# good plants for an aviary



## Snoops (Mar 8, 2010)

Just in the process of sorting out my aviary, i have a huge box full of thinds to put in there, toys, boings, ladders etc however i also want some natural plants.

bare in mind i am in the uk but i got 5 pots i can use in the aviary waiting to be planted up.

The aviary arrives soon, its being made at the moment, having it built specific to my requests


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Better plan to rotate those pots so some plants can recover while others are getting shredded!

My cockatiels like to rip the leaves off my schefflera. The branches can be trained to go sideways to make a natural perching place.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Schefflera is not safe for birds.

Olives and grape vines would be good choices. They are safe and harder wood and grow faster than manzanita. Manzanita, if you can find it is also good.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

> Schefflera is not safe for birds.


Some bird-safe plant lists say it's OK and others say it's not. One has to be careful with toxicity reports, because some sites will list something as toxic if it causes slight problems for a few highly sensitive individuals, and others will list it as toxic only if it causes problems for the general population.

I like university sources that have presumably used reliable data, for example http://lancaster.unl.edu/factsheets/031.htm According to this site, oxalate salts produce mucous membrane irritation and pain
and/or swelling of mouth, lips, tongue, esophagus and stomach (this statement will become relevant in the next paragraph). Plants listed as non-toxic on this site have shown no more toxicity than an equal amount of vegetable matter and symptoms are unlikely. Schefflera is listed as nontoxic. 

According to http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Schefsp.htm schefflera has low toxicity due to oxalates. But according to the previous source there isn't a general problem with schefflera, so one could probably say the same thing about spinach and parsley. http://www.calpoison.com/public/plants-toxic.html agrees that the toxicity is low. 

My birds have been snacking on schefflera without problems for longer than the internet has been available to look these things up. I'm not the only bird owner that allows this and I haven't heard any reports of problems. So avoid schefflera if you want to be extra safe, but it looks like it's generally OK.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

Thanks for the links. I'm going by what my former employer who had studied under Axelrod himself said, and personal experience, having lost a conure which ate some. 

I wouldn't give anything that would cause even mild discomfort to animals. As an example: Sansevieria is on most safe lists, however because of numerous safe listings, I lost a good pet when she took a chomp out of one, thinking it was safe. It was the most horrible death I'd ever seen. I don't trust any safe lists, if it's on one list as not safe I do not let my animals have access to it.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It comes down to individual differences I suppose. Sensitive/allergic individuals can have a severe reaction to something that doesn't bother the majority. 

I don't think this plant can be causing any discomfort to my birds, because they wouldn't be so enthusiastic about chewing on it if it did. Sometimes I've had to cover up the plant while the birds were out to give it some recovery time.


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