dust coming from rthe bird is harmful to our healt

[juliani]

im a new owner of a one yr.old africangrey.i dont any experience about bird.juliani my bird name his used to slept in our room.one of our friend told us that to inhale the coating of the bird is like asbestos and one of their friend who owned a bird die coz of that.so i decide to put my bird to slept in our leaving room he have a cage and a gym on the top but hes not use to be in the cage.prior to that i took him to the pet shop to trim his feathers and cut his nails.so i dont know why suddenly my bird is not a happy bird. no appetite,dont whistle,dont want to do the training.he knows how to the eagle ,wave,he sing love me tender hes a happy bird.

i dont know what i did.i hope you guys can help me some information about bird.im thinking visit a avian vet.

thanks,

marian

[siobha9]

Hi Marian,

 

Welcome to the grey forums. The dust that comes from a bird can aggravate certain respiratory conditions such as asthma, but it can be eased by regular showering and misting your bird with aloe vera. I have never heard of anyone actually dying from inhaling it:ohmy:

 

There could be many reasons why your bird is not happy. The first is that he is no longer allowed to sleep where he is familiar. He may not realise that it is bed time and therefore not getting enough sleep. He may be nervous or scared because he isnt in his familiar surroundings. The wing clip and nail trim may also have upset him, if this is the case he should improve over the next couple of days.

 

A bird who is not eating and not behaving as normal might be ill. They are particularly good at hiding illness, so a trip to an avian vet would be a good idea to rule out illness.

 

Siobhan

[LindaMary]

Whew! Well, a visit to have his nails and wings trimmed, followed by moving him out of the room he is accustomed to being in and into a cage he is not accustomed to being in....I would guess this has all been a little too much for him! He's a baby, remember: that's a lot of changes for him to process!

 

Definitely find an avian vet in any case - that's who should be seeing your bird in case of any problems or questions.

 

Re: the issue of bird dander; yes, the greys are dusty, but I have never heard of anyone dying from inhaling the dust. It is definitely NOT comparable to breathing asbestos! Some people are allergic to pet dander, true, and there are some actual diseases related to birds that can infect humans, of course - but I think there's a lot more to that picture than just breathing the normal dust of a healthy bird. Are you actually having any symptoms? If so, try using an air purifier. Make sure your bird is getting regular baths, and the cage is being cleaned regularly.

 

I recognize you are trying to keep things safe, but don't let your (I'm sure well-meaning) friend panic you. Go tell your grey right now that you still love him and you're going to sort this out - I think he's feeling rejected! And welcome to the forum, by the way - say hi to us all in the Welcome Room!

[bettyboop]

There is a great article in the June addition 08 of Bird Talk Magazine , about Bird Keepers Lung . It is worth reading. Bird dust should always be taken seriously , especially if you have allergies ,asthma , or smoke .It can effect some people more serious than others .

M

[Ajilon]

Do you have a link to that article?

 

I have asthma. I've had it since I was 5 and I'm 37 now. The dust from the birds don't bother me as much as cigarette smoke does.

 

I do bathe my grey 3 times a week and my macaws and amazon twice a week. Perhaps that's why it doesn't bother me?

[LindaMary]

Hey, Mary - you are right, and thank you for mentioning that article on Bird Keeper's Lung. I didn't mean to imply that there aren't some circumstances in which folks can really be very seriously affected by the powder-down birds' dander - or ANY pet dander, for that matter - and some people are certainly more susceptible to it than others. It's definitely something to be aware of. It didn't sound to me as though Marian was experiencing any actual symptoms, and my goal was to try to suggest some less drastic ways of addressing her fears, including teh concerns she had about her bird's change in behavior. Perhaps I sounded cavalier, and if so I do apologize!:blush:

 

Wish I had a link to that Bird Talk article, but I don't - I read in on paper. There is q

[bettyboop]

No , I do not have a link , perhaps you could contact Bird Talk magazine and ask to purchase a back issue . It is the June 08 issue .If this fails PM me and maybe I can scan and email it to you .It is lengthy, so I'm not sure if I can , I'll check.

M

[LindaMary]

*oops* <hit wrong button in the middle of a sentence>!

 

There is quite a bit on the subject on the internet, for starters. Certainly it is a subject to be aware of for grey owners, since greys are about as dusty as they come! I'd be willing to bet your careful bathing and cage cleaning habits are paying off for you, Ajilon!

[bettyboop]

Sorry , I didnt mean to sound as though you were taking the issue lightly, I was just bringing it to her attention, perhaps it was what her friend was talking about.

Mary

[Janfromboone]

There is an article in one of the bird talk magazines 3-4 mos ago about inflamatory lung disease from bird dander. It was quite alarming, but maybe overly so. I don't keep the magazines around and can't recall the month. Maybe someone else can post the magazine article. Jan

[BMustee]

I read the article and it said that most people that get bird keepers lung will get it in the first 5-10 years of exposer to the dander but MOST cases of people that get Bird Keepers Lung keep doves and pidgins.

[Carolyn]

If you go to birdchannel.com, Bird Talk mag will come up, you are able to order back issues of the magazine from them. Also there are numerous sites on the internet where information is available from doctors.

Hope this helps

 

Carolyn & Mika

[Guest Skuffy]

Its not always the case..I have very bad astma and the dander only affects some and not all..I posted a link about the health risks of keeping Greys ..Ive had Astma all my life..Like most Grey owners if you shower your Grey and spray with Alo-vera juice you'll find your greys Dander will subside..max hardly had any..Scooby's dander is slowly getting less the more i shower him..

[SchroedersJen]

I have a few friends with CAGs that get daily baths and are dusty. My tag gets a bats 2-3 times weekly and is nEVER even the timiest bit dusty. After being out of town for 1.5 weeks I picked him up from the bird sitter and he wasnt dusty at all. The TAGs at the bird store also seem to be distless. Are TAGs exempt from the dist factor, or have I just experianced a lot of exceptions to the rule? If anyone has both as pets, I would love some feedback. thhnks!