Question for Wrought Iron Cage Owners (Grey Dusty Residue)

[birdandora]

tl;dr I was wondering if any other wrought iron cage owners had this kind of grey residue on their cages when first bought, and if it could cause harm.

Hi Just to clarify, I'm a new bird (budgie) owner. I started earlier in February this year, 2021, and all my feathery children have been in the usual powder coated painted cages. They like to climb around everywhere in the cage though, so I've had to replace cages quite often as paint started chipping off. I got tired of having to replace cages so often, so I went for wrought iron this time. The cage I bought was Super Deal's 53 inch rolling cage off Amazon (link: https://www.amazon.com/SUPER-DEAL-Chinc ... B075T5Q4PF) since their reviews were pretty good. No complains of toxic parts, just had to be careful with inspecting the cage parts and checking for any bars that might have come off.

The quality is good, but my question is the residue on my hands. While handling and inspecting the cage parts, my hands had this grey residue (first picture) and I asked the seller about it. The seller responded that it was probably dust. I washed my hands then wiped down a few cage parts with a damp cloth, then dried it with a clean dry cloth. I touched the cage parts again, running my hands over it and there was still some grey residue (second picture). A lot less than the first time but still some on my hands. For reference, in the second picture my pinkie finger is completely clean.. compare how light it is compared to my index-middle-ring fingertips.
Images: https://imgur.com/a/lBCTU5m

A relative suggested that it could be metal dust, something that naturally happens when metal is worked with. He also said to use a weak rubbing alcohol (like, 50% concentrate) and cotton balls to wipe the cage parts and then dry.. however I'm still waiting for the seller to reply if the rubbing alcohol might damage the (non toxic) coating on the cage.

My budgies are all already a little on the unhealthy end, they all consumed a little grit that's still inside their bodies and my avian vet isn't willing to do surgery unless it causes a serious issue (all are currently okay, just a slight tail bobbing and a few past minor infections as a result of the grit but otherwise currently good). Because of that, I'm super cautious about toxins or anything potential dangers. So, wrought iron cage owners: did you guys have this kind of grey powdery residue when you first bought the wrought iron cage?

Thanks in advance

[Pajarita]

Hmmm, I don't know the brand of the cage that I have but I have a cage that looks just like the one in the link and I don't remember having any paint issues but, then, the cage was used when it came here and is white - well, not white-white, it's like a very light cream/greyish color (I think they call it 'platinum'). I never had a new black cage so I don't know if that is normal or not (I only buy white or very light cages). Have you tried power-washing it? Because that should take care of any residue that might have brought from the manufacturer and it won't harm the paint at all.

Please do NOT give grit to any parrot - the ONLY birds that need grit are the ones that do not 'peel' the seeds (like pigeons and doves). Give your budgies some cooked white rice (see if you can get the Chinese 'sweet' rice kind), it's sticky and will help get some of the grit in their crops pass to the stomachs.

The other thing is that if your birds were actually chipping the paint of the previous cages, you will need to have at least one of them tested for heavy metal poisoning because those cages were not powder-coated as you thought. Powder-coating does not chip from a budgie chewing on it.

[birdandora]

I'm looking into power washers Currently don't have any.

And yes, I know. I went on a trip for a bit and my dad took care of my budgies for me, but at that time one of them was recommended a temporary calcium supplement, and my dad bought calcium grit instead of calcium drops.. sigh.

All of them have been tested by an avian vet, and they're all okay. I guess the previous cages I got were a little faulty? Honestly no clue, just glad they didn't consume any of the paint chips.

[Pajarita]

Well, if what they ate was calcium grit, then they are OK because it's soluble. Many years ago, I used to get a calcium grit for my canaries and I know for a fact it's fine because it's something like 99.5% soluble (at least, the brand I used to get was). Now, when it comes to calcium, please note that calcium alone is not enough. The thing about calcium is that if there is no vitamin D3 in the body, the calcium is not absorbed so it goes in and out and nothing stays into the body. Usually, calcium drops have D3 in them but, if I were you, I would get myself a multivitamin/mineral supplement in the powder form that is soluble in water. There is no better medium to medicate or supplement a bird than putting it in the water because, as the greatest majority of the pet birds we keep are prey, they are all crepuscular feeders (and drinkers) so they are not only 'pre-programmed' to eat and drink at dawn and dusk, they are also kind of 'pre-programmed' as how many sips they will drink - and the soluble supplements are made in such a way that when the bird drinks that pre-determined number of sips, it's also consuming the right dosage of medicine and supplements. And the best part of it is that it is done without NO stress whatsoever for the bird! Now, the trick for this to work best is to take away the water when the bird is asleep at night and give it the freshly medicated one at dawn - this is because vitamins degrade quickly when in liquid form so doing this ensures that they are getting the full potency. I use ABBA 2000 three times a week, depending on the season (but I do it every day for about two or three weeks for the new birds that have not had any vitamins before) - this, plus the cuttlebones they all have in their cages and the good diet with plenty of produce and whole grains makes for very healthy birds. I recently got a 12 year old quaker that had never had vitamins or cuttlebone - he is fine because he was fed pellets that had them (not that those pellets were any good, mind you! it was the cheapy colored ones which are, pretty much, the worst of the bad that all pellets are) and, when I put the cuttlebone in his cage, he must have spent two entire days chewing on it! So see if you can find a good soluble powder multivitamin/mineral (try to find one that doesn't have a HUGE amount of vit A because that is a double-edge sword) and get them a nice cuttlebone, they will be very happy and healthy.

[birdandora]

Perhaps it's brand then? The one my dad bought was from Kaytee, and those pieces are still inside my budgies. @.@
I will note that, thank you. Never knew they were "pre programmed" that way.
Thank you so much for the reply! Bless your birds with long lives <3

[Pajarita]

Yes, it's the brand. Kaytee's grit's first ingredient (which is always the one that is in the biggest proportion in the product) is granite and the second is oyster shell -which is always referred to as 'soluble grit' and a good source of calcium but, of course, granite is not and, most likely, that's what still stuck in their crops. Like I said, try feeding them cooked sweet rice and even the inside of white bread (meaning, not the crust) - that should 'carry' some of the grit down into the proventriculus (first 'stomach').