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I am looking through this section and seeing toys that involve straws and other soft plastics. My husband and I have always steered clear of toys with the shreddable plastics for fear our little ladies would swallow it. Since Vannah has joined us we have continued to stay away from them. I am wondering now if this is a bit of a mistake. We give them all wood, paper, cardboard, and seagrass toys to shred. I guess the feeling has been that at least those items will somewhat digest because they are biodegradable. There is nothing guiding our thinking other than our overly cautiousness. I was also giving Vannah swatches of flannel and cotton rope (un dyed) to chew on, and she was working them over so well, she would have little strings at the corners of her mouth. She'd let me pull them away, but they also seemed to still be in her mouth, so now I am second guessing that as well. Longish story I suppose. Quick questions... Has anyone had issues with their birds shredding, then swallowing the pieces from straws, plastic nuts/bolts, aglets on shoe laces, etc? Does anyone here use fleece, flannel, loose rope or string in their bird toys? The only way I have been able to look for potentially swallowed parts is by gaging the amount of destruction and the debris field (never having been able to determine anything). Ideas anyone? Paranoid bird mom (aka:JennS)

Ours tear the heck out of over-sized plastic straws. We also have rope. If my conure spots a shoe lace aglet it's toast.

I give my parrots straw toys and lots of toys with soft plastic, they love tearing them apart. I have never seen my parrots eat anything other than paper. I personally don't worry about it as they seem to leave everything in sheds on the floor. They have zero interest in flannel or cloth.. I have toy buckets I fill in their cages once a week. I fill them with (safe) broken toy pieces, wood, jingle balls etc. I take paper and wrap them individually and twist the ends. Fill their buckets with these things & they have fun chewing the paper off and destroying what they can. SOmetimes I put in cheap toothbrushes or clean popsicle sticks also