Dear Parrots magazine,
Is zinc to be avoided?
As the years pass, the question we all ask ourselves is “what happens to our parrots when we leave this earth?” This is a question I have heard and discussed with many other owners who are approaching the winter of their lives. The problem of course, is that most parrots are very long lived and will more than likely outlive us. But what happens then when younger family members have no interest in them and just want to move them on. So where do they go, which is the heart-wrenching dilemma we often find ourselves in.
This galvanising takes the form of hot-dipped galvanising which is when the bare metal weldmesh is cleaned and submerged into a bath of molten zinc. With commercial weldmesh, the finish looks good, as the residue hot zinc is blasted off with compressed air. But I have had some bespoke panels made, which go through the same process, but because of the small numbers, the zinc is allowed to ‘drain off’ sometimes leaving uneven residue and even spikes as the job comes out of the bath, which I file off.
I also use some electroplated zinc items within the aviaries and all, whether hot-dipped or plated, expose zinc to the users. So the question I ask myself, “is this exposed zinc really hazardous, as I have been using it in this way for years without any problems?”
Henry Robinson, by email