When I first discovered I was going to be a
mother, I took great pride in "baby-proofing" my home. My baby wasn't due
until the middle of January, but just in case it was destined to be
incredibly fast-growing and unbelievably precocious, my little house was
decidedly baby-proofed by Thanksgiving that year. Now as I anticipate the
birth of my first grand- child (imagine that!!!), I notice all the
wonderful inventions that creative people have developed to protect
unaware but curious fingers. Because I enjoy nurturing birds now that I'm
in my "dotage", I wonder if someday we may be able to purchase bird-safe
sheaths for exposed electric cords. Or perhaps some clever bird-brain will
invent a cup shield to allow a human to drink but keep their cockatiel
from a dunk.
As surely as our safe, snug homes are full of dangers to curious,
innocent human babies, they are booby-traps for birds and other pets. As I
thought about writing this article, I worried I might leave out some
danger and unwittingly fail to provide a warning someone, somewhere might
need. Eventually, I realized my birds are MUCH more creative than I can
foresee. The only practical overall warning is to advise pet-owners to
ALWAYS supervise pet birds' uncaged time.
Some obvious dangers come to mind immediately. Open containers of water
are drowning waiting to happen. We learned this danger early when an
unclipped baby we'd just bought flew out of my hands just before I clipped
her. My husband, Bill, chased her down the hall to retrieve her. Where do
you imagine she landed? Right in the open toilet, of course! We're very
good about keeping the lid down now. We don't leave glasses or cups of
liquid unattended on the table anymore either after watching our beloved
Twilight lean in dangerously to reach a drink just out of his range.
Stories of birds landing in cooking pots frighten me, so our pots are
covered AND our birds are caged during food preparation.
During the busy holiday season, we spend so much more time in the
kitchen preparing delicacies for friends and family. As we get more and
more caught up in these out-of -the ordinary events, we must keep our
birds' safety in mind. Our pets may be caged more than usual for their own
protection, but they're so forgiving they seem to understand we still love
them. It's important to devote some special time to them daily to ensure
we're meeting their needs, but during this hectic season, it may have to
be less time than we usually enjoy sharing with them.
As we prepare treats for sharing with loved ones, it can be so tempting
to give a taste to the bird. That's fine as long as the treat is healthy
food, but we must remember the bird's body can't handle chocolate during a
holiday meal any better than at any other time of the year. We frequently
think it won't hurt US "just this once", but giving a bird a sip of liquor
can be fatal even it is only once. Sometimes our guests aren't really
aware of dangers related to birds. Aunt Martha's guacamole dip probably
seems like health-food to people who haven't read about many birds
succumbing to poisoning from avocados.
Parties may be more fun for birds if they're removed to a peaceful
corner of the house away from all the noise, bewildering lights, smoke and
strange people. We enjoy our guests more when the birds are shown-off on a
tour-like basis and then secured away from well-meaning but possibly
threatening attention. One of my most treasured friends is a delightfully
exuberant Italian woman whose expressive hand-gestures and lively
vivacious voice terribly intimidate my most aggressive birds. When she'll
be visiting, the birds' cages are moved to provide them with security. She
love to go to their temporary room to visit them briefly and THEY love
that she then leaves them in peace!!
Cooking, cleaning, and painting are fume-producing activities we can
get caught up in as we ready our homes for celebrations. It's always
unwise to house birds in the kitchen with all the rapid temperature
changes and cooking fumes. Naturally, some of the most caustic cleaners
are sprayed on kitchen appliances and bathroom fixtures. My rule of thumb
is that if I can smell it, the birds ARE breathing it into those millions
of delicate air-sacks. (It just occurred to me some toxins may be
odorless.) Moving cages into rooms with closed doors and open windows
provides much better ventilation for birds during cleaning or painting
episodes. In smoky emergencies, we've opened every door and window in the
house and run the exhaust fan until the grilled cheese disaster was only a
wisp of a memory.
The cookware used in the home can spell the difference between life and
death for our birds. Non-stick cookware or under-burner drip pans produce
a toxic gas at high temperatures which can wipe out an entire household of
birds in a few seconds. By the way, those fumes aren't all that good for
humans either. When I first read about this danger, I realized we would
never DELIBERATELY burn up a pan. An accident is just that, an unplanned,
unintentional event. Since nobody else who's lost their birds deliberately
burned pans either, it made sense to me that my birds' only protection
against me being too busy or too tired to act wisely would be for our
non-stick cookware to hit the garage sale circuit. The drip-pans reached
those dangerous temperatures within the normal cooking ranges and are
never safe for homes with birds.
Chewing electric cords must be really fun, based on how many birds I've
caught trying to go out in a blaze of glory. Our daily lifestyle
incorporates hidden electric cords. During the holiday season, we often
use extension cords to brighten our decorations. An extra effort must be
made to keep the little beaks safe. Holiday decorations can be dangerously
tempting. Angel hair is actually fiber-glass which would certainly cause
havoc if eaten. Tinsel, foil, plastic and Styrofoam are suddenly on the
scene to tempt the curious. The more adventuresome your birds, the greater
their risk. some people have reverted to homemade wooden ornaments with
popcorn and cranberry garlands to produce a lovely, old-fashioned and
bird-safe tree. Holiday plants such as mistletoe, poinsettia and Christmas
cactus are all toxic to birds, so be careful to display them safely away
from hungry, gourmand pets.
All in all, the same common sense rules used all year to protect our
birds will keep them safe over the holiday season. Like birds, some of us
react to all these changes in our routine by feeling stressed. Thinking
about how to protect the birds BEFORE we're too tired or BEFORE the
company shows up will help ensure a safe holiday for the whole family.
Happy holidays and many blessings in the New Year for all of you and
your blessed charges.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: The reason I put this up now is so
everyone would go into the upcoming holiday season well prepared. Yes,
this is early in the year but the extra time you'll have to plan should
assist in keeping your pet cockatiel happy through the entire holiday
season.
