COMMON
HOUSEHOLD DANGERS Please
Bird-proof Your Home! Your Starlings Will Thank
You!
NOTE:
The
list of dangers below was compiled from
our over 30 years of experience with pet
birds as well as from various resources.
We present this info "as is",
and we shall have no liablility to anyone
regarding any circumstance or occurrence
related to the starling(s) or other birds
in their care. It is each starling owner's
responsibility to make the best choices
for the diet, safety, health, care and wellbeing
of his or her own starling. Contact avian
vets/experts for info about questionable
products or about your particular situation.
Starlings
need regular free flight time out of their
cages if possible. Because they are inquisitive
birds with no sense of what is dangerous
in a home, it is imperative that we bird-proof
all rooms to which they will have access.
A pet starling can quickly get into trouble
with common objects in a home. We want everyone's
"feathered wonders" to remain
safe and to live long lives filled with
joy and mischief! The partial list
of dangers below will give you a good starting
point for making your home bird-safe.
(Additionally, we have a safety webpage
which mentions a few things we do to keep
Stormy, Sunny & Shadow safe when out
of cages.)
Open Doors or Windows Starlings
are very quick and can escape outside in
only seconds through an open window or a
cracked door. Not only can these birds quickly
fly out, but they can also be caught or
crushed in carelessly closed doors as they
try to follow you through them.
Uncovered Windows, Glass Doors, Mirrors It
is wise to keep blinds or curtains closed,
or have some type of decals on uncovered
windows or glass doors while a starling
is flying freely in a home. Birds will attempt
to fly right through uncovered clear glass.
A concussion (brain injury) or broken neck
and death are often the result. Many birds
will also fly into uncovered mirrors, so
we use appropriate caution with them as
well.
Watch Where You Walk, and Look before You
Sit!
When your starling is out of its cage, everyone
in your home should pay attention to where
they walk and where they sit. This is extremely
important if you have small children or
when you have visitors. Our starlings often
like to explore on the floor, and as small
as they are, it could be very easy for someone
to overlook them and thus accidentally step
on one. To be extra cautious, we shuffle
our feet when walking while they are out.
If your starling likes to sit on furniture,
it is necessary to be aware of where he
is before you sit down so as to avoid
sitting on him! We keep our birds confined
to their cages when we have visitors.
Glasses and Containers of Liquids -- Open
Toilet Lids, Uncovered Aquariums, Drinking
Glasses, etc.
Starlings attempt to bathe
in nearly any type of liquid, including
liquids in drinking glasses. Several pet
starlings have drowned when attempting to
bathe in drinking glasses. Hot coffee poses
another danger, for starlings cannot tell
when a liquid is scalding hot. Additional
dangers include raised toilet seats, uncovered
aquariums, sinks filled with water. Again,
DO NOT leave any containers of liquid
open when your starling is flying freely
in your home!
NOTE:
Kitchens hold many dangers for birds! See
the next three warnings below. Our kitchen
is OFF LIMITS to our starlings.
Kitchen Dangers I: Foods Cooking on Stove
Tops; Hot Burners, Hot Oven (with door open),
etc. Allowing
a bird in the kitchen while doing any cooking
is an accident waiting to happen! It can
take mere seconds for a loose bird to curiously
fly into a pot, a hot frying pan, an open
oven, or onto a hot cookie sheet freshly
out of the oven. Also, a bird cannot tell
when a stove burner is hot and is apt to
land on one. Ensure your bird's safety by
keeping him OUT of the kitchen.
Kitchen Dangers II: Containers of Hot or
Cool Cooking Oil Everyone
knows that hot cooking oil or grease is
a real danger to a bird. However, even room
temperature oil or grease, if left in an
open container, poses danger to a pet bird.
If a bird lands in such a substance and
gets it on his feathers, his ability to
regulate his temperature becomes compromised.
Keep ALL oil or grease covered!
Kitchen Dangers III: Keep Appliance Doors
and Cabinets Closed An
open cabinet, dishwasher, oven, or refrigerator
is an invitation to a free flighted starling
who likes to explore. When not in use keep
the dishwasher and oven closed closed to
avoid inadvertently shutting your bird inside
one of them. Always check your fridge or
cabinets before shutting them, to confirm
that your bird has not flown inside. Again,
keeping a starling OUT of the kitchen is
wise.
