Dear Parrots magazine,
Dangers to Parrots
I would like to thank you and Megan Matthews for publishing an article on the home dangers to parrots. This is such an important topic.
Unfortunately, the dangers are not only in the home, but in the cages and parrot-specific toys. Broca, my pride and happiness, now 19 months old African Grey, who was included in your August 2017 issue, nearly died recently. He had detached a metal toy-hanger that was badly stuck in his throat. I was home, so I immediately noticed his stridor. He could barely breathe and was drooling large amounts of saliva. I took him to the animal emergency services right away. Despite the veterinarian's initial warning that Broca would most likely not make it, he is now fully recovered.
I attach pictures of 1) Broca's swollen neck, 2) the metal piece that was removed from his throat, and 3) fully recovered Broca. His cage is also a problem as he is able to unscrew anything including hex bolts. He made his cage door fall once by unscrewing its attachments. He is also at risk of swallowing screws. He is able to open his cage from the inside, despite the ‘bird-proof lock.’ I do not take any advertisement of ‘bird-proof’ or ‘large parrot-proof’ material for granted. His cage now has many extra locks and protections around the screws and bolts. As Broca is perfecting his dismantling talent, I am becoming aware of how cautious I need to be. I am writing to raise people's awareness on the safety of the metal hardware in parrots' cages in the hope to reduce accidents.
Olivia, by email