Safety is very important: Things you never thought could harm a bird:
For the many of you who don’t know, Catherine (my wife & partner) and I, spend almost 24/7 together. We always have something to say to one another, We talk about business a lot.
We brain storm, plan, solve problems – you get it.
I’m not sure how this conversation got started, I remember we were in the car and I’m pretty sure Catherine said something like, “we spend so much time talking about how to care for our birds, the
right bird food,
proper size bird cage the
right bird cage accessories and
bird toys.
But we never talk about the other side.
The sadly ironic side of having a pet bird.
The single biggest reason our birds die is – we kill them.
Rather than expanding on each and every hazard, I’m going to list all that we came up with.
Let us know about your experiences so we can help other pet bird owners avoid potential catastrophes .
- Lands on edge of drinking glass, reaches down for liquid and falls in head first & drowns
- Flies or falls into a mop bucket
- Flies or falls into a toilet
- Flies into a mirror or window
- Water bottle malfunctions while you’re out-of-town for 3 days – bird suffers dehydration
- Electrocution by chewing through electrical wire
- Flies into open oven
- Flies into boiling water pot
- Fumes emitted from Teflon cookware heated over 535 degrees (Birds are 90% lungs – people)
- Using Teflon coated heat lamps to keep babies warm has killed chicks even at zoos
- Bird gets stuck on single toy hung in middle of cage – gets tired and can’t reach cage walls to leave toy – falls off toy from exhaustion
- Toe caught in knot of chain – flaps uncontrollably until injury or death
- Flies into old fashion glue fly paper – flaps uncontrollably until injury or death
- Mouse trap under couch
- Impaled on knife or sharp object on kitchen counter
- Bird get laid on because someone thought it was cute to sleep with their bird
- Flying out the door
- Ingestion of a home cleaning product
- Sucked into a vacuum
- Stepped on
- Squeezed too hard by a young child
- Bird bites finger, clamps on – person shakes hand to get bird to release – bird hits floor or wall and dies
- Run-ins with ceiling fans (Vets call them shredded tweet!)
- New carpeting outgasses and should not be installed with a bird in the home
- Second hand smoke
- Crushed in a sliding glass or any door for that matter
- Other house pet kills bird
- Other birds – Lovebirds will bite other birds toes – toe loss can cause a bird to bleed to death rapidly
- Wrong human food – avocado, chocolate, caffeine
- Place bird in outdoor cage in the morning, bird bakes in afternoon sun
- Introduce sick bird into home without quarantine
- Swallows remote control battery
- Poisoned or electrocuted by chewing on cell phone
- Leg band gets caught on toy part
- Wet seed and some wood debris can create Aspergillus fungus
- Oven liners
- Loose & threads threads on bird bedding
- Scented candles and room fresheners
- Heavy metal poisoning from an antique brass bird cage
- Ingesting medication that was dropped on the floor
- Bird of prey attack while parrot is unattended out of doors
- Tainted well water
- camp fires and fire places
- vinegar + baking soda produces co2
Please ponder this list as you look around your home.
written by
Mitch Rezman, CMO
collaborated with & approved by
Catherine Tobsing, President
© Windy City Parrot, Inc. 2014
AUTHOR: MITCH REZMAN
He's handled a 1000 birds of numerous species when they would visit their monthly birdie brunch in the old Portage Park (Chicago, IL) facility. The one with the parrot playground. Mitch has written and published more than 1100 articles on captive bird care. He's met with the majority of CEO's and business owners for most brands in the pet bird space and does so on a regular basis. He also constantly interacts with avian veterinarians and influencers globally.
View all posts by Mitch Rez
(I may be a little biased 
