Cockatoo dust

[Susantheredhead]

Hi all. New to the forum and wanting to learn a few things. I don't have any birds but have a friend that has an umbrella cockatoo. I have been reading a lot online about Cockatoos and haven't been able to find answers to a few questions I have. My friends Cockatoo is his world. He has had her for 20 years. She goes with him everywhere. My concern is that he sleeps with her on his head and doesn't manage for her dust at all and has dried bird droppings around his house (he has no interest in changing his bird management). I have read up on all the ways to manage dust, so not looking for advice on that. I am wanting to know the health risks of not managing her dust. My friend has had a constant sore throat for years. No other symptoms, except he does suffer from headaches and migraines. Could the cockatoo dust be causing any of this? What is the likelihood that he is going to have lung trouble in his future? I have read up about bird fancier lung, but can't find anything that talks about the risks of not managing for dust vs. managing it. I want to be able to have information to present to convince him to start managing for his health around his bird or at least know the cost associated with not managing the dust/bird droppings. Thank you so much for your answers!

 

[Siobhan]

There's only so much you can do. I sweep a couple of times a week and change paper as needed, but yeah, they make a lot of dust and it's pretty much everywhere. Frequent baths (for the bird, LOL) help but you can't have parrots and a pristine house at the same time.

 

[ParrotGenie]

Get a iq air health pro air purifier, I have 2 of them that I run and less dust then if I didn't have birds and air quality on larger particles measure pretty much zero on particle counter and very little like in the 500 range on particles down to 0.3µm. Most people house without birds are usually in the 30k range. Also regular baths and vacuuming is a must and vacuuming the air purifier pre-filter regularly every 2 weeks. I have 3 cockatoos and 5 cockatiels

If you can't afford the IQ Air then get a Rabbit air, or other large mechanical HEPA air purifier, stay away from ionizers as create ozone and in a small space can be deadly. Others will likely be here soon to chime in with recommendations.

He need to quit being lazy and clean house, dropping sure not be left around house and birds can be potty trained to go in a spot as mines are.

 

[Susantheredhead]

Thank you for the replies! That's not really the information that I am after. Yes, he needs to have an air filter, and learn to clean, spray his bird with water, give her a bath, change newspaper, etc. Since he doesn't I am wanting to know about the health consequences to him. Like if he cleaned/managed for dust he would be 10 times less likely to have lung problems (made up information). That's the kind of information I am looking for. What happens when you have a bird for a constant companion for a long time with no hygiene. What are the health consequences. Also really wondering if his sore throat could be caused by the Cockatoo dust and dander that he breathes.

 

[ToMang07]

In that case.... consult a doctor!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[ParrotGenie]

Thank you for the replies! That's not really the information that I am after. Yes, he needs to have an air filter, and learn to clean, spray his bird with water, give her a bath, change newspaper, etc. Since he doesn't I am wanting to know about the health consequences to him. Like if he cleaned/managed for dust he would be 10 times less likely to have lung problems (made up information). That's the kind of information I am looking for. What happens when you have a bird for a constant companion for a long time with no hygiene. What are the health consequences. Also really wondering if his sore throat could be caused by the Cockatoo dust and dander that he breathes.

The quick answer is yes it could cause very bad respiratory issues.

 

[Susantheredhead]

It would be very interesting to talk to a knowledgeable doctor about birds and lung issues, but a run of the mill physician probably won't know. My friend had his throat looked at by doctors and they couldn't find anything wrong. He did not tell them that a bird sleeps on his head preening herself. I would be very interested in a more detailed answer if you have one. Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply.

 

[Ellie777Australia]

It would be very interesting to talk to a knowledgeable doctor about birds and lung issues, but a run of the mill physician probably won't know. I do know that my friend had his throat looked at intensively by doctors and they couldn't find anything wrong. He did not tell them that a bird sleeps on his head preening herself. I would be very interested in a more detailed answer if you have one. Thank you all so much for taking the time to reply.

Thank you for joining the forum in search of a solution for your friends poor respiratory health. May I suggest that if your friend’s home is in such an ‘unclean state’ that you may have better success at researching cockroach spread diseases rather than ‘Too dust’.

Some diseases spread by cockroaches are caused by certain protozoa: the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii which causes toxoplasmosis and Lophomonas blattarum a species of the multi flagellated protozoa; the cysts of these protozoa can enter the human body by ingestion and inhalation and this will lead to bronchopulmonary infection know as bronchopulmonary lophomoniasis.

