Toxic List for our Birds.

[GaleriaGila]

Almost all parrot people I know have eliminated any particulates/sprays, as Jen was saying, as well as candles, scents, oils...
When in doubt, I don't keep it around.
I think back to the canary-in-the-mine days, and the takeaway for me is... just because YOU can't smell it doesn't mean it's safe for birds.
So I allow my paranoia free reign!

 

[MissBritt]

Hi all! I have a few questions about the “toxic list” -

I saw air conditioning on the list.. I have central air in my home due to my English Bulldog, will this be harmful to a Sun Conure? I was planning to put the bird cage in our finished basement, which the central air doesn’t affect, but it would affect the bird when I have him upstairs to play.

My fiancé likes to use glade spray in the bathroom, and he sometimes will burn candles in the living room which is on the first floor. Would this be harmful to the bird if it is on a separate floor?

Thanks!

Central air must have more info specific such as a new system needing to burn off...

But candles and any type of air freshener or sprays in the home are a huge no having birds in the home. As my time as an Adoption Coordinator, part of the process is about education and having scented candles or using air sprays are a major concern and threat to the very sensitive respiratory system of a parrot. Even heavy perfumes are a concern, as well as many cleaning agents. Anything that leaves particles in the air... Glade / Fabreeze type sprays are not healthy for even a child's lungs, but they can be deadly for a parrot. We live in a nice size 3 levels of living home. I had scented candles in my master bathroom on the third floor and even with having a bedroom door and then the bathroom door shut, I had doubts to use the candles with a large soaking tub.

Having a parrot in the home can often mean lifestyle changes that not everyone can agree with... the smell good items many people love such as the plugs, sprays, dispensers are sometimes hard to give up.

I also tried to explain that even tho you have the item on a separate level, the same ventilation system is used throughout. Much like smoking, would you consider it safe to smoke the next room over if you had a newborn baby not far away? Try to approach having a parrot in the home with that same logic

Hi Jen,

Thank you for this! I am glad I found this forum because I would not have had idea and could have unintentionally harmed the bird had I brought it home without knowing. I will search for alternatives to the items we use that are harmful.

As for the central air, it is a new unit, this upcoming summer will be the second year we are using it. We have oil heat, and prior to us living here there was not a central air in the house.

 

[Flboy]

You mentioned keeping your fid in a basement? Many birds do poorly below grade! I know you said finished, so you aren’t talking ‘cellar’, but they just don’t seem to flourish!

 

[MissBritt]

You mentioned keeping your fid in a basement? Many birds do poorly below grade! I know you said finished, so you aren’t talking ‘cellar’, but they just don’t seem to flourish!

Oh, okay. That’s good to know! Thank you!

 

[raj914]

Anyone tried feeding soursop?

 

[Cardinal]

a lot of fruits are good for your bird, but some of the seeds aren't ...

The same goes for Papaya. So scoop out the black seeds before feeding it to your birds.

Is that so? I have seen Alexandrine parakeets eat papaya seeds with great relish.

Avin

 

[Emily15]

Thanks! this list is super helpful! I'm a little concerned about something, though. I have two Senegal Parrots. I've give them tomatoes all the time, and they really seem to like them. On the list, it said stems and leaves. Does this mean the actual fruit of the tomato is OK for them? Do you happen to know if the seeds are OK for them too?

 

[asterrjones]

Just found this which is a real help with the toxic things for our birds.

http://www.parrotparrot.com/birdhealth/alerts.htm

Take a look its very helpful.

Thanks but nothing under the link x


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SailBoat]

Just found this which is a real help with the toxic things for our birds.

http://www.parrotparrot.com/birdhealth/alerts.htm

Take a look its very helpful.

Thanks but nothing under the link x
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Likely due to the Link being a couple of years old and may no longer be an active Link. You may need to try an Internet Search.

 

[nightfly]

I wrote up a post on another section of the forum, about how an electric space heater was giving off fumes which most likely killed my bird.
It's here: Urgent! Electric heater killed my bird! - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

I'm not sure what kind of mechanism is inside the device, and don't know why it overheated to cause the burning smell that was coming out of it. Here's the picture:

It's a Stanley ST 221 A. It's a few years old. It had always worked fine before this, and it was on the lower of the two heat settings. The power switch (fan, low heat, high heat) was apparently melted into place, as I couldn't turn it off, and had to unplug it and toss it outdoors.

