Angelwings

Thanks for the replies all, I'll avoid using varnish on the stand.

The playstand was, unfortunately, made with differing shades of wood (it was made quite a long time ago) so it's not the most attractive item. As it's going in my lounge it would be good to even it out with some form of varnish but obviously not at the expense of using dangerous chemicals. That varnish in the OP has been the closest I could find to an all-natural varnish safe for animals as well as for young children. The guy insists it is completely safe but just wanted to see if anyone here knew if any of those ingredients could be detrimental. Oh, and I did ask about the slippery factor - the guy said it's more akin to a wood stain texture wise, absorbs into the wood a lot and doesn't leave a shiny slippery surface.

Hi, I have a home made playstand I'm looking to use this varnish on: https://www.lakelandpaints.co.uk/testers-special-charts/woodstainshed-and-fence-matchpots/ I've emailed them to ask if it's safe for parrots and they insist it is, saying: Is this definitely safe for use on a playstand? Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all the information. Before getting Babs I was just too busy to sit down and make any of this stuff working from 7:45-6:30 some days and the previous place was too small. There's a lot of windows in here though so hopefully should be OK. Thanks for the info about the essential oils as well I have a bag full of them but haven't dared to use them since getting her. They're kept upstairs where generally unless one of us is with her she isn't allowed to go.

Hey thanks for the reply! It's actually been a few years since I've made any soap or candles but moving in the other week I realised how much stuff I still had and it made me want to get back into it again (especially since I lost my job a couple of months ago I have all the time in the world). The house is still small but much bigger than our old apartment. Unfortunately there's no door for the kitchen it's just a walk in thing but it's well ventilated. There's only one bedroom upstairs. As for candles whilst I miss burning them I still find myself wanting to make them just as a hobby since I have a lot of time on my hands now. For actual decor purposes we just use the LED ones. I would never risk anything like this with Babs around now which is why I wanted to double check as there's not a lot of info online. Concerning the soap making I just use the melt and pour with added extras in such as colour and scent. Would melt and pour still hold a risk?

Hi everyone, It's been a while things have been busy here-we've moved house into a bigger place and I've had surgery but all is well now. Babs is starting to talk more and is happy and healthy. It will be her first birthday in August! I have a question to ask about soap and candle making around birds. Generally I know that the use of essential oils aren't safe but I've looked and can't find anything about soap and candle making around them? Just to clarify I use beeswax to make my candles. I've never made them around her before (no knowledge of whether it's safe or not and the previous place was way too small) but I was just wondering if they could cause any harm to her, even if done in a different room with the windows open? Also what alternatives could I use other than essential oils to scent my soap and candles that are safe for birds? Thanks in advance.

Thanks Dave007 for your informative reply. We do generally tend to avoid chemicals as a general rule of thumb as better to be safe than sorry! The house can smell in general (we have a pet gerbil who sometimes can stink the place out) not from Babs-the place suffers from a lot of mould and damp and we figure that the smell is from that (it's one of the reasons why we're moving). We open windows as much as possible to try and get rid of it and have a dehumidifier to get rid of any condensation. I do find myself hoovering up as much as possible because she's throwing her food out onto the carpet and making a mess every time she's out (it's really too small in here to have the guards out around the cage to prevent this) and don't want the mess as with it being a very small place any mess can get overbearing very quickly. Anything that can get rid of the smell of damp would be good. Would reed diffusers/pot pourri be a safer alternative to air fresherners and candles?

Ok so I'm not sure if this is the correct area for this to be in or not (moderators please feel free to move if it isn't ). We live in private rented accomodation with a 6 month old grey. She comes out every day and she's out the majority of the time. Generally she is good with knowing that poos are only done in the cage or on the top of the cage where her play stand is (cage came with it) which she loves to be on. However there have been a few times where a few accidents have happened and there are stains on the carpet. We're due to move out into a bigger place in a few months and so I was wondering does anyone know how to get rid of them without using harsh chemicals? (Otherwise if the stains are left it could affect how much we get paid back from our deposit when leaving.) We have a carpet cleaner but am wary of using chemicals near her because we know that such things can be dangerous to her. If anyone knows of anything that could get rid of the stains that doesn't use harsh chemicals it would be great to hear from you. Another thing-sometimes the place can smell (we do clean a lot too). When Babs is in her cage we keep the windows open. Obviously we know not to use candles, incense, essential oils etc. However just leaving the windows doesn't always work. Does anyone have any parrot safe alternatives to have a nice smelling home again?

