In their best intrest

[Ray P]

When it comes to their health it`s not always about nutrition or their social development. It can be about the dangers in your house which is their home.

There is the cooking stove a ceiling fan that are some of the most obvious things you may think about.

If your grey is like mine when she is out of her cage she gets into every thing you can thing of.

Corky will walk around on the floor so when you come into a room you have to watch where you step because she might be under foot. S

he likes to chew on things like the lamp cords. On the counter it`s the coffee maker cord or the toaster cord.

On the counter we can unplug the toaster and the coffee maker but the lamp not so much

 

Health Room Assignment

For some of us older members lets help out new or want to be parrot care givers with a list of things we need to do to our homes to make it safe for our companion parrots be it a Grey, Amazon, Cockatoo`s or what ever

I will start with the first one

Keep the lid down on the toilet. Unless it`s a duck.

[Luvparrots]

Sorry I have nothing to add to this thread, my greys and amazon are not chewers or diggers and just like to follow me around and sit on me or their perches. They have perches including my cabinet tops and window front boings in each room to observe from and eat pistachios.

[birdhouse]

Hanging light chains can be invisible to the rapid flyer. Nothing should hang that isn't against a wall.

 

Windows are also invisible to a bird in flight. Birds need to be taught where the glass is. Until you know they know it for 100% sure, there should be some kind of sheers or decals or something that makes all windows visible when the curtains & blinds are open.

 

Mirrors, too.

 

House plants!! Some of them are good. Some of them are poisonous. None of them should be fertilized if fids might be playing in them.

 

Household cleaning products are often bad for you, the fids & the environment. With a little research you'll find that vinegar & a steamer can empty your chemical storage area like you wouldn't believe. Also, leaving you a whole lot of toy money into the bargain.

 

Unless you need to get a new set of pots & pans, first. Teflon & overheated fumes should be on the Bad list.

 

What are you eating? Mine! What are you drinking? Mine! Just like house plants. Some of it is good & some is poisonous. Everyone in the house knowing which is which is very important.

 

Access is even more important. We use travel mugs for everything that we don't want the fids to drink or spill. Adult beverages may take on a whole new cache when drunk from a "sippy cup", but it's a greyt habit to get into right from the start.

 

Important to remember that includes the visitors, too. Visitors are their own special health hazard, in a way. They may be well meaning & in total awe. But the plain unvarnished truth is they can be very dangerous. We had a member who's friend was actually trusted enough to be her fid sitter. But while she was away, the friend literally traumatized the bird when she brought her boyfriend along. Just a cautionary tale to illustrate that your friends are not necessarily going to be your fid's friends.

 

Computers are only specifically hazardous to a fid's health if they get themselves electrocuted. I've never heard of it actually happening. I have heard many a parront say they would like to kill the fid who dismantled their keyboard though! lol So keep anything w/buttons or keys out of reach of the birdies for everyone's health & peace of mind.

Edited May 18, 2017 by birdhouse

[Ray P]

Birdhouse brought up some very important things as our little snots can get into anything.

Something else to remember is that open doors are a place that they love to perch on. If you are in the kitchen and opened a cabinet door make sure they are not perched on them as they may be there just to be with you, Also you may have screen doors at your entrance so you cn keep your doors open when the weather nice so make sure they are not perched on them when you close the doors. Many a birds have been injured by doors.

Thank you Birdhouse for your input.

[SRSeedBurners]

I have to agree:

 

- hanging light chains are something I never ever even considered until one day my little Tinkerbell smashed right through the one in our living room. She hurt herself a little bit but it could have easily broken her wing.

- Door and cabinet tops are also another critical one. I've nearly shut a bird in a door that I didn't realize was up there. I now have an inner nervousness about shutting doors which always makes me check that nothing is getting slammed in the door - even when nothing is around. It's a good habit I developed.

 

 

One thing we did for safety since I now have an escape artist was to install a European style insect chain screen on our main entry door. Tinkerbell, our conure, has gotten out twice because she is so silent and fast. Both times she was following me or looking for me. So now we have a hanging 'no-fly screen'. These are common in Europe and nearly impossible to find here. I had mine shipped from the U.K. It works crazy well!

 

Edit: we thought about having a storm door installed but it's too easy for this little girl to fly around a door, she's done it multiple times. She is also absolutely impossible to hear in the air like you can our other flying pigs. She's incredibly difficult to spot in the same room as she will sit silently and the minute I'm out the door, she's out there with me. However something about this chain screen that confuses her and NONE of our birds will go near it. It apparently screws with flying insects vision as well as they won't go near it. It even makes me dizzy when I get too close to it and stare at it. Tinkerbell was basically holding us prisoners in our own home as every time we wanted to go out we had to physically locate her to make sure we knew where she is before opening that door.

 

 

Edited May 12, 2017 by SterlingSL

[Talon]

Excellent Thread! We all need to stay up on how to keep our birds as safe as possible.

 

Everyone has suggested great ideas. I had storm doors put on all my outside doors, so I can close them quickly. I can suggest that when someone or myself opens a door to let the dogs out or when a family member enters, always LISTEN & KEEP LISTENING to the sound of wings flapping..when I hear that, I immediately close the door until I know my parrots are safe & not heading in the direction of any door.

[katana600]

This is a great topic, thanks Ray! You all have some great ideas, Val you have a whole list. Sterling, I have never heard of this contraption but I need three of them! Our hard wired habit is to insist everyone comes and goes through the garage. The inside house door must be closed and we do a bird check before opening the door to the outside. On the occasion someone leaves the garage door up, I lock the inside door and make them come and go from the basement so the inconvenience is a reminder. Of course Miss Gilbert is not a flyer, but Java is our little escape artist. I drink adult beverages from a Halloween themed locking thermal mug from Starbucks. I has been making me laugh for 8 years.

[SRSeedBurners]

You should get one, at least on the door that poses the greatest threat. We didn't really need one until Miss Tinkerbell came along. She is so dang fast and silent and hard to spot. The other flying pigs I can hear before they even get close to the door. We feel so safe with this chain screen. I actually leave the door open now when I have just the conure with me and the bigger birds outside in the aviary. GreycieMae could accidentally fly through it as she weighs 500 grams (i'm only guessing here, she would most likely get tangled in it.) but tinkerbell would be stopped dead in her tracks at 90grams.

Edited May 17, 2017 by SterlingSL