 

[Betrisher]

Well, psittacosis is always a worry. It's a disease caused by _Chlamydia psittaci_, which is shed in the dust from birds' feathers and dried droppings. If you inhale it, you can become infected fairly quickly and may or may not show symptoms. The disease is serious - we had a family friend who caught it from his budgies and he nearly died from the pneumonia-like effects of the disease.

Other worries are asthma and bronchitis from particulate inhalation and, perhaps, other fungal or bacterial pathogens that can be transmitted in moist (or even dried) faeces. The risks are very real! I remember having a bitter argument with my sister that 'horse poo is clean'. She believe that, since horses eat nice clean grass and grain, their poo is 'clean' and not dangerous to humans. I've heard people imply the same thing about birds: they eat clean grains and pellets. What could the harm be?

Well, the list of pathogens and parasites that can survive in any creature's gut is long. Birds are no exception and their droppings should be cleaned away for their own health, let alone that of the owner. I'm not sure about the dust or dander. I have asthma which can flare suddenly and bring me down very quickly, yet my birds have never given me the slightest worry, not even Rosetta, my corella. That doesn't mean it's not possible: it just means I'm aware that it's not healthy to stick my face where their excreta is.

If your friend isn't cleaning away droppings, that suggest to me his problem is mood-related. I'd be more concerned about his state of mind than the bird's dust at this point. Try telling him how a dirty environment is not healthy for his bird and perhaps he'll do better?

PS. A persistent sore throat can be caused by snoring/sleep apnoea. Just a thought.

 

[Susantheredhead]

I never knew that about cockroaches. Fascinating reading. Thank you Betrisher for the thoughtful, informative reply. I have already tried the whole " do it for your bird" talk and it didn't work. His thinking is that they have lived this way for 20 years and nothing bad has happened, so it won't in the future either. I need solid arguments to try to change his thinking. Bronchitis is one thing that I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere before.

 

[munami]

The way I see it, just because nothing bad has happened yet doesn't mean it will not in the future. There could be long term effects on the bird just like how there could be long term effects on him. By the time it's caught, it could be too late. Yes, 20 years is a long time, but it could continue to build over the next 40 years or so. If it can have effects on a human, imagine what it could do to a bird which are much smaller with a much more delicate respiratory system.


Regardless, I hope you can convince them Susan. My only advice is there is only so much you can do. If he doesn't want to do it himself and he's put his foot down, there's little you can do to change it. He needs to want help.

 

[Susantheredhead]

Right. It is frustrating knowing what should be happening, and not being able to do much. I figure what I can do for my friend is learn and try to persuade.

 

[Betrisher]

I reckon that if you've tried all the arguments above, then your friend is indeed in a pretty sad place and his problem is bigger than denial that anything's wrong with a bird being kept unhygienically.

Regarding the bird, it may be alive and not ill at the moment, but if it had the choice it would be flying free and able to get away from its most recent droppings, never mind the old and dried ones (which can be more harmful). Your friend has denied his bird the chance to live a healthy life free from pathogens and plain old nasty dirt. Who would keep any living creature in a place where its droppings are everywhere? That's just abuse and neglect. If it were a child, the authorities would have it removed. Because it's a bird, it must stay and suffer, willy-nilly, whatever your friend subjects it to. Do feel free to print out my post and show it to him. If he's not in a position to do better for the poor bird, then he should seek help for his depression so he *can*.

I have every sympathy for someone who has sunk so low, but it's a question of the bird's life and welfare and the bird didn't ask to be shut in this nasty environment and has no voice to complain. He should seriously think of giving it to someone who can at least give it a healthy, pleasant place to live.

 

[Susantheredhead]

I wouldn't describe the situation like that. The house has bird droppings, so night time environment isn't ideal, but during the day the bird is wherever he is, mostly outdoors and seems like a very happy bird. It is a very well cared for bird except for hygiene in the house. Other than hygiene issues, I bet that he is among the top level people for how he cares for his bird. It's not depression, just ingrained bad habits, like a person with bad personal hygiene. Some people have no housekeeping skills. I have seen way worse houses than his with little kids. I would say that it is not a healthy environment, but not child abuse level at all.