Eclectus Care – Household dangers

Keep your Eclectus Parrot safe in the home

The home can be a dangerous place for our feathered kids. If there is a way for Eckies to get into trouble, they will inadvertently find it.

Household Dangers

If your parrot is housed indoors then there are many hazards you must be aware of in order to make your home a bird safe environment. Parrots have an extremely complex respiratory system, very different to that of our own, and are therefore much more susceptible to any sprays, fumes or poisons. For Example:

  • Fumes given off by an over heated or burning Teflon pan are toxic to birds and can kill them almost instantly
  • Plug in air fresheners, incense, and most household deodorisers
  • Fly sprays, hair sprays and toilet sprays
  • Cigarette smoke
  • Very clean windows, birds can’t see them and can injure themselves by crashing into them at high speed
  • Be aware of young children with birds. They must be closely supervised at all times as birds do not respond well to the stress involved in a child innocently handling a parrot too roughly
  • Ceiling fans
  • Other household pets
  • Cockroach and mice baits
  • Reclining chairs (can pose a serious risk if your Eckie is prone to exploring)
  • Boiling pots on the stove
  • Floor time (many Eckies love to roam around on the floor.  Closely supervise any floor-time to prevent your Eckie from being accidentally trodden on.
  • Toilet seats left up (this is great excuse to get the man of the house to put the lid down)
  • Lead weights in curtains (many sheer, lace, fabric and privacy curtains contain lead and will cause heavy metal poisoning if ingested)
  • Vertical or venetian blinds (parrots can become tangled in the cord or blind)
  • Office chairs (accidentally rolling back and crushing your parrot)
  • Electrical cords

Naming only a few. It is our responsibility to be vigilant at all times to ensure our parrot’s environment is a safe one for them to live in.

Teflon poisoning

Teflon poisoning is a rapid and lethal gaseous intoxication that can affect all birds. This occurs when cookware is left on the stove and overheats. Overheating causes teflon to produce a gas called Polytetrafluoroethylene. This gas is not harmful to larger animals but due to the parrots complex respiratory system, it will kill them almost instantly. Parrots suffering a severe case of PTFE poisoning may drop from their perch or display signs of respiratory distress such as open-mouth breathing or tail bobbing. You may hear the parrot breathing loudly, gasping for air and death is often inevitable. Parrot owners should avoid using teflon pans or other teflon items in the home. We use Scanpan™ cookware, however there are many safe alternatives such as stainless steel. The more we can do to keep our kids safe in the home, the better.

Household items that are toxic to parrots

  • Acetone
  • Air fresheners
  • Ammonia
  • Ant killer – syrup, granules or paste
  • Bleach/pool chemicals
  • Boric acid
  • Carpet fresheners
  • Cigarette smoke
  • Cigar smoke
  • Cleaning agents
  • Cockroach bait
  • Copper and brass cleaners
  • Deodorants
  • Detergents (if ingested)
  • Disinfectants
  • Drain cleaner
  • Epoxy glue
  • Fertilizers
  • Flea bombs
  • Fly Sprays (especially surface sprays that leave a residue)
  • Floor polish
  • Furniture polish (if ingested, parrot may walk over newly polished furniture and then preen, inadvertently ingesting the polish)
  • Gasoline
  • Glue
  • Gun cleaner
  • Gun powder
  • Hair dyes
  • Hair sprays
  • Herbicides
  • Incense
  • Insecticides
  • Kerosine
  • Lighter fluid
  • Lye
  • Matches
  • Marijuana
  • Matches
  • Metholated Spirits
  • Model glue
  • Mold – the fungal spores are inhaled by the parrot causing the respiratory disease aspergillosis.
  • Mothballs
  • Nail polish/nail polish remover
  • Nicotine – transferred to parrot via owners hands
  • Oven cleaners
  • Paint
  • Paint remover
  • Paint thinner
  • Perfumes
  • Permanent markers
  • Pesticides
  • Pine oil
  • Plug in air fresheners
  • Prescription and non prescription drugs
  • Rodent poison/baits
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Scented candles
  • Shaving lotion
  • Shoe polish
  • Silver polish
  • Snail bait
  • Spray starch
  • Suntan lotion
  • Super glue
  • Tea tree oil
  • Teflon pans (emit a toxic chemical called Polytetrafluoroethylene that will cause dyspnea or in some cases sudden death in parrots)
  • Toilet bowl cleaner
  • Turpentine
  • Week killers
  • Window cleaner