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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 23, 2017 11:32:50 GMT
Hello all. I have a bit of a problem. I have lots of colourful rope perches, mostly in Billybob's cage. But he tends to bite and pick at them, so I am going to need to replace them. Reading about poor Tom having lots of fibres in her crop and needing an operation has prompted this. I'm struggling to find a suitable alternative though. Does anyone have any ideas? I use the perches in my hagen vision cages, I'll see if I can find a photo.
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Post by jellybean on Mar 23, 2017 11:42:03 GMT
What about Sisal rope Marianne. I don't know if Northern Parrots do Sisal rope perches. Karen, at Naturalbirdco.co.uk made the boys cargo net from this, you could drop her an email and see if she has any ideas for alternatives.
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Post by OP on Mar 23, 2017 12:29:28 GMT
The question I have is are sisal fibres any better than cotton fibres?
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Post by OP on Mar 23, 2017 12:32:22 GMT
Is there any poly coated type perches? I have seen boings that look like that, but are there any flexible perches?
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 23, 2017 13:34:02 GMT
jellybean, good call, I'll ask Karen. OP yes, I believe that sisal is better than cotton.
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Post by starlingqueen on Mar 23, 2017 17:29:58 GMT
I think cotton isn't that bad. It is a natural fibre and will break down in the body as long as vast amounts are not consumed. It is the man made fibres that are the problem.
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 23, 2017 18:13:16 GMT
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Post by starlingqueen on Mar 23, 2017 19:07:15 GMT
Just my opinion Marianne. If they are not taking great chunks out of it then it should be OK. Cotton is a plant so small fibres, if ingested will digest.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 23, 2017 20:16:19 GMT
I remember this from when I was making up my safe toys thread ..... cotton fibres are naturally longer than sisal which is why they are not the best for a nibbler. Sisal fibres, being shorter, don't have the same tendency to cause the problems with the birds. I also think that individual sisal strands are not as strong as cotton - that is my opinion only. I also think that you have to be careful, whatever you use. Also, sisal rope is not as refined as cotton, which makes it a better birdy product in my mind, with the buds biting bits off quite easily if they do pull at it, which they can't do with cotton, so with the cotton they end up with longer bits in their crop if they do ingest. You need to ask yourself, as well, how much production has gone into the cotton to get it to the state it is. All these boings come in multicolours, so I really doubt that the cotton is as raw as it could/should be. Untreated sisal rope is a rather primitive product, or mine is at least.
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Post by OP on Mar 23, 2017 20:33:03 GMT
From what I understand about sisal is that it is stronger than cotton making the individual strands less likely to break. Sisal is used in many products from door mats to carpets, car seat stuffing to rope. That's why I asked the question about whether sisal rope was any better than cotton rope. The fact that cotton is from a plant is no different than sisal being from a plant. Maybe it's a case of watching out for fraying or obvious destruction and if it is sen then replace the rope whatever it is made of.
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Post by skysmum on Mar 23, 2017 22:00:46 GMT
Ive just thrown the buds rope boing because it was getting a bit fluffy, as soon as they get like that they go here . Im ordering a replacement sisal one from Parrot Essentials
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Post by Hezz on Mar 24, 2017 0:21:45 GMT
OP, it is the shortness of the individual fibres in sisal that make it a better product for birds to use, and sisal rope is left quite raw, whereas the cotton has been fabricated to death to make it strong. I am sure sisal carpets, rugs etc are treated similarly to give a superior product. I realise now that my statement saying that I think sisal fibres are not as strong might need expanding on .... what I was referring to was the individual strands of a sisal rope compared to the same on a cotton boing. I do remember seeing some mention, also, of products made with a shortened cotton fibre, which were supposed to be considered safer, but I never did track down anything that was used as an example or labelled as such.
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Post by Marianne Marlow on Mar 25, 2017 15:45:15 GMT
So, are we saying that sisal is better?
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Post by OP on Mar 25, 2017 17:46:43 GMT
Better than cotton it would seem. Yes.
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Post by Hezz on Mar 26, 2017 0:02:26 GMT
I do. That's my considered opinion, only, of course.
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