Pets Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for pet owners, caretakers, breeders, veterinarians, and trainers. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
What metals cause poisoning or bad reactions in pet birds such as cockatiels, cockatoos, parrots, parakeets, finches, and such?
I am looking for authoritative sources of scientifically-known toxicity, to be considered when buying or building a bird cage.
The two main metals for toxicity are lead and zinc. From the handbook of avian medicine, second edition.
Heavy metal toxicosis caused by the direct consumption of the metal is uncommon in passerines, because they have limited capacity to damage metal objects. Lead or zinc toxicosis has occasionally occurred when galvanized wire has been used in the construction or repair of enclosures. Another source of zinc for passerine species is galvanized containers for supplying bath or drinking water.