Ceiling Fans
-- Common sense says to keep them off or
unplugged when your birds are out!
Open Fireplaces, Burning Candles, Lit Cigarettes
When we have a fire in our fireplace, we
either keep our starlings confined to their
cages, or we keep the fireplace doors shut.
None of our birds are housed in the same
room with the fireplace, due to dangers
from the birds inhaling smoke. Burning candles
pose several threats to a free flighted
bird, including possible respiratory problems
or injury from burns.
Halogen Light Bulbs
Halogen light bulbs get very hot and can
easily singe tail feathers or burn little
birdie feet if a bird lands atop one.
Small Objects That
Can Be Swallowed
Small items commonly swallowed by pet starlings
include rubber bands, staples, small buttons,
thumbtacks, pieces of string, Q-tips, tiny
computer screws, earrings, etc. Keep in
mind that starlings are inquisitive and
will grab anything that catches their eye.
Once a starling grabs something forbidden
to him, he will often swallow it rather
than give it up.
Access to Strings, Thread, Human Hair
Be sure your starling has NO access to human
hair! Hair is dangerous, as it can wind
tightly around a starling's tongue or around
a toe, cutting off circulation or causing
other severe problems. A piece of string
or thread can also wind tightly around a
starling's foot or leg, or a toenail can
get caught in it. Some starlings will swallow
inches of string at once! Stormy swallowed
several inches of string when she was younger,
resulting in a vet visit, so all string
is now kept away from our starlings.
Cat Litter Boxes
Keep starlings away from cat litter boxes!
Many cats host the parasite, Toxoplasma
gondii, which can cause an infection
known as Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasma is periodically
shed into the environment through a cat's
feces. Birds are susceptible to Toxoplasma,
and if a starling were to eat infected cat
droppings or cat litter, illness and death
could result. (Additionally, even if a starling
were to eat clean unused cat litter, the
result could be intestinal obstruction leading
to death.)
Cage Beddings (such as corn cob, cedar &
pine shavings, walnut shells)
Corn cob bedding is indigestible and could
cause obstruction if eaten by a bird. It
is also dusty, and inhaling fine dust into
air sacs for a long period of time will
eventually cause resiratory problems for
a bird. Cedar and pine shavings contain
volatile chemicals called "phenols,"
which are excessively strong for a bird's
sensitive respiratory system and which may
also affect liver and kidneys. We have found
that the safest cage bedding for our birds
is newspaper.
Cats, Dogs, Parrots, and Other Pets
Cats are predators and will stalk and grab
a bird instinctively. Dogs, no matter how
well-trained, may unexpectedly grab a bird,
causing severe injury or death -- sadly,
this has happened to several pet starlings.
Ferrets have been known to kill pet birds.
We feel that allowing companion animals
near our starlings is taking an unnecessary
chance, therefore we always confine
our cats and dog to a separate room when
our birds are out of cages! Additionally,
hookbills (large parrots, tiels, even small
budgies) can injure a starling in the blink
of an eye. Their beaks cause painful injuries
or fatal wounds, and they can snap a starling's
toe off very easily. Use appropriate precautions
if you have several types of birds! We keep
our hookbills and starlings separated at
ALL times!
Warning
about bacteria transmitted from cat bites-- Even a small bite or nick from a
cat can cause a bird to die. Many cats carry
Pasteurella multocida bacteria in
their saliva (it may also be on an animal's
claws if recently licked) and it can kill
a bird if it gets into its bloodstream.
When a cat bites, its teeth puncture the
skin leaving several small wounds approximately
the same diameter as the cat's teeth. These
puncture holes seal and quickly become impossible
to see, trapping bacteria from the cat's
mouth under the bird's skin. This bacteria
multiplies quickly, and if untreated, the
result is blood poisoning and death often
within one or two days. A
cat-caught bird needs to be on antiobiotics
within 12 hours (or sooner, if possible)!
(Most veterinarians will prescribe
Baytril or Amoxicillin; OTC antibiotics
are not effective.)
