Household Dangers and your Pet Bird

The home can be a very dangerous place for a pet parrot. Parrots are inquisitive and curious and they need to chew. In one respect, they are very similar to young, human toddlers; everything new goes into their mouth!

 As a result, the household environment is fraught with dangers for the pet parrot. These dangers generally pose no threat to our dogs and cats however, because parrots have wings and a beak, they explore territory and chew on things that have the potential to cause life-threatening injury, poisonings and death. This brochure only offers a small insight to dangers not often considered.  If you would like more information, please talk to our friendly staff about hazards to be aware of.

Many well-meaning but misguided pet parrot owners don’t like to see their birds caged and therefore, give them unlimited, free access to their home.  Sadly the end result of pet birds that come to grief as a result of unsupervised, free-range of the house is quite common in vet practices.  Just as we would not allow young children to be left alone in a house, we should not allow our birds unsupervised, access to the household environment. It can be a death trap!

Household accidents and traumatic injuries

Free-flying parrots that are unsupervised and     untrained often end in traumatic, household accidents. Commonly occurring accidents include the following:-

· Collision with ceiling fans

· Drowning in toilets, sinks, bath-tubs

· Scalding from landing in sinks full of hot water

· Burning legs and feet from landing on hot plates, in pans of hot fat, saucepans of mashed potatoes or boiling water etc.

· Flying into window panes and mirrors

· Being stood on, sat on

· Rolled on by wheeled computer chairs

· Falling behind the fridge

· Flying out of open doors and windows

· Attacked by pet dogs and cats

Common Household Substances that are toxic to your parrot:
It is not just traumatic injuries and accidents within the home that can prove fatal to your pet bird. There are also many ordinary household substances and  products that can be toxic if chewed on, ingested or inhaled by your parrot. such as:-

· Match Heads

· Candles | Inscense | Home Fragrances

· Nicotine

· Medications for humans and other pets

· Soap

· Insecticides (including fly sprays)

· Rat Poison

· Most household cleaning products

· Fumes from Teflon and Teflon coated pans and pots (some hairdryers are also made with Teflon) including Airfryers

· Plug in air fresheners

· Aerosols of any kind (including deodorants)

· Motor Oil

· Electrical leads

· Nail polish remover

· Cooking oil sprays

· Glues / Glue Fumes and Paint fumes

· Mothballs

· Perfumes and fumes from deodorants

· Hair, beauty and skin products your bird may lick or chew 

Crop impaction caused by chewing fabric and fibre:  One of the main dangers of parrots free-ranging in the house is their instinctive chewing behaviour.   Parrots need to chew to keep the beak in shape and trimmed. They are also hard-wired to forage for food. Parrots that chew on carpet fibres, curtains or upholstery fabrics are in danger of  ingesting these fibres and threads and causing a foreign body impaction in their gastro-intestinal system. Many birds have been treated with impactions of the crop and stomach, and sadly most are fatal. 

Post-mortem examinations have been done on birds that have been so severely impacted and in such weakened condition when presented that they died. 

Heavy Metal Poisoning: One of the most common causes of household poisoning is metal toxicity. Parrots are attracted to shiny items. Most parrot      owners will be familiar with their pets fascination for jewelry. Gold and silver do not poison birds. However, there are many other sources of metal within the house that are toxic to parrots. Copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, chrome, brass all cause varying degrees of toxic reactions. Some common causes of heavy metal poisoning within the household include:- 

· Lead light ornaments

· Weight from bottom of curtains and  vertical blinds

· Fishing sinkers

· Foil from wine bottles

· Lead paint

· Lead solder

· Metal toys

· Christmas tinsel and glitter

· Small fragments from wear on sliding doors and windows

· Bases of light bulbs

· Batteries

· Electrical leads

· Copper wire

· Galvanized Wire

· Ingesting the ‘clacker’ from  bells on bird toys or chewing rusty,  ‘flaking’ cage or      unsafe paints

Indoor Plants Many commonly kept house plants are toxic to parrots. Some plants merely make your bird sick, but others can kill them. It is best to keep your parrot and your indoor plants separately. 

*see our brochure “Bird Safe vs Bird Toxic” for more information on plants that are safe and those that are unsafe. 

Unsafe Product Warning Always purchase bird safe bird toys for your birds! Be aware that products that are not designed for birds can have nasty chemicals and poisons on them. 

Seagrass door mats from hardware shops are a good example! These mats are  treated with very nasty chemicals to be   imported and to stand up to outside weather (formaldehyde) and can cause toxic poisoning

Many bird owners have been using seagrass door mats for their birds, but are often unaware of the poison risk!

Symptoms of poisoning:

· Weakness, lethargy or listlessness

· Depression, anxious behavior

· Bloody droppings,

· Excessive drinking,

· Vomiting,

· Diahorrea,  including abnormal coloured droppings            

· Convulsions

· Regurgitation of water / Constant thirst

· Paralysis

· Weight loss

· Blindness

These are some of the signs and symptoms of possible poisonings. Irritated skin around the mouth is another sign to watch for. 

Any of these symptoms should be investigated by your avian veterinarian promptly.

How to avoid the dangers of the house:

ü In order to avoid the pitfalls and dangers of the household  environment, use some common sense.   Take a look around the home and see what may be unsafe for a toddler, its likely to be unsafe for a bird! 

ü Always supervise your parrot when it is out of its cage. Make the cage an attractive and interesting refuge for your bird. Furnish it with perches from native trees and foliage from native plants. 

ü Don’t have the parrot free in the kitchen when you are cooking meals. 

ü Remember that your parrot is inquisitive and likes to chew and be aware of the  potential for trouble that these  characteristics can cause.