Making a Safe Home for Your Bird
by Peter S. Sakas, D.V.M.
A pet bird depends upon you to maintain its environment. Therefore, along with providing adequate shelter and proper nutrition, it is important that you keep your home "hazard free."
Many household objects can be dangerous and sometimes fatal for pet birds. Natural curiosity, powerful beaks, and the ability to fly can cause harms if birds are not carefully monitored. If you are not at home to monitor the bird, it is best to keep it caged.
There are many common household items and activities which are dangerous to pet birds. For example:
Windows and mirrors do not appear to be a barrier to birds and they may fly headlong into them.
Open doors or windows are an obvious danger.
Open containers of water, such as sinks, toilets, or pots of water, present the risk of drowning. If your bird flies free in your home, these containers should be covered.
Ceiling fans can cause serious injury to flying birds.
Loud noises may produce stress in birds, lowering their resistance to infection or creating emotional problems such as feather picking.
Other pets in household, such as dogs or cats, can harm birds. A jealous or agressive bird may severely damage another bird's toes and beak.
Hot cookware, hot food and hot range tops can burn a bird. Keep birds away from the range while cooking.
Lead poisoning can occur when birds pick up lead or lead-painted objects, chew on them, swallow small fragments. Common sources of lead include old (lead-based) paint, solder, putty, linoleum, costume jewelery, curtain weights, wine bottle foil and shotgun shot. Lead poisoning is one of the more common poisonings in birds. It causes nervous system disorders, usually seizures. Veterinary care should be sought immediately if you suspect lead poisoning in your bird.
Other compounds that have been reported to be toxic to birds include: agricultural gardening chemicals, insecticide sprays, mothballs, disinfectants such as phenols and creosols (if used in high concentrations), denture cleansing solutions, salt (in large amounts), and cigarette butts.
A bird's leg band can catch on the cage or other objects causing fractures or dislocations. In smaller birds, leg bands can cause irritation or leg constriction. Check bands for easy movement or remove them if not absolutely necessary.
Some houseplants are poisonous to birds that nibble on vegetation. Check with your local poison control center or veterinarian to determine if the plants are poisonous.
Household fumes can be hazardous to birds because birds are small in size and have very sensitive respiratory systems. You've probably heard stories of old-time miners who used canaries in the mines to detect dangerous gases because birds would show the effects of gas much sooner than humans. Some potentially harmful household substances include: aerosol sprays, nonstick sprays for coating cooking utensils, carbon monoxide from car exhaust or furnaces, paint fumes, cigarette smoke, cooking gas, fumes from self-cleaning ovens, or any material that emits fumes. If you notice at strange smell or fumes, remove your bird to an area with good ventilation.
Fumes from everyday cooking can be harmful to your bird - particularly smoke from burning foods. Overheated cooking oil, fats, margarine, and butter may create dangerous fumes. Scorched plastic handles can contaminate the air. Nonstick cookware, with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating, can also emit fumes harmful to birds, if cookware is accidentally heated to high temperatures, exceeding approximately 500°F (260°C) - well above the temperatures needed for frying or baking. In addition, PTFE coated drip pans should be avoided because even in normal use they reach extremely high temperatures and can emit fumes that are hazardous to birds. A simple rule of thumb is: never keep your pet bird in the kitchen.
These basic tips are provided to help you ensure a healthy and hazard-free home for your bird.
This guide was written by Peter S. Sakas, D.V.M., director of the Niles Animal Hospital, Niles, IL, and is posted on the DuPont website as a courtesy by DuPont. Since DuPont keeps moving the article and the links to it keep breaking, a copy of the article was moved here in June, 2004.