are presumed to have a very short life span outside the host.

On the off chance that I buy food from a store, I only buy from a chain of stores here that does not sell animals of any kind (I would probably encourage them more if they carried a better variety of bird foods). On the off chance that I buy a toy in a pet store, I only buy materials, such as acrylics, that can be easily washed and disinfected.

I don't think it is so much about me being paranoid, but rather about being careful. Though I am questioning something about your post, Michael . I am wondering why you would see it necessary to "quarantine" toys when you are already exposing your bird that whatever may be in the store when you bring her in there?

As for where my birds came from, I used to work at a pet store years ago and my African Grey comes from there. My Timneh comes from a client that I met while working there, who could no longer keep her bird.

[Michael]

It's just my general practice not to give her the toys right away. I sometimes buy from other stores so I forget which toy is from where so it's just something I generally do. I hold onto the toy until the next time I do a thorough cleaning of her cage and then rearrange it. Usually the new toys are more "intact" and require space. So if I change toys between rearrangements, it's different old ones but then I make a new perches layout in cage to best accommodate the new toy.

I'm generally less concerned about toys coming from the store I got her cause as I said I bring her back there every few months so I think it maintains a germ relationship with that store (whether through toys or presence) but the toy quarantine thing is both for convenience and standard practice if I get them elsewhere. I only speculate the effectiveness of doing this though.

[TheNzJessie]

i brought my budgie from a store called the bird barn and i buy ALL my supplies form there, the store is possibly the best bird store in the country its abut a 30 minute drive from where i live but it is well worth it. my rainbow lorikeet im getting is from a breeder (he is currently 3 weeks old) but he supplies rainbow lorikeets to the bird barn and will be getting all his supplies form the bid barn too im very picky with where toys from, i never buy second hand or 'hand made' from other people and i dont buy second hand cages too

[tacotaco]

I get my food from a local store called First Flight Exotic Birds. They specialize in hand raised birds and they also bag fresh seeds+pellets all the time so I like getting it there. I have ordered food/toys/and other accessories from online as well (from fosters and smith or petco)