Your pet bird is sick and you are completely at lost how could that possibly be. Your pet bird spends most of the times inside your home and not exposed to any bad environmental conditions at all. Here is some thought, your house may not be that safe as you think it is.
If there child unfriendly homes, then there are avian-unfriendly homes. Actually, there are different kinds of dangers your bird can be exposed to even if you try to make it danger-free. Birds have sensitive respiratory systems, can be very small in size and they also have fast metabolism. These are also factors for bird dangers inside your home.
As a pet owner, you have to be vigilant and alert on anything that you notice in your house. Here are some common dangers which you can easily avoid by being attentive and cautious.
Poisoning
Birds can get poisoned by things that they have eaten or inhaled. Inhaled poisonous materials can come from aerosol, insecticides and other cleaning products that you are using at home. Even those air fresheners can be dangerous to your birds respiratory system. Other common fumes which can be poisonous to birds are glues, nail polish remover, perfumes, and paint. So, if you will be doing some cleaning, better move your bird away from the area.
Non-stick cookware when over-heated also emit fumes which are bad for your health. If your bird is located near the kitchen, then move it out of there. You are not just cooking your bird with the heat from the oven, but also slowly killing it. Another thing you can avoid is using scented candles, there are some birds allergic to certain odours.
Another thing you have to be cautious with is cigarette smoke. It is not only bad for the smoker and the people who inhale it, but also deeply affects your pet birds.
Inappropriate food can also kill your birds. Avoid feeding your birds with food with high sugar, fat and salt. This would certainly kill your birds, if not immediately, in the long run. Avoid feeding avocado and chocolates to your birds. Prevent your bird in biting and eating the newspapers in the bottom of the cage, newspaper ink is poisonous for birds.
Open water (like toilet)
Birds cannot swim. It is easy for small birds to fall in cooking pots, sinks, toilets, bathtubs, buckets and other water containers and drown. Make sure to put the lid down of toilet seats. You can just close the bathroom door altogether.
Ceiling fans, windows/doors and mirrors
Birds are easily stressed by things moving above them, it is better to relocate a birds cage if there are ceiling fans near it. A bird can easily fly through a moving ceiling fan and cause serious damage. Open windows and doors can give the birds a chance to fly away. But if it is closed, the birds can fly and collide into it, creating serious physical injuries. So if you are going to let your bird fly out of the cage for a while, it would be better to let the curtains down.
Birds think that they can get through glass, they do not know that it is a transparent solid. But if the curtains are down, they know for sure that flying through the curtains is altogether, impossible.
Pet birds are very intelligent and are very curious about exploring and tasting. Since their size can permit them to have access in every nook and corner of the house, it is important to watch over them and make sure that would not get injured by simple things in the house.
