Is it safe to give my African Grey a Fisher Price telephone to play with?

Question

Or is it not strong enough. I dont want her to hurt herself if bits break off.

Answer 1

I have a red front macaw and I go to flea markets and buy her the phones that talk. She loves them. I watch her closely and when she starts to break it apart I throw it away. She would much rather have that than a bird toy!@ I will have to try a fisher price telephone.

Answer 2

In the US, toddler toys are santioned, and have to meet several standards to ever make it to the shelves to be sold to 2 year old children. One of those rules is that all parts must be non-toxic and the parts can't be able to come off and be swallowed.

For your birds, what is safe for a 2 year old is safe for them. Most of the time, the plastic that they chew up is only chewed, not digested. They actuall discard it as they go. The fun is in chewing it up. You may absolutely give your bird a fisher price toy.

Answer 3

Some kids toys are fine for Greys. It is really hard to keep Greys busy and mentally stimulated and kids toys can help at times. I have let my grey play with a little piano for toddlers and it is fine. It holds up to the abuse but my Grey is more interested in chewing on it than tapping the keys. A lot of the toys designed for toddlers and infants, if they are sturdy, are okay. I would advise you, however, to only let your bird play with this item when you are there to supervise. If he is breaking off small pieces and appears to be ingesting them (this goes for any toy, course) take it off of him.

Answer 4

Don't see any problems, we give ours plenty of plastic toys that are designed for buggies. He brakes them up but doesn't eat the bits. One thing we gave ours one with a round mirror and when he started to dismantle it we found the mirror was real glass, so took the glass out then gave it him back.

We also have some cheep looking rings with a ball in the middle, he plays a lot on that as he would a swing. He also loves KFC but we only give him bits of the chicken.

Answer 5

I would supervise her play with it as some birds will eat the plastic. Just remember they are able to crack and peel even coconuts and other very hard nuts in the wild. They are capable of tearing apart anything and everything they can get their beaks on. If they don't sell it in the bird section of you local pet store it is probably not entirely safe.

Answer 6

I woudnt advise that
first of all bird can sometimes find phones offensive
my bird bite me on the ear when ever he sees anyone on the phone (including me).
He could also bite the plastic off which could be to strong for his imune sytem or may have unhealthy material in it.
I hope that if you do choose to give the toy to your bird he will be ok
and your bird can be happy without the toy
i wouldnt take the chance

Answer 7

My grey loves playing with baby toys, but each grey is different.

If your grey tends to tear things apart and swallow the bits, it's a definite no-no.... if yours is like mine, and just drops the bits and enjoys shredding things, this could be a great deal of fun.

Answer 8

I'd say no. Their beaks are strong enough to chew off bits of plastic that they might swallow. Even though the plastic is rated safe for children (that might stick it in their mouths), it's not a good thing to swallow it. Even if you sit there and monitor the behavior of the bird, you don't know how fast that little bugger can rip it up.

Either spring for purpose-made parrot toys or make some of your own out of bird-safe components.

Answer 9

If it's safe for a baby, it's safe for your bird. Mine plays with plenty of baby toys. Just watch her to make sure she isn't chewing it to bits. If you see pieces chewed off then better safe than sorry, take it away. Mine loves those little plastic monkey toys called "A Barrell of Monkey's" She chews their toes off, but she doesn't eat the plastic, she spits it out.

Answer 10

A toy will be fine if you don't mind having it broken.
But why go to all the expense? Go out into the garden/park/local woods and break off a piece of tree branch. he will quite happily peel the bark off it and shred it to pieces without any harm to himself. If it has leaves on it, he'll take great pleasure in pulling them off.