Dangerous Fumes

   Birds have sensitive respiratory systems. In the old, long gone days, miners would take canaries into mines to protect them from dangerous gases. When the canary died, the miners knew they needed to leave pretty soon, as gas was present in the mine.
   So it should be no surprise that there are many fumes in your home that are toxic to birds. This means you may have to make a few changes in your house to accomodate your little friend.

   Teflon is extremely lethal to birds. Teflon is actually PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), which is anything non-stick. Non-stick baking pans, cookie sheets... some newer ovens even have a non-stick baking surface. If you have any of these items, don't use them. If they get hot enough, they will give off a chemical that will kill your bird very quickly. If your oven is non-stick, then either 1) get a new oven or 2) give your bird to someone without a non-stick oven. I recently read a story about a very loving bird mom, whose mother-in-law gave her a new oven as a present. She didn't think to check if it was non-stick, and all of her birds died within minutes of heating the oven.

   Besides the obvious, I'm talking about cigarette smoke. It is toxic to birds, if you want to kill them off, that's a pretty efficient way of doing it. If you absolutely must smoke, then you need to smoke away from your bird (preferably outside) and make sure you wash your hands and any other part of you your bird nibbles before handling it. If you think nicotine is bad for humans, it's TERRIBLE for birds!

Scented products
   These should not be used in the same room as your bird. Glade plug-ins have reportedly caused nerve damage when used, and CarpetFresh room deodorizer has been known to be lethal to birds.

Paint, thinners, etc
   Just like you wouldn't allow your kids to sniff this stuff, keep it away from birds. If you're painting a room, birds need to be moved as far as possible from that room, into a well ventilated area. When you can no longer smell the paint in the room, wait several more days and then move your birds back.

Cleaning supplies
   You may be noticing a trend of items that say specifically on the label to use "in a well ventilated area" in this listing. You're probably catching on that if it's bad for people, it's really bad for birds! This includes all your cleaning things. Bleach (very toxic), comet, windex, etc. Keep them away from birds. Don't let your bird hang out on your shoulder while you're cleaning.