Played this opera one to my own Grey. She watched it with a lot of interest, it was funny to see her reaction. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you to everyone who replied to this thread. It's definitley information to consider. She seems to have become better in flying and balance in general. She's out a lot these days (first week we were told by the breeder not to let her out) and can now fly around the room and back again which she wasn't able to do just last week alone. We get her out and spend as much time with her as we can during this baby stage. We got the Christmas tree up over the weekend and she was fascinated by it. She sat on her cage door trying to nibble at it, I have pics of her which I hope to upload, if not this evening then tomorrow.

Thank you for all the advice! Both myself and my partner share this account. I have a question (his girlfriend here) about building trust? Babs (parrott) is fine with me, she barely growls or appears to feel threatend by me. I'm normally up first thing in the morning and take her cover off from her cage (she always greets me with being noisy and seems happy) and is often waiting by her food bowl. I feed her first before having my breakfast and then we eat at the same time. Partner is often in bed during this time. I'm normally out of the house on my way to work by the time he is getting up. Babs sees me less than she does with him, however, I always make a point of saying "mummy is going to work now, see you later!" as I'm putting my shoes on (she likes to watch) and say "I'll be back" when going out of the door. Partner is at home mostly all day with her, yet she seems to feel "threatened" by him even though he is trying to slowly build up trust with her and spend a lot of time with her. She will do some of the behaviour that he mentioned above. When I come home I always go up to her cage and say "mummy's home! Told you I'd be back!" and she's either noisy or just sits there and listens. For some reason I don't seem to get the behaviour from her that my partner does. Does anyone know why? Also, any advice on how to further bond and build trust with Babs would be great!

She now eats the seed mix (the breeder said not to go for pellets) and vegetables and is not on formula anymore. Does this mean she's weaned or is there more to it than that? Also, what does the oatmeal do in particular? Thank you for putting my mind at rest! I thought it was because of how young she is. I didn't know whether it was best to get straight into these things from the start or whether to ease off and go at her pace. I guessed the latter but thought I would make a thread to ask just in case. So what things should I look out for in regards to knowing when to try and handle her and let her out of the cage? Are there any indicators that can show when the best time to start doing these things is? Thanks!

We just got our 3 month old Grey on Friday (13th). She is fully weaned but, as I say, still only 12 weeks old. She's been quite hyperactive in the cage, jumping about, climbing all over the place etc. I assume this is the first proper cage she's been in so she's getting used to it. She regularly sleeps throughout the day. Anyhow, I did try to bring her out on Saturday to go on the playstand on top of the cage. However, she seems very nervous and she ended up flying off me (not wing-clipped) to the other end of the room. I had to then carefully grab her bodily and put her back in the cage. My question is: when should I start attempting to get her to step up on my hand so I can take her outside the cage? Should I be doing this immediately or waiting a while to build up trust? Currently I feed her the odd bit of food through the cage and tickle her but I haven't attmepted to get her out of the cage or step up on my arm since Saturday. She also seems to make strange noises and behaviour when I go up to the cage, walk by, or she sees me looking at her from the sofa. She looks up at me a little frantically and starts making sort of whining noises, similar to the noise dogs sometimes make if they're frustrated and want something. I don't know whether she feels threatened or something? I can only assume it's because she's so young? Today is the first day she seems to not be so hyperactive and not going down to the floor of the cage to mess about with the newspaper. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for your advice. It is nice to see her flying around and a nice surprise as we wasn't sure if she could fly. Perhaps we will end up leaving her unclipped after all. She's still in fledgling stage (just turned 12 weeks today) so she looks a little awkward when she does fly. She's going to the vets in about a week so we'll also ask her for advice and take it into consideration along with what everyone has said here and base our decision around that.

Here she is! Sorry for the poor quality, it wasn't done in great lighting and she was desperate to be on the floor for some reason. You can definitely tell she still has some baby left in her.