Toxic items to avoid ?

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Toxic items to avoid ?

by Jen
(Ontario, Canada)

Hello, I just read through the toxic/non-toxic list because we just brought home a new parakeet. It would seem like a lot of the household items on the list are unavoidable to use at some time or another. Would a product like Greenwork cleaners be better? I'm also concerned about perfume and detergents. I found the food list and plant list very informative. I had a pair of budgies when I was young just trying to refresh. Your feed back is appreciated.

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Toxic items to avoid ?

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Jan 18, 2012

thanks
by: Jen

Thanks very much for your comments. I know the commercial you're talking about ! lol I'm used to not wearing perfume a lot anymore, I had switched jobs and my new boss has scent allergies and he is extremely sensitive. I wash clothes in Tide free and even my deodorant is unscented. We have hardwood throughout the entire house so I will have to replace the Mr.Clean with the nice febreeze scent (at least for downstairs) and get a safe cleaner for living room where Gunner is. We gave him his name because our old dog (14) is Mace then we rescued a dog named Bullet (2) so we figured he would fit in at our house with that name. :) I should see if I can upload a photo. Gunner's beautiful, yellow face with lime green that shimmers in the light on his back and his tail looks teal.

One other thing, my hubby plays drums and we have a lot of space so the boys will come over and have a jam. Space is detached from living room but I'm worried about noise I was thinking I should maybe move Gunner upstairs ?

Thanks :)

Jan 17, 2012

Toxic items to avoid ?
by: Linda

Hi, and I thought I'd add a bit to what Tracie said. Perfume of all kinds whether mens or womens is poison for birds to breathe, and the small ones like your Budgie will die in a short time from being exposed to the fumes. This means, if you have it on you and have bird on your shoulder, it can kill it, so no perfume.

Scented candles and room deodorizers whether spray or plug-in are toxic for pets of all kinds. I know they show a happy family on TV, and maybe they are SO happy because they are "high" off their room deodorizer fumes. A bit of humor, but, seriously, be very careful about buying into TV advertisements because they DO NOT have your health and well-being in mind. They just want your money and will attempt to get it any way they can. To say that advertisements are mostly lies is an understatement.

Use a bird safe household cleaner because bleach, ammonia and pine-sol are all dangerous to use with human babies', birds and cats in the house. Paint, glue are also toxic to birds and other pets as well. If doing any house painting inside, birds and cats have to be moved out for up to a month and dogs need to be out for at least a week or more depending on how extensive the project is.

Use common sense when buying products. The manufacturers' all want you to buy them, and they do not give a hoot if they kill your bird, cat, dog or infant human because it will be impossible to prove. So, it is up to us to choose wisely for products we live with in our homes.

The pet safe cleanser Tracie mentioned is good for all around your home and especially in any rooms closer to birds. Birds have to be removed before spraying on cage, perches or toys to keep it from getting into their eyes. We use a soft cloth with it sprayed on for wiping down those areas.

Glad to hear you have a new bird, and since most birds either come with or later have an infection, we always suggest people take new birds to an Avian Vet to be checked out within the first few days they are in our home.

Thanks for writing,
Linda

Jan 17, 2012

Toxic items to avoid using around birds
by: Tracie

We clean our house, including the cages, with a pet safe cleanser called Pet Focus. Even if the bird licks the cage after you clean with it, it will not be harmed.

The main concern with toxins in the air is to keep the fumes from the bird room. Keep in mind that your intake on your heating and air conditioning unit will take what is in one part of the house to the other through the vents.

Basically, the cleaner you mentioned is safe for cleaning your home as long as it does not have a heavy odor, but don't clean the cage with it. We have spray in the bathroom that we would NOT use in the bird room.

Really, if it is toxic for birds to breathe, it probably is toxic for you as well, so the birds are helping us get healthy! :-) (The canaries used in the coal mines comes to mind here.)

The items on our Toxic / Non-toxic for birds list doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what is toxic. But reading the list gives us the understanding that the birds have tiny organs and can't take toxins like we can.

We have other health articles on our Parrot Training page that might interest you.

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