Probably the best thing since sliced bread.
For humans… and for parrots too.
I know you’re probably wondering what on earth I’m talking about… and I’m not going to waste any more of your valuable time, here is the topic of today’s article… straws.
Straws, and whether or not they’re safe for parrots.
Straws are perhaps the most simple yet innovative invention for humans, never before has drinking your favorite drink become so effortless, feeling a flu?
Take some water with a straw.
Cocktail on holidays? Put a straw in your drink.
Is your parrot bored? Give it a straw to play with.
Yes, that’s right. Parrots LOVE straws. What’s the best part? They’re completely safe for them. After all, it’s only a tube of plastic, what harm could they really do? That’s what you may think, but taking a look at the bigger picture may suggest otherwise.
So today, I’m going to answer some questions you might have on your mind about whether or not straws are safe for parrots.
I’m going to discuss:
Why are straws so good for parrots?
The importance of giving your parrot some straws.
What is the problem with straws for parrots?
What fun things can I do with straws to make sure my parrots enjoy them?
So let’s get right into it:
Why are straws so good for parrots?
You probably have a lot of them sitting around your house.
Just have a look.
You’ll find them anywhere.
When you’re not drinking water, milk or a fizzy drink, it’s easy to forget that they even exist.
However, what you may not know, is that these little plastic tubes can make for excellent entertainment for your feathery friend.
Parrots just love to bite and chew at them (I don’t know why!) and could spend hours upon hours doing so without getting bored!
Why is it actually important to give your parrot some straws?
What was long considered a childish waste of time, play is now perceived as a critical part of a healthy human lifestyle.
This is true also, of all intelligent species and not just babies, as play behaviors have been observed in parrots and other species of bird as well as young children.
Play is particularly important for our Parrots, so toys are a necessity, not just an option.
After all, many of our own parrots can spend a lot of time without their owner’s company, as we work during the day, to provide income to use to provide more toys for the parrot of course.
Toys help your parrot satisfy instinct by allowing it to chew, shred, and tear and whatever it wants (including toys).
Part of a parrot’s natural instinct is to tear things apart with its own beak.
Allowing your parrot to chew on straws helps keep his beak in shape, as well.
Another instinct that toys fulfill for your parrot is the desire to forage.
Toys (and straws) also give your bird a challenge and encourage him to solve a problem.
Puzzle toys create an engaging environment and motivate your bird to use problem-solving skills.
To provide your parrot with additional stimulation, offer him straws with a variety of textures, sounds, sizes, tastes, and colors.
Toys are a necessity for your parrot’s physical and mental well-being.
Remember to choose straws that are appropriate for your parrot’s size and personality.
Large parrots for example, might choke on straws that are too small, and smaller parrots may actually become afraid by a toy that is too large (Unlikely, I know, but there’s no need to take the risk.)
Bird toys can be expensive, but they are crucial for your sanity and your birds!
That’s why straws are an excellent, cheap, and safe alternative to most toys that you could go out and buy for your pet parrot.
What are the problems with giving straws to parrots?
The biggest problem with giving straws to parrots is not to do with your own individual parrot… but more to do with the larger, environmental suffering that it can cause.
Now, this may take quite a bit of explaining, so listen if you’re interested to know why you SHOULD NOT give straws to parrots.
It is a well-known fact that plastic can do serious harm to birds.
A milk jug ring, for example, could easily get wrapped around a parrot’s neck or bill and cause severe harm or even death.
Pictures have circulated the internet before and shown us the severe harm that even tiny bits of plastic can do to birds, and it raises the question as to whether straws have the same detrimental effects.
When plastic straws naturally decompose, they become somewhat brittle and fracture easily.
The resulting tiny pieces of plastic are so small they can be naturally swallowed by birds.
These tiny pieces of plastic are so small that they will be swallowed by parrots and other bird species.
Insects too are vulnerable to these plastic pieces, and because parrots may prey on these insects, a build-up of these plastics is likely to occur within the bird as well.
You see the problem here, is that the parrots cannot poop out the plastic bits, the build-up of plastic in the digestive system, which cannot be pooped out, may cause harm or serious injury to the parrots.
On top of that, when parrots consume so many of these tiny pieces, there is, therefore, less room for nuts and seeds for the parrot to consume.
This limits the amount of appropriate nutrition a parrot can receive.
Younger parrots who are missing these vital vitamins are most vulnerable to this kind of problem.
It’s not unlikely that a parrot could starve to death, as a result of the entire build-up of plastic.
So, thank you for allowing me to explain, it is a very serious problem today, and I think it is important to understand the detrimental effects that plastic straws have on parrots.
The final straw
I hate to end on a negative note, so in conclusion, then, there are many advantages and disadvantages to giving your parrot some straws to play with.
They can be a highly convenient little toy that they can use to play with and could spend hours and hours chewing and biting away at them.
However, it is important not to overlook the drawbacks of straws, and consider the wider impact that giving these little toys to our feathery friends can have on them.
In contrast, cutting small pieces of paper straws may be considered safer, or even paper straws!
Either way, it is important to keep in mind the impact that straws can have on not just our own parrots, but all parrots and birds.
That’s all from us for now, and I’ll see you again soon.