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Color newspaper


Barbara2

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This might seem like a weird thread but I need to know. Years ago when I first got my Senegal and Hahn's macaw I read everything. One thing that I read is that the ink used in color portions of newspapers was toxic. So I have always diligently gone through every paper that I've used and rejected any piece with a color picture or color ad. Is this still true? (Or was it ever true???)

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I too have heard that the news paper company's have to use safe ink now too. I switched back to using newspaper, the grate in my cage is well above the paper, so I dont have to worry about Babalu getting to the paper if for some reason he ever decided to go to the bottom of his cage.

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Timmy somehow gets to the newspaper and chews it, even the color ink pages. The bird knows its not food so they wont ingest it, so Ill let him chew his heart out! If the ink was toxic a bird would probably have to eat 35 pages to get sick, and that just dont happen....I wouldnt worry too much about it!

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Hm... Well, some metals are really toxic to our parrots, and they accumulate in their body. So, if they just play with those metals (they don't need to swallow them) residues of that metal ends up in them. So why wouldn't be the same with ink?

Also, the glue which is used to attach first paper on a role for paper towels or the ones for bathroom is also toxic. It doesn't matter if they swallow the pieces while they play. A bit transfers to them anyway you wrap your head around it. So, IMO it would be wise to check, double check and triple check whether (colored) ink is safe for your bird. Better safe than sorry...

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Read and decide for yourself with you wish to allow your birds to chew or not. Personally, I only use it in the bottom tray which is not accessible by my birds at all.

 

http://learningstore.uwex.edu/pdf/g3546.pdf

 

One note: There are tens of thousands of newspaper printers in cities across the U.S.. To find out what types of inks are used in your local areas newspaper, call them. Just as any other commodity, there are tons of inks for them to purchase and use. I suspect with the decline in people actually subscribing to newspapers these days, they purchase the cheapest ink that can be found to cut expenses. Normally cheaper equals less safe and increases the odds that the ink may be toxic.

Edited by danmcq
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