"""I've been starting to notice a bunch of these little silver CO2 cartridges and a lot of dead birds."""-----------------------------

Those *might* be CO2 cartridges, but they are quite likely to be spent
nitrous oxide cartridges. High School kids and rednecks like to drive around sucking on ballons filled with the stuff.

The carts. are supposed to be used in a contraption that whips normal cream into whipped cream in the foodservice industry......