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Hazards for a bird with the run of the
house
Pet birds may be caged or allowed to
remain on perches while the owner is home to supervise their
activity. Birds should always be confined to cages when their
owners are away to avoid accidental injury and other
misfortune. Unsupervised pet birds allowed "the run of
the house" often get into trouble. Not only can they be
terribly destructive to the home and its furnishings, but all
homes contain objects that can be harmful (directly or
indirectly) to pet birds. These hazards include mirrors,
windows, walls, house plants, electrical cords, and items
containing harmful chemicals.
Birds resting on open perches are
usually content to remain there, and usually take flight only
when frightened by a sudden movement or loud noise.
Unfortunately, these "impromptu" flights are taken
without a flight plan and birds usually wind up crashing into
walls, doors, windows, or mirrors because of their confusion
and poor depth perception.
The major source of poisoning of pet
birds is lead which is found in drapery weights, curtain
pulls, leaded and stained glass windows, fishing sinkers,
paint, ammunition carelessly discarded in ashtrays or dropped
on the floor, costume jewelry, and the wrapping on many wine
bottles. Most birds seem to like the taste of this soft metal
and love to chew on it. Poisoning results from eating even a
small amount of lead. Luckily, lead poisoning can be successfully
treated if diagnosed early enough.
Birds allowed unrestricted freedom in
the home may eat house plants or chew on
electrical cords,
resulting in illness and injury. Some unsupervised pet birds
chew on macramé, carpet, and other similar fabrics and often
swallow these materials, resulting in crop and intestinal
impactions. Free-flying birds are also more vulnerable to
injury from ceiling fans, hot stoves, and attacks by pet dogs,
cats, and ferrets sharing the same household. It is wise
not to underestimate the aggressiveness of our four-legged
friends and restrict contact between them and pet birds as
much as possible.
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Birds allowed free flight in the home
may also escape through open doors and windows. Many birds
owners have the mistaken notion that their bird would never
fly away and leave them. Unfortunately, birds that have
escaped the owner's home easily become disoriented outdoors.
This confusion makes return or capture of the escaped bird
very unlikely. |
The danger of non-stick pans and
surfaces - FOR ALL BIRDS!
A pet bird should never be kept in the
kitchen. In addition to gas fumes and occasional smoke from
cooking food, there is another, more dangerous, threat to
birds in the kitchen. Overheated Teflon or other non-stick pan
coatings emit fumes that are deadly to all birds. Often, a
family member inadvertently leaves a non-stick pan on a
lighted burner and the coating overheats and releases toxic
fumes. Birds that inhale these fumes die quickly. Newer
appliances such as toaster ovens, self-cleaning ranges, drip
plates, and hair dryers can also contain non-stick surfaces
that can release toxic fumes even during normal use.
Other hazards for
free-flighted birds
There are several other considerations
when allowing birds unrestricted freedom and flight within the
home. Birds flying about may end up in the toilet bowl or in
an uncovered pot or pan cooking on the stove. Free-flying
birds also tend to assume a more dominant posture in their
relationship with people and often become intolerably
aggressive. |
