#bird safe

Outdoor cats kill over 2 BILLION birds every year! Here's some illustrations I did for National Audubon Society of a few catios on the market. A great way to keep cats happy, and birds alive!

So I’m gonna write down as much as I can think of, if anyone else wants to chime in on household hazards feel free to!

Here’s a link to my list of safe/ unsafe fruits and veggies, it’s a constant work in progress and please don’t take it as a be-all-end-all list, always check multiple sources before feeding new things to your birds:

https://flock-talk.tumblr.com/post/98788015943/i-made-a-list-of-food-and-wrote-down-if-they-were

Common Household Hazards:

Teflon/ PTFE/ PFOA - when it enters their lungs it bursts the capillaries causing the lungs to fill with fluid - found in non-stick pans, hairdryers, new ovens, microwave popcorn bags, space heaters, irons, parchment paper, light bulbs.  Basically anything that has to be repellant or withstand head has the potential to have teflon in it so always double check.

Aerosol sprays - irritate the lungs, cause inflammation, depending on what’s being sprayed may enter the bloodstream and cause toxicity poisoning, etc. - cooking spray, air freshener, body sprays, carpet cleaners, perfume, household cleaners, pesticides etc.

Artificial Scents - irritate the lungs, cause inflammation, depending on what’s being sprayed may enter the bloodstream and cause toxicity poisoning, etc. - Bath bombs, contaminated essential oils, air fresheners, wax melts, candles, most household cleaners, etc.

Candles - Combustion reaction causes O2+heat to be released, the excess released mixes with naturally occurring molecules in our environment (C, H, O) creating Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide as a result of the reaction. Birds will breathe in and process twice as much CO2 + CO as we will, when exposed to the chemicals they may have lung irritations, respiratory distress, carbon monoxide poisoning, tissue damage, death  - ANY CANDLE, doesn’t matter if it’s beeswax, soy or an artificial perfume-filled one.  The burning alone causes enough irritation and inflammation in their lungs to stop them from breathing

Glass - Birds need time to develop essential neuropathways needed to fly, see, react, and respond to a hazard, time needs to be taken to teach them that glass is an obstacle they cannot fly through or they may fly in to it and get seriously injured - Mirrors, windows

Moving Objects - Flailing moving things are difficult to avoid especially when panicked or scared,  Birds may fly in to them and get injured - Ceiling fans, swinging doors

Heat - Birds can’t sweat to release heat, without proper ways to lower their body temperature they will overheat, heatstroke, lose consciousness, brain damage - cage in constant direct sunlight, room with poor ventilation, hot lightbulbs (feathers are very flammable so keep them out of reach and replace hot bulbs with low-heat fluorescent bulbs).

General Airborne Contaminants - their lungs are extremely efficient, the tiniest amount of contaminants will pass in to their bloodstream and wreak havoc in their bodies - kitchen fumes, car fumes, laundry fumes, bathroom fumes, bird dust etc. having a HEPA filter will help reduce the risk

Gram-Negative Bacteria - Healthy birds have the capacity to process very tiny amounts of this bacteria but exposing them to a lot of it will make them sick - Your mouth/ saliva, your nose, dog/ cat saliva, dog/cat fur, dog/cat nails, dog/cat nose

Electrical - Birds will chew anything they can get their beaks on, risks of electrocution are pretty straightforwards - power cords, cables, lamps, phone chargers, etc.

Their own size - Birds are curious creatures and often wander on the ground exploring, keep a close eye on them they can easy get stepped on or caught somewhere 

Heavy Metals/ Galvanized Metals - being exposed to or chewing heavy metals may cause toxicity poisoning, neurological damage, or death - Jewelry, screws/ hardware, buttons on coats, metal furniture, any metal object that you don’t know the source of should be treated as a potential risk

Unsafe Wood - treated wood or toxic wood if ingested or often contacted may make a bird ill, toxicity, etc. - there’s lots of lists online for safe bushes and trees, watch that birds don’t chew furniture of unknown sources or use wood beads on toys if you don’t know it’s source.

Water Quality - Some places use heavier doses of cleaning chemicals (chlorine, etc.) to make water safe for us to drink, may have heavier mineral contents or Ph balances that can make birds ill, or be too much for them to process - read up on your location, if you’re uncertain use a filter or buy filtered water

I tend to avoid most things, if it’s controversial in any way I don’t tend to want to use it (assuming it’s something I haven’t done in-depth research on) and it tends to depend on the ‘risks’ involved.  If the ‘risks’ is “oh what if your bird eats it!!!”, well what if your bird eats wood? that could still cut up their crop and cause problems but it’s fine because birds don’t tend to eat inedible things, they chew the same in the wild and don’t go dropping out of the sky because of it.

but if the reasoning is ‘this item contains toxic materials’ then that’s a bit of a different issue because exposure to toxic materials is incredibly dangerous.

I tend to avoid plastics that would be easy for a bird to break, soft plastics like bottle caps could be easily beaked in to, they’d flake off pieces then they’d end up with those chemicals inside their bodies causing havoc.  If you wanted to go with plastic (assuming you have a bird that can’t swallow it/ doesn’t have the beak strong enough to break it) you’d be better going with something a lot harder if it’s intended to be used, I still wouldn’t give a bird who is inclined to chew on it something plastic, no use risking sticking that in to their bodies.  Perhaps as a supervised toy but I’d personally be unlikely to use it otherwise.

cereal boxes are fine because they have to be food-safe materials, when it comes to carboard what you want to avoid is the adhesives, so paper towel rolls, toilet paper tubes, or layered cardboards are not safe.

as for perches, take a stroll around the neighbourhood if you can and ID some plants, if you notice that any are bird safe you can take some branches off of those, disinfect, bake, and sun dry them then you just need a double ended screw, two washers, and a wingnut to make a perch.  more info here

other household things you can you to make toys might be paper, egg cartons non-toxic/pesticide-free plant materials (research each plant to make sure it is bird safe), you might use old T-shirt materials [likely as a supervised-only toy in case fibres come loose].  I’ve got a lot of craft supplies in my house (from years of girl guides) so stainless steel wire is a common one, could twist that in to a fun shape and wrap it with cheap oil-free sisal rope to make another perch or swing.

I keep a little cat house and some food and water for our local strays and ferals (and misc critters)