Case of the Mysterious Dying Bird

[Desire Mercy]

I'm a first-time bird owner who is waiting for my Quaker Parrot (Monk Parakeet) to be weaned. In the mean time I'm preparing everything for him including purchasing a VERY nice cage off of Craig's List. It's obviously a cage for birds with how it's doors are designed.

It's a large cage that the owners say housed their African Grey. In discussions on the phone I learned their Grey died and that is why they were trying to get rid of the cage. Being an older couple I had assumed the bird had been with them sometime. However, when we made the exchange, as they were helping me load the cage into my van, I asked them how long they had their bird: only a year before it died. Apparently the bird got ill, stopped eating, they took it to the vet, and it died.

Now, I'm no bird expert, and I know various things can lead to birds dying, but I immediately became suspect realizing all of the cage modifications they had made. Now, I didn't want to ask them to see if the illness coincided with the changes (I don't think anything they did was intentionally malicious) and upset them, but that leaves me wondering if I should be suspect of the changes?

They made the following changes:

• Bolted a large plastic-like panel to the back of the cage (to protect the wall the cage was up against)
• Added self-made wooden perches
• Added a play perch to the top of the cage (the perch is wood, the bars holding it are metal and black coated like the rest of the cage seems to be)
• A wooden board was added with the bird's name below the perch. It could possibly be wood-stained.

I'm seriously considering removing all of the modifications. Should I bother taking the materials to a hardware store and seeing if they can identify the exact materials made? Or should I just toss it all and start with new perches of materials I can verify as being safe? Or am I being overly cautious and am I overreacting?

Thanks!

[Michael]

They may have killed the bird with teflon poisoning from the description. Other issues could be illness, poor genetics, or the cage modifications. Possibly injury but more likely something like zinc poisoning or treated wood. Unless people understand in great detail what materials are or are not safe for parrots, they should avoid any DIY modifications. Most hardware you can commonly buy is NOT safe for parrots and can lead to zinc or heavy metals poisoning.

[cml]

Throw out all organic material such as wood, and give the cage a thourough cleaning!

[Wolf]

First I do not see where Micheal came up with Teflon poisoning for the previous bird's demise unless he is referring to what you describe as a black coating. So do you know what a powder coated cage looks like? I ask because most factory painted cages are done using a process called powder coating as it is much more durable than regular painting.

The plastic sheeting used to protect the wall is probably acrylic and should pose no threat as long as there are no sharp edges or corners, just give it a good cleaning and disinfecting.

The wood perches and sign may or may not be a problem, it depends on the type of wood and any treatment if any applied to the wood as some are safe and some are not. If in doubt tae these pieces to your local building supply or lumber yard and ask for their help in identifying the wood and if it has been treated or not.

It would not hurt to order new perches so as to have a spare set to uise when you clean and disinfect one set.

I hope that this will help you.

[Michael]

I didn't mean from the cage. I meant from the kitchen. The topic was mysterious dying bird and the op said the bird died on the way to the vet.... that's how teflon poisoning often plays out.

[Pajarita]

I did not understand it that way, Michael. I read that the bird got sick and they took it to the vet but it still died and that can cover pretty much any cause of death, it would all depend on whether they never noticed the bird showing symptoms or how long they waited to take him to the vet. But, answering the OP's question, I vote for get rid of all the modifications AND the perches, disinfect it thoroughly and put new perches in there. Better safe than sorry.

[Desire Mercy]

It died while at the vet. Any other details I do not know.

I'm not sure if it is powder coated. It's likely factory painted. It's too uniform all around.

Are pine dowel rods fine for perches?

The plastic may be acrylic. I'm not sure. I don't particularly see a reason to keep the modifications so I think I'll just remove them.

[GreenWing]

They made the following changes:

• Bolted a large plastic-like panel to the back of the cage (to protect the wall the cage was up against)
• Added self-made wooden perches
• Added a play perch to the top of the cage (the perch is wood, the bars holding it are metal and black coated like the rest of the cage seems to be)
• A wooden board was added with the bird's name below the perch. It could possibly be wood-stained.

I'm seriously considering removing all of the modifications. Should I bother taking the materials to a hardware store and seeing if they can identify the exact materials made? Or should I just toss it all and start with new perches of materials I can verify as being safe? Or am I being overly cautious and am I overreacting?

It could be a number of things, the poor thing. It could have been the teflon cookware, as Michael suggested, it could have compounds such as bleach, moth balls, oven cleaners, etc. But what also concerns me are the wooden items: the wood they used (self made, as you say) could have been a toxic wood for parrots as not all wood is okay for them to chew. I agree with the others above, get rid of all the wood. Even if it -- hypothetically -- is a "safe" wood, it could be contaminated in case the bird was ill from a microbial infection of sorts.

Did the previous owners keep the vet report as to why the bird was ill? If I were you, I'd be very, very cautious in taking in this cage. Does your Avian vet have cage cleaning/disinfecting options? The Avian vet clinic in my neck of the woods will steam clean and disinfect cages. Of course, you "could" clean the cage yourself with soap and water and disinfect with vinegar but personally -- I highly recommend you look into this option via an Avian vet clinic, to be on the safe side.

I've read some pines could be toxic to parrots. I say get a fig perch or buy one you know is safe from an exotic bird shop/Avian vet clinic. I have a list somewhere on safe woods for parrots but this info is probably easily available on the net. Let me find that list and I'll share the info. But don't use any branch plucked from outside, you don't know if it's been sprayed or may have other issues.

[Wolf]

I didn't mean from the cage. I meant from the kitchen. The topic was mysterious dying bird and the op said the bird died on the way to the vet.... that's how teflon poisoning often plays out.

Thank you for your reply. I just didn't understand the reason for the Teflon thing and now I do, thanks again.

Back to OP, pine should not pose a problem but should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected or discarded. The same holds true for all of the modifications. And of course for any toys that may have come with the cage. The cage itself needs to be cleaned and disinfected too.

[GreenWing]

Back to OP, pine should not pose a problem

Pitch pine in particular is absolutely toxic to parrots. And pine splinters easily. Personally I do not recommend pine and would go with other types of wood, such as fig or manzanita. 'Just my two cents, though.