my budgie likes to eat paper,magazine/catalogue and tissues(if he can get them)

Question
i have a budgie and he is about a year old now. I'm a bit concerned about him eating paper. is it okay? He likes to jump on the catalogues we get in the mail and he literally starts eating the paper. He also eats the paper in exercise books too, and tissues or the T.V. guide if he gets a chance. Is this harmful for him or is it just normal budgie behavior. We try not to let him eat the paper but sometimes he does the sneaky and manages to when we are not looking. Also why would he eat the paper?

Answer
Hi, Erik,

No, it is not OK.  I doubt your bird is actually eating the paper.  If he is, your need to keep any paper away from your bird.  Paper cannot be metabolized by your bird's body and may result in crop stasis, which requires surgery to correct.  Your bird may be chewing/tearing it up out of boredom, perhaps he is a she and is tearing up paper to make a nest, if the bird has defecated on this paper your bird may be eating its droppings (which means the bird has a vitamin/mineral deficiency), perhaps your bird is trying to satisfy its natural urge to chew, etc.  Do you provide some type of wood or other toys your bird can chew/tear up?  Is your bird on proper diet of healthy, nutritious humans foods...an all-seed diet is not a healthy diet for a bird.  Does your bird have toys to play with?  Does your bird have enough mental stimulation to prevent boredom?  

You really need to try and determine if your bird is ACTUALLY eating the paper.  If so, you'll need to keep all paper, etc., away from your bird so he doesn't eat it.  If he's just tearing it up, no problem!  I wouldn't say this is normal budgie behavior, but some budgies/other parrots like to chew on/tear paper up as a means of satisfying their natural tendency to chew, particularly if they don't have other things to chew on.  Especially harmful is colored news print.  The ink from the colors can be toxic to your bird.

Chrys