A Warm Welcome And A Few Friendly Warnings To Keep Your Parrots Safe

Allee

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U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts

Bird ownership is a challenge for the best of us, especially in the beginning. So many things are dangerous or even deadly to parrots. The information and hazards can be overwhelming at first. We've all been there, we've all made mistakes.

Straight to the point.

Open flames-any open flames from heat sources of any kind or smoke from any source is a major hazard for your bird.

Ovens-hot surfaces and toxic fumes, self cleaning features on your oven. It's wise to keep your kitchen off limits to Avians, especially while you're cooking.

Toxic fumes from candles, essential oils, incense, aerosols, cleaning agents, pesticides (any pesticide). Heated, NON STICK COOKWARE, small appliances with non stick heating elements. Yes, most of us prefer non-stick cookware, granted, most alternatives cost us extra time, effort and dollars, non stick cookware can cost our parrots their lives, no kidding. Once you get the hang of it, cooking with parrot safe cookware is easy, it's also a healthier choice for humans.

Electrical cords, parrot beaks are stronger than they look. Liquid in open containers, including toilets, sinks, mop buckets, etc.... Doorways, windows, access to the great outdoors and freedom. Even the largest parrots are small in comparison to humans, most can't survive being accidentally closed in a door, stepped on when playing on the floor, sat on when hanging out on comfortable furniture that humans use. Snuggling in bed with your parrot as sweet as it sounds can result in heartbreak, many parrots have been accidentally crushed or suffocated when their human fell asleep. Many parrots love an outing but if the opportunity presents itself most will escape, most will not survive on their own, those fortunate enough to be rescued usually never see their original families again. With a few precautions, you and your parrot can enjoy time outdoors but please be responsible.

A clean closed window, a glass door or a mirror can also be deadly, a bird in a new home may see any of the above and fly full speed straight into it resulting in a broken neck, it happens often.

Ingestible dangers, pills, human consumables, toxic wood, toy parts, house plants. The more obvious, chocolate, avocados, onions, caffeine, tobacco, etc.... Do a little research and be vigilant about what your buddy has access to.

It's mind bending how many parrots lose their lives to other family pets. Birds are small, birds are prey, dogs, cats, ferrets, rats and snakes are predators. If prey and predators interact, the chance of a tragic accident is always present.

Ceiling fans, if your birds are flighted, disconnect your ceiling fans, if you have to use fans to beat the heat, turn them on but make sure your parrot doesn't have access. He's safer in his cage or a different room if a fan is running.

Never assume your parrot knows best, for example, if you leave a cup of coffee and a sugary pastry or salty snack on the table, more than likely Polly or Paulie will help him or herself. Your parrot didn't grow up in the wild, he or she depends on you to keep him safe.

An incomplete diet may not knock your parrot off his perch instantly but it can shorten his life and cause long term medical issues. Before you grab that bag off the shelf, consider how long it's been there and read the ingredient list. Don't cheat your parrot out of a healthy diet for the sake of convenience, in many cases you can do better for less money. Research and choose the best diet for your parrot's health and your budget.

Water-the stuff of life. Make sure your parrot has a constant source of clean water. My cockatoo has no thought for her future, at the sound of rainfall, or any sound of a similar nature she will slap every drop of water out of her large bowl, leaving herself with nothing to drink. Parrots are small, they dehydrate quickly. Some parrots are soup makers, they dump food in their water, bacteria grows, they get sick. Check water dishes often, wash, sanitize, and dry your bowls at least once every day. Same is true of your bird's cage, parrots depend on us to keep their environment clean.

Be suspicious of products even when they say, "all natural" or "pet safe" in big friendly letters. Use logic and good judgement, just because it says it's safe for your pets doesn't mean it is, it often means the company will use any means necessary to sell you something. The pet industry makes billions from loving pet owners.

Get to know your parrot well, watch for symptoms of illness, changes in behavior or physical appearance. Have your closest certified Avian Vet's number available in case of emergency, reacting quickly can save your bird's life.

Please don't be discouraged, lots of humans can't imagine life without a parrot, the rewards are real. Living with parrots is challenging, no doubt, but it's also an adventure and often comes with a unique and lasting bond between a human and a lovable, intelligent species. All the above mentioned dangers become part of life with parrots, it gets easier and becomes part of our daily routines. IMHO, we are all fortunate to know, love, and live with these incredible birds. The rewards outweigh the efforts.

A warm welcome to ParrotForums. No matter where you are on your personal journey with your parrot, we hope you find something useful here or at the very least a group of like minded bird lovers. Congrats and best of luck.
 

wrench13

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Sticky - seconded. Most folks come on here because they have a specific problem or issue with their parrot. This sticky will answer a lot of questions for the new parrot owner. And while we want new members to get answers and hopefully become long term contributing members fo the Forum, we want to make sure that they get the answers they seek. This post goes a long way to helping new owners knw the issues they may face.Thank you Alee.
 

SailBoat

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Allee,

Yet another, right out of the gate successful Thread targeting the most common issues faced and /or need to know for new members /Parrot owners! I agree with others that it needs to be presented /positioned that new members can find it with great easy! AND of course, it already is!!!

Congratulations!
 

Scott

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RIP Gandalf and Big Bird, you are missed.
Should be a sticky on New Members forum as well as on the Active Topics page..

I do believe that has already been suggested. :)

Yes it has, a request by plumsmum aka "K!" Allee developed a terrific "user guide" targeting both obvious and arcane hazards to our beloved companions.

I will include the link with every "welcome" letter sent while vetting new members.
 

plumsmum2005

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Fly free Plum, my gorgeous boy.
Just to add my thanks to Allee for putting this together, who better? We all know and love her brilliant writing skills.
 

