Hazards for indoor pets

§ Introducing a pet cockatiel into the home requires you to take up a variety of precautions. Firstly the bird should remain in its cage until it becomes familiar with its new surroundings. The following are hints and tips on health and safety issues:

§ Cockatiels do not recognise clear glass indoors or windows or reflective glass in mirrors. Net curtains will assist in reducing the risk of injury by preventing the bird from flying into any glass.

§ Net curtains that contain lead weight beads can be very harmful to cockatiels, especially to young birds. They will naturally chew on any items and are unable to identify the toxic nature of some household materials.

§ The kitchen is not the ideal place to position your caged cockatiel. Appliances operated by gas can emit sufficient fumes to be harmful to the birds.

§ Teflon finished pans, which are used extensively because of their non stick properties, can be the cause of sickness in some birds.

§ Always check exit points before releasing your cockatiel from its cage to exercise; even partly open windows can provide an escape route.

§ Cages should not be positioned next to radiators when the heating is on. Humid conditions will induce moulting and winter is not a natural time for this to happen.

§ Because of their natural inclinations to forage, domesticated cockatiels should be protected from any form of floor contamination. In some homes, susceptible to mice coming in at a certain time of the year, pet birds can become very ill as a result of urine deposits left by mice, which are not detectable.

§ Electric fans and air circulators should be switched off while your bird is free flying (or they may result in minced bird).

§ Cockatiels can be frightened easily by the sight of some one wearing brightly coloured (orange red pink or yellow) household gloves and/or aprons that shine or glint.