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Essential oils

PacificPaulie

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Hi all!

Are essential oils safe to diffuse around our little birdies? I think some are and some aren't but I'm looking for clarification because our precious feathered babies are so small and seem so delicate.

Thanks in advance!
 

Zara

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My money is on no.

A drop or two of Thyme essential oil in your homemade multi purpose cleaner would be ok.
I donated my difuser when I got my first bird.
 

Karen

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Some essential oils scents and some brands of pure therapeutic essential oils are safe to diffuse. If you do a search on the board for essential oils you will find many threads on the topic.

Personally, I prefer using the Young Living brand and some scents that I diffuse are Purification, Orange, Lavender, Lemon, Thieves, Joy, Peace and Calming, Frankinsense, Helichrysum just to name a few. I also use a mixture for calming purposes of 20 drops each of Orange, Lemon and Lavender mixed with 4 ounces of distilled water in a glass spray bottle and use it as a mist spray.

A search will give you a lot of information.
 

laracroft

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I have always heard no in general, with a few exceptions, but personally I've never thought it to be worth the risk. Birds are very susceptible to inhaled toxins, much more than we are. I've heard you can do things like boil cinnamon sticks and cloves if you want things to smell nice, but I've never tried it. (Might want to get a second opinion on that before you do it, because I don't remember exactly what I was told to do, I wasn't that interested tbh.)
 

fashionfobie

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I strongly advise against diffusing any essential oils around your bird. NONE

Birds have lungs in addition to air sacs. This massive amount of surface area helps them power their bodies in flight. Birds also weigh very little. It doesn't take much of an aerosolized toxin to gravely harm a bird. This is why birds exposed to C8 (a material in teflon) foam at the mouth and die.

Essential oils are marketed heavily as being "natural" but ask yourself what that means. It doesn't mean safe. Many herbs and spices aren't necessarily healthy just because they are plants. Basil for example is carcinogenic. The creation of an essential oil and the diffusing of the herbs/spices is not the same as chewing on a fresh piece of dill or parsley.

There are people online that will share their successes with diffusing around their birds, please take all of it with a block of salt. Consider that birds live decades and the oil diffuser fad is pretty new. I haven't seen a scientific review of the evidence that these machines promote longevity in birds.

Also there is a lack of any regulation on essential oils. It isn't a science. Humans like the smells, it makes us feel good. We aren't birds. I really appreciate this question. I hope this brief post helps to nebulously explain why it is a BAD IDEA to use essential oils around birds.


Air_sacs_3.png

For the curious reader :geek:
ScienceDirect
 

Gribouille

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I'm always sceptical of "natural" medicine. If it can heal you, it means it is not innocent and can also harm if used the wrong way.
Digitalis is helping your heart if taken the right way. It kills you otherwise. Medication should only be taken after advice from a professional (doctor, not professional seller of "natural medicine"...) and even so, the lesser the better...
 

finchly

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Certain ones are safe. You dilute it so much - only use maybe 5 drops to a cup of water, for example. And I even heard about an EO that was used with a bird to clean up his air sacs from living in a home with smokers.
But as someone else said, you have to buy a quality brand and I would say don’t mix. Stick with lavender, citrus scents, things like that. The “hot” oils like cinnamon are a big no-no.

There’s a FB group about EOs and birds, you can look it up.
 

PacificPaulie

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My goodness, I didn't expect this to be such a controversial topic. Thanks everyone, I appreciate your inputs!

I have high quality oils on hand (doTERRA) and find comfort in diffusing many different oils. I didn't think citrus oils were safe but I thought maybe lavender would be ok. I'm so worried with him being so small though...

I suppose I'll just save the more mellow oils for my bedroom at bed time, and put away my other diffuser until our construction is complete and I can separate Paulie from the scents.

So, my follow up question, how long would be a safe amount of time to keep Paulie separated from the scents? For example, I like to keep Paulie in the common area. If I wanted to diffuse the common area, I would separate Paulie into a different room, but when could I bring Paulie back into the common area? Could anyone recommend a time frame?
 

saroj12

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poor Paulie :(
 

hrafn

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I've always loved essential oils and candles and all those other lovely scented wonders, but I will N E V E R use them in my house again. Not for a second.

Birds are so, so delicate. Their respiratory systems can be affected by the simplest things, things that wouldn't bother a human at all. The risk is simply unnecessary, in my opinion. To me it feels like putting my birds' lives at risk for a nice smell.
Not worth it. Ever.
 

finchly

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After the smell dissipates? I’m not sure. I only use ones I know are safe, and keep them far from the birds anyway.
This is a good question for one of the EO facebook groups. Or there’s a veterinarian on there whol does a lot of work with essential oils and animals.

DoTerra is a good brand.
 

PacificPaulie

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poor Paulie :(
Why do you think poor Paulie? I assure you, Paulie has a wonderful life with me. In fact, you can follow his life through all of my posts in Avian Avenue. I've only be a member since March, when he became a member of our family.

I've been posting every step of his development in Avian Avenue ever since because I am absolutely smitten by him.
 

PacificPaulie

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I don't have Facebook guys. I would greatly appreciate different websites to explore!

And, to set the record straight since there seems to be some confusion, I haven't diffused any oils since Paulie became a part of our family. I'm coming to the forum to seek information that could help me make an informed decision, which is what responsible pet owners can be expected to do.

Furthermore, the information here will not be my sole determinant in my decision making. I will integrate various sources and put much consideration into my final decision... Ultimately, I will do what I believe is best for my precious little blueberry. :heart:
 

Dgh

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I won't lie I didn't read all the replies. I can say you have been doing a good job of learning. I have replied to you several times that you have asked legitimate questions. Probably missed a few as well. We can only do the best we can do in our eyes for our fids. I can't handle odors and such so my fids aren't exposed to any. I do take other risks with mine some wouldn't I am sure. Just give it your best shot and keep asking the questions!!!
 

Fuzzy

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Google Dr Melissa Shelton. She is the vet who treats her animal patients (including birds) with essential oils. She used to use Young Living essential oils for years and wrote the first Animal Desk Reference, Essential Oils for Animals, to cover the Young Living oils. Now that she has brought out her own brand, Animal EO, she has written the Animal Desk Reference II. I did her aromatherapy for animals online course (sadly doesn't exist any longer) and consulted with her re treating my own parrots with the oils. If I could get her Animal EO I would use those, but she doesn't ship to the UK. I am happy therefore to keep using Young Living oils. I've been using them for maybe 8 or 9 years now. I don't know anything about doTerra and from what Melissa has said about them on her Facebook group, I don't think I would ever use them. Melissa's ex vet assistant, Angela Nelson wrote a book called Aromatherapy for Parrots which covers Young Living oils and she also has a Facebook group.
 
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