Birds and Myriad Fumes

[IrishTea27]

My husband and I are about to jump into the deep end. I am trying to make sure we do not drown. In about a month, we will be re-homing a 3 1/2 year old Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. Though neither of us have ever owned a bird before, and we do have 3 (very well trained) dogs, we are a responsible, childless couple in our 30s, and have plenty of time to devote to our new companion.

Since we learned we were inheriting this bird, we have been researching like mad to make sure we are walking compendiums of cockatoo knowledge. We were beginning to feel fairly confident, especially considering our regular vet is also the best avian/exotic vet in our area.

Then tonight I finally got to the horror stories. We knew about the dangers of Teflon. But with three dogs in the house, I often employ scented candles and air freshener-- the former to keep the house smelling generally fresh and the latter when our dogs wage chemical warfare against us.

Now I am reading that air freshener and scented candles can cause toxic fumes that kill birds.

But my question is this: Does this mean never use them in the same house, ever? Can we use them if the bird isn't in the room? Clearly we shouldn't put the candle right next to the cage (seems a no-brainer given the feathers), but how close is too close? Same with air freshener-- obviously I'm not going to spray the bird in the face with aerosol...but if my bird is in the living room and I am using air freshener in the kitchen, will it kill the bird?

Of all the things I've read, this scares me the most, because I don't know how much is too much, and it's not something I can get a do-over on. I am prepared for the first few months of owning this bird to take over my life, but I would be devastated if something I did hurt it. And further, I'm not sure whether people are overreacting about the scented candle threat.

We'll also be painting certain rooms of our new house within the year. Is this something we have to take the bird completely out of the house for, or will she be okay in different, ventilated rooms?

Thanks in advance for helping me through my panicked flailing in the deep end! We still have a couple of weeks until she gets here, so we have time to prepare.

 

[melinda]

When i got my first bird i threw away my non stick I do use air feshner but only when my birds are in rooms with a door on it and then i spray away then open windows to air out just a little. But the babies stay behind closed door for about a hour before i bring them back out. I know there is a thread on candles on here some where that was up not to long ago. You can do manythings the books say not to, you just have to make sure the bird is far enough away from it to be ok. Just go with your gut feeling. If you spray something and it bothers you some it will be 100% stronger for your bird.

 

[Remy]

I don't use many air fresheners, but when I do, I go with the ones that are natural and don't have weird chemicals. There's a lot of citrus based ones that should be okay (and are quite effective too). I don't know what the experts say on them, but if it's just orange oil, I don't see what harm it can do. I would try not to go overboard or anything though. I don't use it in the same room, just in case.

What about a good air purifier? I got mine when I was living with 5 cats and a roommate who wouldn't change their litterbox every day, and it made SUCH a difference. My room was the ONLY room in a 5 bedroom house that smelled fresh, while the rest smelled like litterbox. (Needless to say, that situation didn't end well!)

 

[freya]

I have three dogs and I have air freshner (soild block type) only in the toilet..
My house does not smell of dog except during the odd windy moment!

You may find tweeking your dogs diet helps reduce doggy smells. Is that an option?

 

[Mayden]

You can get non-paraffin candles which are supposedly better - but just don't use them in a non ventilated room. The same can be said about aerosol/fragrences. Have you thought about things such as febreeze, that you spray directly onto the 'stinky' surfaces to freshen them up? I suppose that way there is less particles actually flying around and so less irritant for the bird. I do use sprays and fragrances around my birds (the new house STUNK >:|), but I just made sure the doors/windows were open to others rooms so it diffused around a bit more

 

[IrishTea27]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Our three dogs are generally smell-free (regular baths and all) but occasionally they release an atom bomb on us. We've tried changing diets has helped 2 of the 3 but we are just resigned to the fact that our middle "child" is gassy.

I'm not too sad about throwing out aerosols...they always smell more chemical than fresh anyway.

But occasionally I like to liven up the house with a scented candle. Usually I put one in the kitchen and one in the living room. Both rooms are quite spacious, so I was hoping we could get away with that once in a while. If necessary, I could only light it in the room where the bird is not and keep a closed door between.

DEFINITELY throwing out my non-stick-- don't even want to risk it! And I'll probably throw out the aerosol, too, or at least put it up and keep it away from guests (who have always been encouraged to deploy it if the dog bombs them!) so I know it will be used responsibly.

Thanks for the answers, y'all. I feel a LOT better now. And we are currently exploring natural air fresheners, too, and making our own-- things like water & vanilla extract for a spritz.

And we do use Febreze occasionally. But again, our dogs aren't necessarily smelly beyond the "dog smell" that every dog has. We just have one who is incredibly gassy, and the candles are more aromatherapy for ME than for the house. So it wouldn't be an all-the-time thing, just an occasional thing under controlled circumstances.

 

[IrishTea27]

Forgot to add, we have already added air purifier to the list of things we'll be getting before we get the bird. Hopefully that will have benefits for everyone in the house, not just the bird.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Air purifiers are great.

There are some scented fresheners that can be safe ... I don't know which is which off the top of my head though. Anything, however, that has an odor you can detect is worth investigating further. There's a reason miners bring canaries down with them: the birds will be dead BEFORE any of the people smell anything.

I have heard that febreeze is safe - and I do know the company invests in making it pet safe (obviously don't spray on any pet). But aerosols can be dangerous - and that's any aerosol, not just fresheners.