"David G Fisher"  wrote:

> I wouldn't recommend paper for the fact that many female birds will go into
> nesting behavior and start laying eggs. This can be dangerous to their
> health for a number of reasons (low calcium--egg binding). Not everyone
> knows what to do when their bird goes into egg laying mode.

Dave:  Sydney III was a bird I "rescued" from my friends' pet store.
The bird was no longer wanted and dumped at the store.  When I first got
her, I didn't know her sex, but I was hoping she'd be a male as they're
usually a little more mild-mannered than the girls.  My friends said she
loved being at the bottom of the cage hiding under her papers and she
also had a homemade "happy hut" thing that she hid in.  She was also a
bitey, nasty little creature and I couldn't handle her without a glove.
She's come a long way since then, still nippy, but she'll go on my hand
and run up my arm to sit on my shoulder.  Having noticed how much she
loves her newspaper, I didn't have the heart to replace it with chips or
other kinds of bedding.  Since I've had her (just over a year now), she
has laid a few eggs.  To be honest with you, I always worry about the
possibility of egg-binding in my female birds, even though I make sure
they have cuttlebones and calcium supplements.  I also have several
female budgies who have laid eggs at the bottom of the cage.  I try to
discourage egg-laying but I suppose nature can be controlled only to a
certain extent.

Do you have a suggestion as to what I could replace the newspaper with?
I've heard certain types of chips are dangerous and not advisable to put
into birds' cages because of the oils &/or scents.  Would corn cob be a
good alternative?

Thanks.
--
Linda


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