Saltwater pools..?

[Smile_Trap]

I?m a bit new to having a pet bird, and I had a question about saltwater pools, is he alright to ?swim? (bathe) in it? He is a green cheek conure and is 3 months old. Just wanted to make sure?


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[chris-md]

I’ll confess this question confuses me. Who would try to bathe a bird in a pool? I definitely wouldn’t do it in saltwater pool. But I also wouldn’t let my bird anywhere near a pool period, for many reasons.

 

[Smile_Trap]

Ahhh, sorry, like I said I?m new to this, it?s just I took him over to my aunts house and let him sit in his cage as my cousins swam, they asked if he could get in the pool and I just replied with no, they asked why and to be honest, I just wanted to know why.


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[fiddlejen]

No, conures and parrots canNot swim in pools. They are not designed to swim and are quite likely to drown. They should not go in Any water of depth anywhere near their head as they might aspirate.
(ALSO i cannot imagine any way that bathing in any kind of salt water could possibly be good for them, even if it was shallow.)

 

[Flboy]

Absolutely not! The sodium levels could prove fatal! Besides the drowning probability!

 

[Allylang1]

Also salt water pools still have chlorine in them. It just converts it. Not safe for many reasons. But I bet they would love to see him bath in the sink!

 

[Flboy]

Also salt water pools still have chlorine in them. It just converts it. Not safe for many reasons. But I bet they would love to see him bath in the sink!

Do you realize the chlorine levels in drinking water is much higher than most pools?
Also, salt pool systems have only a trace amount of chlorine, if adjusted correctly!

 

[noodles123]

No-- 1. salt water pools are not EDIT just table salt and water, and even if they were, salt is harmful to birds...not to mention the risk of aspirating and drowning (in addition to the harm of the chemicals). I know not everyone does this, but if you look into it, given the number of chemicals in tap water (pesticides etc) many strongly recommend purified water and not tap...If your bird likes swimming in the sink, I suggest a filter faucet attachment or under sink/built in purification system (just because of all of the junk that can be in there depending on municipal supply--- there are so many things they aren't mandated to report and the "safe" cutoff for humans is not even remotely safe for parrots when you look at the breakdown in certain areas)

 

[chris-md]

Noodles, saltwater pools are just that. It is sodium chloride that is added. Pure salt.

 

[noodles123]

Noodles, saltwater pools are just that. It is sodium chloride that is added. Pure salt.

It still has chlorine etc..and chemical byproducts worse than tap water (plus-- again, salt water is unsafe for them, even if this was just regular salt water w/o any additional chemical reactions)


"
Research has shown that because saltwater pools still use chlorine sanitization, they generate the same disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that are present in traditional pools.[6] Of highest concern are haloketones and trihalomethanes (THMs) of those the predominant form being bromoform.[6] Very high levels of bromoform - up to 1.3 mg / liter or 13 times the guideline values of World Health Organization - have been found in some public saltwater swimming pools.[6][7]
Manufacturers have been producing saltwater chlorine generators in the United States since the early 1980s, and they first appeared commercially in New Zealand in the early 1970s (the Aquatech IG4500).[8]"


Here is another link: https://www.swimmingpoolsteve.com/pages/salt-safe.html



Chris- My argument is that a salt pool is not safer than chlorine for a parrot, as they both lead to the same/relatively same production of chlorine and sanitize through the same chemical, despite differences in the process- we may be saying the same thing(?) But a glass of salt water that you might gargle with or sea water is not the same as the salt water in a pool once the sanitation cycle is complete.. because the salt water you would mix lacks the metal plates/processes etc that are used to create chemical reactions w/the salt..When you eat pickles in brine, you aren't eating chlorine.

 

[clark_conure]

just use a Tupperware bowl and some sink water, usually they prefer the water room temp or even cold for some reason.

 

[chris-md]

I’m well aware of how chlorine sanitation works. I have owned a pool for 4 years and am currently maintaining a saltwater pool for a relative. My point was simply to correct your erroneous statement that they don’t use real salt.

Also, FLboy is absolutely correct that the chlorine risk is not an issue. Tap water maintains higher chlorine concentration than most pools, and chlorinated tap water is proven safe for birds.

The concern with a saltwater pool is the salt content and drowning risk.

 

[noodles123]

I?m well aware of how chlorine sanitation works. I have owned a pool for 4 years and am currently maintaining a saltwater pool for a relative. My point was simply to correct your erroneous statement that they don?t use real salt.

Also, FLboy is absolutely correct that the chlorine risk is not an issue. Tap water maintains higher chlorine concentration than most pools, and chlorinated tap water is proven safe for birds.

The concern with a saltwater pool is the salt content and drowning risk.

Makes sense- I get what you meant now.


I do think people should just keep in mind, when it comes to the safety of parrots and tap water *although many drink it and are fine* I would research a lot and be very cautious (even in places with the highest quality drinking water when compared to the rest of the US)--- for instance, if you live in a rural community, farm run-off (fertilizers, certain pesticides, medicines etc) and so many other chemicals are in tap water and SO many of those do not have to be tested for or reported--water quality control professionals only measure certain chemicals and the rest are not considered. Similarly,in highly populated urban areas , If someone pees in the water while taking hormone replacement therapy or fertility treatments, that also can end up in the water supply and is not filtered out by chlorination etc--- the existence of hormones in water is only known due to non-city-related studies looking into those specific issues, but municipal water supplies test for a limited number of things. I'd suggest looking up your city's water report if you want to see all of the stuff they test/don't test for (usually there is an asterisk at the bottom of the report explaining this). My point is, water safe for humans is often unsafe for parrots and the safety issue revolves around more than just chlorine.

Just because one person uses tap water, does not mean another person's tap water is even remotely similar (especially since pipe coatings and contents further muddle this picture). No one can say "tap water is safe" without looking at a specific home and water supply https://www.thehealthy.com/hydration/is-tap-water-safe/ and

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...cans-exposed-unsafe-drinking-water/564278001/


The published reports that you can access are only going to show you the chemicals/compounds they are required to track-- that doesn't mean they are the only ones in the water, and that doesn't include the elements that may be collected in the water on its journey from the plant, through the pipes that lead to your tap.