Dr Anne Fawcett: Fluffy toys can make your pet birds sick

THIS week Dr Anne Fawcett discusses the potential dangers of buying toy birds to keep your pet birds company. And how they can cause intestinal blockages because of the material birds chew off the toys.

Pet birds can chew on their bird toys, swallowing fibres and potentially blocking their digestive tracts.

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AS WITH other animals, companion birds need appropriate environmental enrichment to provide mental and physical stimulation. Unfortunately, not all bird toys that you can purchase are safe for birds.

My colleagues at the Bird Vet in Alexandria continue to see birds with intestinal blockages due to an accumulation of fibrous material that birds chew off toys.

Cage toys and accessories, especially those incorporating rope and soft fibrous materials are commonly implicated.

Not all of these fibres pass through the digestive tract — some remain, resulting in a large ball of material which eventually prevents food from passing through the digestive tract.

It is a bit like a bird version of a fur ball.

While these kinds of budgies can be bad for human health.

Just ask the Budgie Nine. Picture: Mark Evans

Young, male birds are most commonly affected, possibly because they’re a bit more adventurous about what they swallow.

Birds are excellent at hiding signs of illness, but owners might notice weight loss, a fluffed appearance, vomiting, reduced appetite, diarrhoea, and/or lethargy in their pet.

Depending on the size and nature of the obstruction, it may be able to be removed non-surgically.

Often, however, surgery is required. The earlier the condition is treated, the better chance of saving the bird.

Dr Anne Fawcett is a lecturer in veterinary science at the University of Sydney and a vet at Sydney Animal Hospitals Inner West.

You can read her blog on her Small Animal Talk website.

Dr Anne Fawcett with Hero the cat. Cats are not good for budgie’s health either. Picture: Justin Lloyd

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