HAZARDS
for your birds
This page was sent to me by Val of The Parrotlet Express..I am posting it here to share with you and also have you add to it anything that you might have found would be a hazard to our birds. The page was originally posted by the South Bay Bird Society. Redondo Beach, California I am copying here with our thanks to them for their caring. ( If you have an email address for them I would like have it please.)
How to Kill Your Birds Without Trying
Many products available on the market have been known to cause illness and/or death to many pet birds. Manufacturers quite often deny any knowledge of these incidents. The products listed on this page are listed to give you "heads up" in the event the accusations are true. The information printed is given as we received it and is not intended to boycott or otherwise prevent the sale of these products. This information is to serve as warning to use care with products around your pet birds. You may also keep in mind that many items have been determined "safe around pets," but appear to be directed more to dogs and cats. Those same items may be perfectly safe around dogs and cats, but not around birds. For this purpose, when using or purchasing any questionable product, THINK BIRD.
Fabreze SBBS was recently informed of Fabreze, a Proctor and Gamble product used to eliminate odors on sofas, cloths, and other items. One person sprayed Fabreze within 12 feet of his birds. One bird died, and others are still quite ill. Another person reported losing three Budgies. Fabreze contains zinc chloride, a highly toxic ingredient fatal to birds.
Aerosol Cans Never use aerosol cans near birds
Candles Room fresheners, carpet fresheners, and candles have fragrances. These items are extremely toxic to birds. Chemicals that ordinarily only irritate humans can be toxic to birds. Renuzit has been added to this list of items toxic to birds.
Reynolds Cooking Bags Beware of the Reynolds aluminum and plastic
Smoke Cigarette smoke is an airborne irritant, like cooking smoke, vacuuming dust, carpet powders, and hair sprays. Chronic sinusitis and liver pathologies have been confirmed in homes where a smoker resides.
Teflon and Non-stick Cookware Overheated Teflon can cause almost instant death of your bird. Your bird should never be anywhere near Teflon or other non-stick cookware when it is being used.
Metals Tin found in aluminum foil, gum wrappers, and cans is toxic to birds. Some old copper toys and old pennies are toxic, as is zinc, which can be found in chipped galvanized metals and pennies.
Respiratory-sensitive Birds have very sensitive respiratory systems and the same precautions should be taken for your birds as are taken for a person suffering from asthma.
Plants and Foliage The list is too long to publish here but always find out whether your plants and trees are toxic or non-toxic.
FOODS AND BEVERAGES TO AVOID FEEDING TO YOUR BIRDS
Alcoholic beverages
Anything not fresh or may have mold on/in it.
Anything with too much sugar or salt
Apple seeds (remove seeds from apples before feeding)
Avocado
Cat food
Cherries or peaches with pits
Chocolate
Dairy products. Birds cannot digest them; very small amounts of cheese is ok.
Raw onion or raw potato
Raw or uncooked meat, poultry, fish
Raw or undercooked eggs
Excessive fats used in long periods of time become toxins
Caffeine found in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, and cocoa can affect heart muscles, causing muscle tremors, vomiting, hyperactivity, and cyanosis. There is a possibility of death from cardiac or respiratory collapse.
Sugars found in sweet rolls, candy, glazed products, and by eating too many sweet fruits can be toxic. Death can be caused by a build-up of toxins already in the system.
Cookware. Be careful with new cookware. Most types are coated with a non-stick surface which is toxic when heated. It is best to remove your bird (s) from cooking areas when introducing or using utensils with non-stick surfaces -- especially when new. New utensils give off more toxins and at lower temperatures than those that have been used.
When in doubt, don't feed it.
Additional suggestions for you shared by these friends
Aneline of Pickin' Parrots, APS and other lists
Hazard: learned a lot from your article and I understood that some of the things I was doing were wrong.
