Story Bird: Marta

Marta's story begins 10 years ago. I had owned birds for only 2 years and she was my first "big" bird. I had a Tiel and a Senegal before, she wormed her way into my heart. I learned fast that big birds need big toys, so that's what she got.

I knew a few things to look out for about the toys themselves, like making sure they were made from untreated wood, and had welded links on chains. It never occurred to me that what they were attached to the cage with could be more dangerous than the toy itself.  I don't exactly remember the toy that this happened with, but I think it
was wooden blocks on a welded chain. I see them all the time in pet stores, and they still have the split-ring hangers.

What happened was this: Marta was playing happily in her cage. I had been running back and forth between kitchen and living room, cooking dinner. I always looked in on her every time I went by, her being the new baby. She seemed to be having a good time with the toy. Typical Umbrella Cockatoo making toothpicks. I noticed there wasn't as much noise coming from the cage as before, so I went to see what she was doing. I was horrified to find her with her tongue stuck in the split-ring hanger that the toy was on. She had pried the thing open with her beak, and it had closed on her tongue. She didn't make any noise, no screams of pain or anything, just sitting there helpless like a kid with his tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole. I didn't really know what to do, so I just pried the thing open and got it off. I don't know who was more scared. There was no blood or anything, and there didn't seem to be any major harm.  I made sure she was eating okay for the next few days and pampered her a little. Needless to say, that hanger came out, and I have never bought another toy for any of my birds that have that type of hanger. They are the ones that are used on keychains. 

The lesson learned here is to always look at the whole toy, and never underestimate the power of your birds' beak.

Jean  

Birdsafe Note:  We urge you to inspect all the toys in your birds' cages and remove any split rings.  We also urge you to write manufacturers that manufacture and vendors who sell these type of toys and ask them to change the way the toys are made.

Sad Note: On October 7, 2003, Marta crossed the Rainbow Bridge due to a long-standing illness.  Her spirit and her story here touched many lives, I'm sure, and helped make an impact on many bird caretakers to look at toys more closely.