I doubt a birds would actually eat the hay, but I woulf think a little bit to play with would be safe.

Karen
Chico (conure) and Pippin (budgie)
WI

You need to be very careful with things like hay. Hay can be very dusty and can also have mold spores growing in it both of which can lead to respirtory problems.

I sort carefully through each bale of hay that I feed to my horses to make sure they are getting mold free and dust free hay. It does not matter what variety it is you need to make sure it is dust and mold free. I will even slightly wet the hay before feeding to reduce any dust that may be in the hay.

I have found a wonderful overall care book called the Cockatiel Handbook by matthew m. virends Ph.D

This book is one of the more detailed oriented books on birds I have read. You can find information on every aspect of cocaktiel ownership in it as well as well defined pictures and references. i recommend checking it out. There is a great section on feeding your cockatiels as well as safe and dangerous foods and plants.