I had gone to thanksgiving with my sister, and brought my other bird with me (I do this often, the birds traveled well). I decided to leave my other bird there with family, and come home; I got here too late.

RlP, Max. I should have brought you with me, too. I'm not sure how I'm going to live with myself for leaving you at home.

 

[vljenewein]

Crabapple

You can't have Apple in the toxic list and crab apple in the safe list. Both are malus. In that regard, we live in the country and I grew up on a farm and many birds eat wild chokecherries (fruit) and hang around in apple trees, peach trees, apricot trees, plum and cherry trees. So if the wood is toxic how come I have never seen a dead bird under any of those trees? How come I have to fight to get out to pick choke cherries or ANY cherries when they are ripe before the birds eat the all gone? We have birds pecking on our apples every year, same with peaces as well.

 

[vljenewein]

I wrote up a post on another section of the forum, about how an electric space heater was giving off fumes which most likely killed my bird.
It's here: Urgent! Electric heater killed my bird! - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

I'm not sure what kind of mechanism is inside the device, and don't know why it overheated to cause the burning smell that was coming out of it. Here's the picture:

It's a Stanley ST 221 A. It's a few years old. It had always worked fine before this, and it was on the lower of the two heat settings. The power switch (fan, low heat, high heat) was apparently melted into place, as I couldn't turn it off, and had to unplug it and toss it outdoors.

I had gone to thanksgiving with my sister, and brought my other bird with me (I do this often, the birds traveled well). I decided to leave my other bird there with family, and come home; I got here too late.

RlP, Max. I should have brought you with me, too. I'm not sure how I'm going to live with myself for leaving you at home.

The wiring is a plastic / rubber and if it got hot to melt your switch, it emitted the fumes. Like most house fires, many times it was not the fire that kill the residents but the toxic fumes of things in the house that got hot, like carpet, sofa, curtains, etc. Many of the synthetic textiles that we "house" are potential danger in a house fire. This is why Firemen wear Self Contained Breathing Apparatus into burning building.

 

[ctwo]

Chocolate

My IRN found a nugget and I caught him gnawing on it. The 85% Uganda dark chocolate. I knew chocolate was bad so I chased him down and got my fingers around that nugget. Mango would not let go. We had a tug of war and the nugget melted as I pulled most of it out of his beak.

Now what? I looked it up and read how toxic chocolate is for parrots, and tales of birds dropping dead within hours even if ingesting tiny amounts.

I started to peel a grape and hand fed the grape to Mango until he finished the entire thing. Then I fed him a savory nut. After that I peeled another grape and fed that to him. Usually he'll have a big squirt not long after eating a grape... He was fine the rest of the day as well as the next morning. It's been several days now so I think we're good.

 

[aussie_wings]

Just to make admins aware, this link no longer works. D:

 

[Cottonoid]

Just to make admins aware, this link no longer works. D:

Thank you! I think I've found the new page and replaced the broken link

 

[StormyPica]

You can't have Apple in the toxic list and crab apple in the safe list. Both are malus. In that regard, we live in the country and I grew up on a farm and many birds eat wild chokecherries (fruit) and hang around in apple trees, peach trees, apricot trees, plum and cherry trees. So if the wood is toxic how come I have never seen a dead bird under any of those trees? How come I have to fight to get out to pick choke cherries or ANY cherries when they are ripe before the birds eat the all gone? We have birds pecking on our apples every year, same with peaces as well.

I think this list is outdated, IMO. Apple is perfectly safe for birds.

Does this mean the actual fruit of the tomato is OK for them?

Tomatoes should not be given to birds as they are too acidic and can cause ulcers and other issues. Another example of the list being outdated.

 

[KrystalLater00]

Just found this which is a real help with the toxic things for our birds.

https://www.parrotparrot.com/alerts-toxins/


Take a look its very helpful.

Food is also good for your bird.