Holiday Safety for Your Companion Bird
Holiday Fire and Heat Safety and First Aid for Parrots and Softbills - Part Four
Fires and Fire Places
A gas fire place or roaring wood fire is such a festive touch during the holidays. There are many products on the market to make your wood fire more pleasing by adding colour to the flames. Unfortunately, these products, fireplace colours, and Yule logs, contain the salts of heavy metals such as lead, copper, arsenic, barium and selenium, to name a few. If your bird decides to make a snack out of any of these products, heavy metal poisoning is a possible outcome.
It's best for our birds that we enjoy the beauty of fireplaces using only natural wood and avoid a dash through the snow (or rain in Vancouver!) to the emergency room of the local veterinarian.
Heaters
In colder climes, your may need to use electric, wood, kerosene or oil heaters to help regulate the temperature in your home. With guests coming and going and windows open for ventilation, floor heaters can be a big help but they can also be a big hazard. Be aware of birds when they are in the room where heaters are on or burning. Hot surfaces can cause serious burns in moments on sensitive feet.
Other Hazards
Be careful with silica gel packs. We've all seen them, those little packets lurking in the bottom of the box of your new favorite pair of shoes, in the new camera box, the new jar of aspirin. Keep them out of sight of inquiring birds! They may be non toxic, but there is a possibility of GI tract obstruction if ingested.
First Aid
If your bird has a close encounter with any of the hazards mentioned in this series of articles, take her/him to your veterinarian or animal emergency immediately.
Here are simple steps to follow:
- Stay calm - birds are highly sensitive creatures and will pick up on your alarm and fear.
- If they may have ingested something, quickly try to identify what is was and call your veterinarian or animal emergency and follow their instructions on how to proceed.
- If they are bleeding, try to identify the source, apply direct pressure, call your veterinarian or animal emergency and follow their instructions on how to proceed.
- Get them to a veterinarian immediately.
How to get your pet bird to the vet
Any bird owner should be prepared at all times to get their little feathered loved one to the vet. Here are a few suggestions:
- Keep the name, number and address of Veterinarian by the phone or in an accessible place in case of emergency.
- Have a carry unit appropriate to the size of your pet bird ready at all times - this could include a heat source of some kind, a bean bag, snuggle safe, or other soft padding in the bottom (not terry toweling as the loops may cause more injury if toe nails get caught) and a cover to keep light out and heat in.
- Carry your bird's favorite treat food, water and dishes in a separate bag or container.
I know this is a lot to remember, so print this off, cut it up, and paste it into a format that works for you. The number one important thing to remember is your pet's safety and comfort in the case of an emergency. The faster you get them medical attention by being prepared, the better off you all will be.
View Part One, Part Two, or Part Three.