Christine Kumar of NFSS, AFA, QPS Moderator for
Finch_Friends@yahoogroups.com &Finch_Friends_Lounge@yahoogroups.com
I am a Finch Breeder & Lover
Hazard: Vaccum Cleaners! Yeah you got finches? Well then you got mess! You got free flying finches? Or do you use the vacuum cleaner to clean the cages with the finches still in it? Well they move so fast that they
can fly close to the hose and be sucked up and mutilated before you even realized what happened. While this has not occurred to me, it happened to a good friend. NOBODY EVER TELLS PEOPLE TO WATCH OUT FOR THE HAZARD OF A VACCUM CLEANER. Never leave a vaccum on (you know how we walk away and its still going), if the hose is exposed so that a finch can be
sucked up into one. If you do vaccum the cages, use the attachment that necks down to a small rectangle - it could save your bird's life!
More important information for you
-complete in one box for your birds
for your birds
Siana Attwell of Poicephalus@yahoogroups.com
Hazard:paper clips; coloured ink in newspapers or flyers; fumes from new carpeting; hairspray and other styling products (when the bird 'preens' it's person's hair, it ingests these substances and that can be fatal); perfume; mold and mold spores; cedar chip bedding (especially if chewed); excessive dust; having the cage too near an air-conditioning or heating vent
Donna Lane, Senegal on Yahoo
Hazard-I can sadly add a hazard. Don't leave one of these bright little engineers with feathers in a cage with a latch they can figure out themselves. Particularly if there are other hazards in the house should that bird let itself out without supervision. Such as a Senegal eating ROTTEN *$#!&! DOG! :-(
Original Message from Joe of the Birdsafe list
Hello, I would like to inform everybody about a potentially deadly situation that I never heard of before related to the spacing of the bars in a birds cage. I guess this is an abnormal accident but it happened to my parrot: she DID NOT simply get her head stuck between the bars of the cage, the bars were too wide for this to happen. She always enjoyed poking her head in and out of the bars and since her head couldn't get stuck I didn't mind. Unfortunately I came home and found that she had put her head through the bars and then wrapped her head back into the cage via the adjacent space. SHE WAS STUCK GOOD! Her head and neck were in this 'U' shape so tightly I could hardly move them- I was afraid if I tried too hard I would snap her neck. I don't know how long she was like this but she was not going to live much longer. Fortunately I had bolt cutters at home and was able to cut the bars and free her. LESSON: 1) don't have bar spacing large enough for your bird to get its head through even with ease because what if this freak accident happens. 2)Have the appropriate bolt cutter/wire cutter available to cut the size wire of the bars on your cage and also the material the bars are made out of-a cutter that can cut an aluminum bar may not be able to cut an iron one of the same size. 3) finally have a long nose pliers on hand to bend the bars because you probably wont be able to bend the bars by hand and after you cut the bars you would still have to bend them to release the bird.
Anne Eilers of Pickin Parrots
Hazard:Microwave Popcorn, often the foil bags are teflon coated to prevent the kernels from sticking to the bag.
Joyce Baum, AFA member has sent us the link to a hazards article on her page....Joyces Birds
Nathalie Ross, Up at Six lists
Hazard: Hidden Teflon products - don't think it's just cookwear. When we got our birds, and we did a good search of the house, we found that most of our non-stick products WEREN'T cookwear. For example, the teflon coated iron, and the teflon impregnanted ironing board cover. Don't forget the Foreman Grill (that was hard to give up, but - it
doesn't even heat to a specified temp VERY easy to overheat). Then there are oven liners, lightbulbs that are "shatter
resistant" (look carefully - they're telfon lined), crock pots, and the list goes on.
When I replaced my teflon cookware with Stainless, I was delighted at how much better food cooks, especially gravies. I was also stopped having headaches now that I DON'T use tin foil, and DON'T use a "helpful" nonstick
iron! It's not just the birds. Remember, they used canaries to test to see if we could survive the air. If this stuff is bad for
birds, imagine what it's like for us longterm, or for our babies (human) short term.
Bless you and your flocks! - Nathalie in Houston
Wayne - Caged Bird Club - Hazard:News paper ink. Bird is covered with it! We took care of a bird that was
black with it!
Thank you everyone for your contribution to the list..Your help may just save a birds life.
