Story Bird: Sweet Pie

My Personal Experience with Brass

There has been much talk on alot of mailing lists about brass being safe for our birds.  I can attest to the fact that it is absolutely not safe for our precious ones.  Brass contains a very high level of zinc.

In September I was so excited because I was bringing my baby senegal I had named Sweetie Pie home.  I had wanted one for awhile and just fell in love with her.  I bought a brand new brass cage thinking it has to be safe if a bird store is selling them.  After a couple of months in the cage I noticed she had started chewing her feathers.  She was not plucking them out, just chewed on them.  I watched her for a couple of days and she was getting worse.  That's when I found out about her zinc poisoning.  I was just horrified.  We immediately started chelation and she got a brand new safe cage and I even removed all of the metal and quicklinks off of her toys. Some people say that I was a little extreme, but I was just in shock.

Sweetie is in her second round of chelation and she seems to be acting a lot better.  As for the featherchewing, that is still going on but we now think it may just be a habit.  I am  crossing my fingers that she will stop.

Our babies form a bond of trust in us and I have let her down.  She isn't mad at me but she should be.  I should have checked about the safety of brass and now she is paying the price for it.

Sherri

Before and After pictures of Sweet Pie: