Story Bird: Tory
Tory loves wood and for many years I purchased toys with wood attached with cotton rope. I made it a point to check at least once a day on the toys so I could trim any frayed strands or if in too bad a shape toss it out and put a new one in the cage. Late one morning Tory had been playing with a favorite wooden toy with the cotton rope, I had just checked it earlier that morning and found no foreseeable problems. I was working in the room and heard Tory struggling. I quickly went to him and discovered he had evidently chewed the rope fraying it enough to get it wrapped around his neck. Fortunately I had some scissors nearby as the rope strand could not be removed without cutting. I was somehow able to support him enough with my hand and a nearby perch and had no other choice than to try to cut the cotton strand. Fortunately I was able to do so and Tory is fine but had I not been right there when it happened I know I would have lost my best friend.
Birdsafe Note: This is but one of many stories about the dangers of rope in use of toys. While we feel that there are better materials to use for your birds' toys than rope and that we would like to see you eliminate the use of rope in your birds' cages, we cannot stress strongly enough the importance of inspecting all rope products for loose strands. Rope toys are one thing that should only be given to birds in a supervised setting and not left alone with them. Also make sure that any lengths of rope that have objects on the end of them (wood, beads, etc.) are no more than 2" or so, as longer lengths can wrap around a bird's neck.
