Candles at the Holidays

A bit of a reminder to be careful with any scent you have in the house. It is always so sad at this time of year, every day I see so many more stories on forums, bird lists, etc., of birds dying due to PTFE in ovens, cooking bags (everything form microwave meals to popcorn bags), cookware, since we do so much more cooking this time of year, or dying of some new cleaner or scented gift of any kind.

Another danger to be careful of is heaters, if you use any kind of gas heater, stove, or fireplace of any kind, be sure there is plenty of ventilation, and do not have your birds near the heat source. If it is gas, then buying a Carbon Monoxide detector would be a good investment, after all, that is dangerous to the whole family, and much lower levels can kill birds (and harm humans, really, I had no idea until I looked it up!)

Just look at the following email I received:

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http://aunaturalbirdnotes.blogspot.com/2008/07/air-fresheners-nothing-to-be-sniffed-at.html


I just got off the phone with my friend Donna at Birdstuff, and she
wanted me to help alert all parrot people I know of yet another
preventable pet parrot loss one of her favorite clients just
experienced. Her friend had put out her beautiful, fragrant holiday
candles on display to enjoy for the first time last night and hours
later her son's baby cockatiel died. Then this morning her 7 month
old Caique passed away at the vet.

The candles were Glade brand, and another mass produced, with wire in
the wicks. The wire is made of lead. On examination, the vet said
they died as a direct result of the candle fumes. Everything about
them was healthy and normal, but the erosive damage the pleasant
candle fumes do to the birds lung tissue caused them to literally
drown in their own fluids. It's a horrible, completely preventable
way to die and Donna wants us all to be advocates for our helpless birdies.

Just another reminder this and anytime of year to put all non-stick
cookware, fabric protectors, new carpet, air fresheners, plug ins,
potpourri, cooking bags, spray disinfectants, self cleaning ovens,
coffee makers, curling irons....on the list of hazards for our
parrots along with these fragrant, and lead wicked, and non fragrant
candles. Who knows where they were made and what exactly is in them!

Sincerely,
Sue Bendheim
Lily Sanctuary Adoption Coordinator

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Here is a link to "Bird Safe" candles, namely, %100 beeswax candles, no chemicals, fragrances, or dyes, with %100 cotton wicks. I still would not burn them near your bird, keep them in a closed room, as the particles emitted by anything burning are very small, and can lodge themselves in your bird's lungs.

And, in case you want to read some more about the chemicals unbelievably considered to be relatively "safe" for people try this article.

Really eye-opening. I think our birds are doing us a huge favor, forcing us to get rid of so many chemicals, with their unknown effects on our overall, short and long term, health. After all, the life span in the U.S has started to go down for the first time in a long time, which is shocking with all our medicine, anyone wonder why?