Off-Gassing

weco

New member
Nov 24, 2010
3,342
12
USA
Parrots
Nanday, suns, parrotlet, Patagonian
Do you let your birds perch on your flat screen TV or monitor ? ? ?

There has been some recent tidbits of information that I have read about a few veterinarians hypothesizing about the possibility of these devices causing heavy metal poisoning via the fumes rising through the vent holes/slits on the top of these devices. There is also the venting of fumes from heated polymers (plastics). Apparently birds have been necropsied, been found to have heavy metals in their bodies, with no apparent source.....

Do you ever smell a light, or maybe not so light, electric/electronic or other odor while you TV and/or other electronic equipment is on? What has piqued your olfactory senses is off-gassing/out-gassing of something.....

TVs contain Copper, Gold, Lead, Mercury, Silver, Tin, Zinc along with several exotic metals and various polymers, all of which have the theoretical potential to affect our feathered friends sitting on a TV & being surrounded by this off-gassing/out-gassing before it is dissipated.....

For those who prefer data that is more than anecdotal, I've not yet found it, but from an engineering standpoint, the possibility is strong, but I can't speak to a medical consideration/theory...then, there is the question of cooked poop...droppings falling through the vent slits & being slowly baked.....

Nonetheless, I no longer allow my birds to perch on my TV/monitor combination or two flat-screen monitors...the laptops I'm not concerned with, because the screen unit is the only thing in there, other than the connecting wires.....

For those of you who stress over postings like this, just keep your birds off of venting electronic equipment, TVs & monitors.....easy solution, or you can choose to adopt the rationalization of the Ptarmigan.....they have this idea that if they can't see you, you can't see them.....the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand.....
 

BoomBoom

Well-known member
May 2, 2012
1,722
58
Parrots
Boomer (Sun Conure 9 yrs), Pewpew (Budgie 5 yrs), Ulap (Budgie 2 yrs), Eight & Kiki (Beloved Budgies, RIP)
I've always smelled that faint 'electronics' smell, especially when my computer or tv has been on a while. I've always suspected the smell so I just keep the air filter on and the windows open all the time even though he doesn't really perch on them (but its in the same room). I also try to keep a lot of indoor plants like the dracaena to improve air quality.

Hopefully these help because I've run out if ideas to the air in the room as good as possible. Short of throwing away my computer and tv of course, but I'm not about to go Amish for Boomer - as much as I love him lol.
 

ruffledfeathers

New member
Aug 23, 2012
1,970
Media
5
3
NJ
Parrots
Gilbert Oliver, Blue Crown Conure; Georgie, Sun Conure (2/8/01-8/8/12) RIP little girl; Percy, budgie 1993-1999. RIP Pepito-spanish timbrado canary
No birds on my tv but they have loved perching on the laptop to be with me if i am working. (Gilbert has since been banned from that anyhow because he tried to chew the camera out, LOL).
Something in me is hung up on "cooked poop". That sounds funny.
 

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