New member African Grey owner

[carrienh]

Hi to everyone !
Just purchased my first African Grey so I may have may questions.
Been doing lots of reading so I am getting lots of info that way.

My question is. How do you keep your home fresh smelling and not smelling like a pet store if you can’t burn candles, use essential oils or use air fresheners.

Have only had my bird a week and I am a very clean person but I find my room with the bird is smelling like bird or pet store.

Any ideas will be great. Also, what cleaners are safe to use to clean cage and bird areas.

Thanks,
Carrie

[molinash19350]

Welcome!



Sometimes it is likely the bird has been in the pet store for a while for it to absorb the smell.
I personally buy "bird baths" for them to clean themselves in water. I don't use spray cleaners as much but i do use Bird Wipes that are non-toxic. Some are scented and it wont do harm. It is also possible your African Grey will lose its smell with a bit of time, unless it is sick so you should maybe check in with that.

[Pajarita]

Welcome to the foorum! You must have a super developed sense of smell or are feeding the bird the wrong food because, as far as I can tell (and what other people have commented), although it sometimes smells of food because of the spices in the gloop (especially the day they get the one with garlic or chili!), it normally either doesn't smell at all of smells nice -like fruits, cinammon, ginger, etc. And I have A LOT of birds and don't even get rid of the morning food until the evening! But, if your question is about making the house smell particularly good, you can do what I do when company is coming over: make sure the gloop of the day is the flavor that has cinammon in it and simmer a natural potpourri with apple, orange and/or lemon peelings with cinammon and star anise (you can also use dried lavender and chamomille for a change in scent). I also use essential oils in the water when I mop (usually lavender but also lemon or orange).

[carrienh]

Chan I use essential,oils in a diffuser?

[carrienh]

[quote="molinash19350"]Welcome!



Sometimes it is likely the bird has been in the pet store for a while for it to absorb the smell.
I personally buy "bird baths" for them to clean themselves in water. I don't use spray cleaners as much but i do use Bird Wipes that are non-toxic. Some are scented and it wont do harm. It is also possible your African Grey will lose its smell with a bit of time, unless it is sick so you should maybe check in with that.

Thank you

[Pajarita]

No, no diffusers -no candles - no AirWick outlet thingies - no room deodorizers - no fireplace - no nothing. Nothing that would 'throw' oils into the air the birds breathe - their respiratory system is 1,000 more efficient than ours but it's also much more delicate and the smallest thing throws the functions balance out of whack. Birds cannot cough like we do and need cleaner air than us (and that's why all parrot owners need a very large air purifier in the room where the bird is kept) because they need a higher amount of oxygen than we do so anything that would reduce oxygen in the air or end up getting any kind of particulates or gasses into their lungs and air sacs is a no-no.

[carrienh]

Thank you
Also, how do you clean your home? What are safe products to use since most are aerosol.
I need to know these things so I don’t harm my bird

[seagoatdeb]

I use a cleaner I mix with water and it is natural and is cheaper than any of the commercial ones that are enzyme cleaners. I also use doctor bonners natural concentrate and make all my own soaps so things get cleaned in that. I mix in baking soda and vinegar, into my soap mixes for where i need to scrub. It gets everything clean

[Pajarita]

As long as it's not an aerosol, cleaners for floors or windows don't really affect the bird directly unless they have a very strong smell and there is no ventilation. I use a Lavender scented floor cleaner for my floors or simply add dishwasher liquid and lavender oil to warm water, lemon oil for the wood furniture and regular glass cleaner for hard or glass surfaces. The cages I clean with warm water with a splash off dishwasher soap and a teeny tiny bit of Clorox (because it kills 99% of bacteria and it's actually approved by the USDA to disinfect bird rooms during epidemics).