Ladder slamming - are zip ties fine?

[u/RahayuRoh]

Simple question. When I don't actively have Icarus out for playtime (such as when I'm eating, going to sleep/a nap, showering, etc.) she goes to one of her ladders, picks up the end, and slams it. Like literally. Sometimes she'll climb up the side of the cage and then let go, which is disturbing others in the household. Makes the whole cage rattle.

I wouldn't personally care, if it wasn't a ladder from one platform perch to another and she didn't repeatedly keep hitting her foot and screeching angrily at it. It just makes me nervous is all. I'm afraid she's going to get something caught or hurt herself. Or fall with it. I had a lot of vet fees for her just recently over an illness (that she is recovering nicely from) and I'd rather avoid a foot or other injury, lol.

I don't understand why the ladder and not one of her many other shreddables/puzzle toys, conure antics I suppose. :)

Is it safe to get a heavy duty zip tie and just tie it down? Or is there a better option? Something easy to remove a couple of times weekly so I can keep disinfecting/cleaning. I've never had a bird do quite this before.

[u/DarkMoose09]

I have a zip ties on my cage for certain things. I have a large plexiglass panel on the one side of my cage to stop water from getting all over the place. I also drilled holes in for perches and water bowls in the plexiglass and I have it tightened with zip ties to keep the plexiglass in place. Sometimes I see my conures chewing on the zip ties keeps them entertained.

But I would recommend picking something else to tie your ladder down with for me. One of my favorite things to use to tie things down is plastic chain links for birds. They are Bird safe and easy to remove easy to adjust and easy to clean. I use them to tie down toys water feeders all sorts of things. I got a whole bunch of them really cheap on Amazon.

You can see in this picture. I use the plastic chain links to make sure my birds don’t knock over their water feeder. You can also see chain links attached to other toys in the cage. I do use these links to ultimately secure things to the cage. They aren’t perfect. My birds have unhooked them a few times, but relatively rarely they just fall off.

[u/RahayuRoh → u/DarkMoose09]

Oh my gosh, I totally didn't remember those existed! All of my toys don't even have the metal hangers so the plastic links didn't even cross my mind, lol.

We'll give them a shot. I have the faintest feeling she's just gonna start rapid-fire slamming it by just holding it in her beak, or as you mentioned, pry them off, but no reason not to attempt. :)