Anansi

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Excellent post, Allee! And so very needed. Thank you for taking the time and the care to write it up.

And thanks also to Plumsmum for sparking the discussion that led to the creation of this thread.
 

Anansi

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Just to add another possible danger, always close your toilet lid. Parrots have drowned after flying into open toilets and finding themselves unable to escape. This is one of the little things that can easily slip our minds if we get complacent.
 

Flboy

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A suggestion, as new dangers are brought forward and added to this, I feel it would be a good idea to edit post number one so that someone does not get lost trying to read through the entire thread!
Having said that, there is a danger I would like to add that I do not believe I saw! And as one who is owned by a green cheek conure, for me this is a very real danger! These little guys will climb into anything! We have a member who lost their's in a dryer, poor thing died, we also have a member that lost theirs in a freezer, that one lived! For me personally I had to disassemble my dresser when I was letting my little guy climb inside my drawers he went in behind them and couldn't find his way out!
 

LordTriggs

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wow I only just came across this thread. One thing I'd like to add to this is temperature. Not something we ordinarily think of but it can and does kill.

If it's too hot then putting your parrot in the cage and opening the windows is an excellent way to get some cool air moving around. Vice-Versa if it's chilly then turning the heating up a couple degrees is worth the bill when it keeps your parrot happy!
 

GaleriaGila

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Great thread. I NEVER tire of reading warnings/hints/advice.
Also, I have a pet theory that it's the basics... the stuff "we know"... the day-to-day easy-to-forget/overlook stuff. I try to have a little checklist litany before I let the Rbird loose. Toilet/windows/door/stove/fans. Candles, toxic plants and dangeous perch-places (like uncovered light-bulbs) are already long gone.
Not even a few days ago, I let the Rb out and spotted an open toilet a little while later. He's too horrible to let out of my sight, EVER, so I doubt he could get into trouble, but still...
Better to read reminders than to have a tragedy.
 

Anansi

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And I've got yet another to add. One that hadn't really occurred to me before the other day. When you have your bird out of the cage at night, make sure everyone in the house knows it. Why?

Well, one night I'd gotten home late from work and both my ekkies were giving me the side eye something fierce, so I took them out for a little daddy time before bed. (It was around 11:00 at night, but as I said, the stares were fierce!) After a few minutes, Jolly decided to take a few laps around the house to stretch his wings. A usual occurrence, hereabouts. We were in the kitchen, so he flew to the dining room, up to the elevated living room, down to the foyer, around to the family room and back to the kitchen to land on my shoulder. (Or head, depending on his mood.) After maybe two more laps, he settled down on my shoulder to hang and collect a few head and beak rubs (not to be outdone by Maya, of course!)

It was around this point that my wife came downstairs for something. As her hands were going to be full on the way back up, she turned off the living room and foyer lights on the way down. And of course Jolly picked that moment to fly another lap. Of course, flying from the brightly lit confines of the kitchen into the darkness of the dining room and kitchen left him virtually blind. He pulled off most of the lap by memory, but crashed headlong into the foyer wall.

There were a few drops of blood, but nothing too serious. And he wasn't dazed or confused, so despite the jack-hammering of my heart I realized soon enough that he was going to be fine. But it could've ended on a far more tragic note. As careful as I am in every way when it comes to them, as quickly as that I could've lost him. So make sure everyone knows to make sure the birds are back in their cages before turning off all of the lights for the night.
 

Brdldy58

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I noticed that one of the things listed for bird safety is the danger of the self cleaning oven. Other than the heat, is there something else that is involved with that process that could be dangerous to pet birds?

I have a self-cleaning oven and I have used it before with my previous bird in his cage in the kitchen and haven't ever had a problem. Of course I find this very concerning and will remove my bird from the kitchen in the future, I just need to know if I need to take him upstairs - or if moving the cage into an adjoining room would be sufficient?

Thank you.
Deborah
 

SailBoat

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I noticed that one of the things listed for bird safety is the danger of the self cleaning oven. Other than the heat, is there something else that is involved with that process that could be dangerous to pet birds?

I have a self-cleaning oven and I have used it before with my previous bird in his cage in the kitchen and haven't ever had a problem. Of course I find this very concerning and will remove my bird from the kitchen in the future, I just need to know if I need to take him upstairs - or if moving the cage into an adjoining room would be sufficient?

Thank you.
Deborah


The danger with self-cleaning ovens is not only the extreme temperature both within and outside (directly in the confined area between the stove /oven and the 'wood' cabinets) and they exhaust 'everything' into the kitchen.

Never have or move your Parrot(s), young children and/or any one with health problems 'upstairs.' Warm air rises and with it, all the impurities in it. If you do not have an exhaust fan in your kitchen that exhausts to the great outdoors, install one!

Use a drip pan under what you are cooking, just like your Grandmother did. That will assure that the issue regarding needing to clean an oven just goes away!
 
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Anansi

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Michele

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Hi my user name is Michele. I have owned parrots all my life starting at 7 years old. My first bird was Crackers and then Buttercup-both Conures. Crackers lived a long life of 22 years. Buttercup escaped never to see her again.
I bought my first large parrot a Blue Front Amazon- Reilley :green: I had Reilly for 15 years. He suffered from Bird HIV and eventually died from respiratory failure. Then I bought a baby Grand Electus (male) named Ziggy:rainbow1:. Then, on Christmas Eve 22 years ago I purchased Angel :white1:my Citron Cockatoo. I had three birds that got along extremely well. Reilly died, then Ziggy and Angel formed a nice relationship with my cat Neidemyer. All I have now is my Angel. I joined to ask advise about my Cockatoo. The vet said physically he is fine, but all of a sudden started screaming at night. HELP! Michele
 

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