Safety and your Pet Bird
Although it is perfectly feasible for a bird to outlive it’s owner, it is important to be aware that birds are actually more fragile than many other pets. Most people are aware of how miners used canaries to stay safe whilst underground – this was because the canary itself was so sensitive to poisonous gasses that it would die as soon as the air became unhealthy. Quite grim, I’m sure you’ll agree but this was before the days when electronic equipment capable of analysing the atmosphere would do this job.
Your pet bird will have the same susceptibility to strong and unhealthy odours. Things such as teflon pans, aerosols (including, believe it or not, furniture polish) can all have severe effects on a bird’s health. The safest way to deal with this is simply to be careful. Anything that you may consider potentially harmful (and anything with a strong odour) should only be used in very well ventilated areas. Common sense should be applied in all cases. If you think it may have a detrimental effect on your bird’s health, then don’t do it.
Another place where your pet bird can put itself in danger is through their desire to chew. Anybody with a bird will be aware that they like to chew almost incessantly. This can be harmful when they start chewing – for example – welded items where there is a lead content, paint (they love to peck the paint on the wall where they perch.)
There are also many houseplants which can be dangerous to your bird. For a list of these, please click here. Be sure that none of these are anywhere near your bird’s cage. Again, if you are unsure it’s always better to err on the side of caution. Providing a safe alternative can work wonders – a small pot of parsley, for example. Even planting the seeds you feed your bird with (Trill, for example) can produce some lovely green shoots for them to eat. Put some lettuce leaves on top of their cage (our budgie, Disco, can spend hours not just eating these, but playing with them and dropping them on the floor!)
Feeding fresh fruit and vegetables to your bird is usually going to do them nothing but good. You’ll find that some things they like (ours loves apples, grapes and lettuce) and some things they simply don’t bother with. A word of warning, though – do not feed them advocado. This is toxic to birds. Similarly, coffee and chocolate are both poisonous – not that we’d imagine many people giving their parrot a cup of coffee, but it’s worth mentioning nevertheless.
It’s also worthwhile to note the dangers that can face your bird at Christmas time. Although the image of your pet playing in your new Christmas tree is one that brings a smile to the face, many of these trees have been treated with preservatives etc and as such can be highly toxic. Not something one would normally consider, but the reason that the tree lasts for the full Christmas period without losing all of it’s needles can be because it has been sprayed heavily with chemicals. The lights and ornaments can also be a hazard.
Many people (we are firmly in this camp) simply do not believe in clipping their bird’s wings. This, however, poses a few added questions about safety. It is important to have blinds and / or curtains over large areas of glass. The bird will not necessarily be able to tell that the glass is there, and more than one has met it’s end by flying full speed into a window and breaking it’s neck. Mirrors and suchlike can also cause the same sort of issues.
Moving into the kitchen / bathroom areas. If your bird does go into these rooms (and let’s face it, they are very inquisitve), it cannot be stressed enough that you must not have any standing water accessible to them. It may sound over-cautious, but never leave a sink or bath full of water – a bird can drown in thses in seconds. Don’t let your bird in the kitchen when cooking, especially if there are uncovered pans in the vicinity. Again, common sense is the number one factor here.
As a footnote, if you have one of those birds who likes to perch on your shoulder then please remember to remove them before you answer the door! This applies even to a bird with clipped wings – if they catch a draught they can still glide a fair distance, and there are plenty of predators outdoors who wouldn’t hesitate to make a meal of your bird (think cats!).
We hope that the above doesn’t alarm you – that is in no way the intention. As long as you apply basic common sense there is no reason that your bird will not enjoy a long and happy life in your house or apartment.
Thanks for reading,
Steve Macleod