Some Types of Houseplants
Although starlings generally do not
chew on plants, some starlings will rip
into them and eat some of the leaves. (Stormy
does this!) Several types of houseplants
are hazardous if eaten by birds. The following
webpage is only one of many online detailing
harmful plants & trees. Unsafe Plants for Birds
Fumes, Scents, Sprays, Smoke, etc. -- All
Dangerous to A Bird's Respiratory System!
There have been many discussions on bird
forums about how fumes from scented candles,
air fresheners, and cleaning products have
harmed pet birds. Most household products
are not routinely tested on birds, thus
the manufacturers have no way of knowing
whether the products are safe for birds.
Use extreme care when using anything
which gives off fumes, and perhaps consult
your avian vet about specific products and
their potential dangers to birds. A bird's
respiratory system is very delicate and
is easily affected by fumes that do not
bother humans.
Just
a few things in a home that that can
harm a bird's respiratory system:
aerosol
sprays (such as cleaning products, hair
sprays, etc.)
nail
polish remover, wet nail polish
spray
starch
strong
bleach or pine oil cleaning agents
paints
insecticides
& mothballs
smoke
from lit cigarettes, cigars, pipes
air
freshener sprays
plug-in
air fresheners, scented candles, incense,
potpourri (the oils in these products
may cause harm)
residual
fumes from newly installed carpets
cedar
& pine shavings (see the first list
above for cautions about using these as
cage beddings)
fumes
or smoke from cooking (in particular,
smoke from burning food, overheated cooking
oils, scorched plastic handles, nonstick
cookware, etc.) -- Remember, keep
birds OUT of your kitchen to avoid possible
problems. For additional information about
fumes and toxins being harmful to birds,
please see our links at the bottom of
this page.
Nonstick
Coatings -- They Contain Fluoropolymers
Which Are Deadly
to Birds! Did you know that
a
bird's complex respiratory system is very
sensitive and is much less able to deal
with the same kinds of fumes which a human
or other types of pets can handle? Only
a small amount of "toxic fumes,"
even fumes that we cannot smell, can overcome
a pet bird in moments.
A
very real danger to the highly sensitive
respiratory systems of birds are the fluoropolymer
resins used
in nonstick coatings. One of these is PTFE
or Polytetrafluoroethylene which is a common
ingredient in nonstick cookware *including
but not limited to Teflon®, Silverstone®,
and T-fal®. There are many additional
popular brands of nonstick cookware containing
PTFE, and other types of household items
also contain
it. During heating of these products, toxic
odorless gases are emitted and are a
deadly threat to birds who inhale them!
(*Note: The brand
names mentioned above are registered trademarks
of the specific companies who manufacture
them.)
EWG:
Executive Summary about the Dangers of
Teflon
Read
all the webpages in this report, and you
will learn about the agonizing deaths
of pet birds caused by Teflon®,
how long it takes for a heated Teflon®
pan to begin emitting toxic fumes, what
types of toxic particles and gases are
emitted, how Teflon®
fumes can make your family sick (Teflon®
toxicosis), etc. You will also find tips
for bird owners and tips on safe cookware.
The webpages found at this link focus
strictly on the dangers of Teflon®
to birds and humans. Reading it may
make you think twice about ever using
nonstick cookware again!
Be
aware that very few products contain labels
to warn you about the presence of PTFE or
other nonstick coatings.
Just
a few of the many items known to contain
PTFE include: nonstick cookware, nonstick
stove burner drip pans, newer space heaters,
clothes irons with nonstick surfaces, ironing
board covers, nonstick curling irons, electric
griddles, electric fry pans, electric waffle
makers, electric grills, bread makers, some
blowdryers, self-cleaning ovens (they emit
this odorless gas during their cleaning
cycle), and some heat bulbs which are coated
with it.
A
representative of Dupont emailed us and
demanded that the warnings about its brand
name nonstick cookware products (which contain
PTFE!) be removed from this website.
What a pathetic gesture
from this company! NO company which tries
to bully consumers or which manufactures
nonstick products containing PTFE yet refuses
to put warning labels on their products
will have our support in any way! We shall
spread the word.
