Ovens and birds

[LJ4RockPebbler]

Can ever day use of a gas oven hurt my bird?

[Wolf]

As long as the range is in good working order, this means all pilot lights for the surface burners are working as well as the pilot light for the oven, and hopefully you have a hood over the range to vent any unburned gases out, and you have carbon monoxide detectors in the kitchen then you should be reasonably safe as long as the bird is in another room.
The dangers of a gas oven/ range is that the gas that fuel it as well as the carbon monoxide that is produced by the burning if fossil fuels are lethal to birds and humans as well. Although I prefer a gas range myself, I have gone to an electric range because of my birds. I still use a monitor heater to keep the house warm in the winter and also have a backup wood stove, because trying to heat with electric is so much more expensive.

[Pajarita]

Well, your bird should never be in your kitchen when you cook (and, of course, their cage should never be in there, either) but, aside from that, it depends on your oven because some of them have a non-stick surface on them (all of the self-cleaning ones and some of the more new-fangled) and that releases fumes that are toxic to them. I have a very plain, very basic gas stove and, on occasion, a bird has been on me while something is cooking in there but my oven doesn't have any non-stick surface in it and it's only in passing through the kitchen.

[Wolf]

Thanks, I forgot to mention the non stick surfaces, my bad.

[LJ4RockPebbler]

Wow..interesting. Speaking of fumes, what is a safe cleaner to clean the house with that wouldn't hurt my bird? I saw a cleaner at the supermarket thats supposed to be non toxic and biodegradable but it didn't say anything about be safe for animals. Also, how do I keep the house smelling nice if I can't use any type of air freshners....thanks again.

[Pajarita]

I simmer a homemade potpourri (things like lemon and/or orange and/or apple peel, cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans, dry lavender, etc) and spray Febreeze at a very close range on the cloth things (like sofa, curtains, etc). For the floors, I use warm water, a little splash of lavender-scented Clorox (my middle daughter calls me the Clorox Queen ) and lavender oil (I love lavender!). On the carpets, I sprinkle a bit of baking soda every now and then but I am anxiously looking forward to the day when I don't have any more carpets in the house! But any 'green' product works.

[marie83]

To be honest I do wonder why people worry so much that their houses smell because they can't use air fresheners, they should smell pretty neutral unless your cooking, use the loo (and those types of smells generally don't linger long) or smoke, don't make enough time for cleaning out your pets/let your dog come in the house after he has rolled in something/neglect grooming etc.

I do know about bad smells honestly as I've had dogs and currently have 21 mice of which the majority are male and scent mark. Leave them a day overdue for a clean and they really do smell foul. I think sometimes you can stop noticing a smell if your used to it being there 24/7 so I'm always sure to check with other people on the rare occasion we have guests. Only once did we get a negative comment about the smell when I had an emergency trip to the vets with our rabbit before my friend arrived (early too) so I delayed their full clean for a day and a half- we usually clean the mice twice a week, once full clean, once partial where we just do the level they sleep on and the spot clean the corners where they pee the most daily.

Most normal households shouldn't need air fresheners imo. If I am feeling paranoid though I'll just spray a bit of f10 around the room (the type that's suitable for nebuliser use) but that would be incredibly rare for me to do that.

Oh and yes bicarbonate of soda left on the carpets and rugs overnight (you can use it for shorter periods of time) is amazing- although like pajarita I can't wait to be carpet free.
Personally I do not trust febreeze any more even though I used to use it loads, I never sprayed it up in the air, just on a cloth or at close range and it used to set my asthma off every time.

[LJ4RockPebbler]

Lavender scented Clorox really safe? Again, how about these products they claim to be "Go green" non toxic products....Even though it says on the bottle that it hasn't been tested with or around animals....hmmmm

[Pajarita]

Clorox is only toxic when used pure or in large quantities but it's still very effective when used ina very small proportion (5% and even less). It is the recommended disinfectant on the cleaning protocol the USDA gives you when you have a contagious avian disease in the birdroom or aviary.

[Pajarita]

Clorox is only toxic when used pure or in large quantities but it's still very effective when used ina very small proportion (5% and even less). It is the recommended disinfectant on the cleaning protocol the USDA gives you when you have a contagious avian disease in the birdroom or aviary.