Bird Safety Question - - -

RinaRina · ‎03-13-2010

I'm having my basement ceiling renovated.

The contractor told me after he installs the drywall, he'd PAINT it.

I asked him if there was something else he could do because I was worried about the paint odor and I'm not sure how effective "low-VOC" paint would be.

Anyone with birds have any other suggestions?

(BTW, a few years ago my neighbor had a mural painted on the side of her house. The paint odor seeped right thru my windows, walls, etc., right into my house. Fortunately, I was able to move my birds in time to avoid a possible disaster.)

"The less you respond to negative people, the more peaceful your life will become."

eddyandme · ‎09-24-2011

I have no idea, but want to suggest that you contact a bird sanctuary or an animal hospital, e.g. Tufts Wildlife has a section that could answer that. If you can't find anyone near you and their tel# let me know andI'll call for you.

phoenixbrd · ‎03-27-2010

@RinaRina Of course, your birds are your first priority. I would not trust the contractor to give an appropriate response to this question. Do you have a wild life sanctuary close by, perhaps your vet can lead you in the right direction if they can't answer. I love @eddyandme 's response. I know you will follow-up, our animals are such precious life. Please let us know, as others may have had the same question. Wishing you the best!

SeaMaiden · ‎03-10-2010

@RinaRina wrote:
I'm having my basement ceiling renovated.
The contractor told me after he installs the drywall, he'd PAINT it.
I asked him if there was something else he could do because I was worried about the paint odor and I'm not sure how effective "low-VOC" paint would be.

Anyone with birds have any other suggestions?

(BTW, a few years ago my neighbor had a mural painted on the side of her house. The paint odor seeped right thru my windows, walls, etc., right into my house. Fortunately, I was able to move my birds in time to avoid a possible disaster.)

@RinaRina I have birds and always have for the 30 plus years living in my house. Thus I have NEVER PAINTED ANYTHING INSIDE. I do not care if my walls need repainting. When I move or if I later do not have birds, I will worry about painting then. Not worth the risk to me.

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@RinaRina - DH is a veterinarian. Do NOT expose your birds to paint fumes or any other fumes! You did the right thing taking them out earlier!

I know this first hand. It's one of the very few times I've been involved. Shortly after we were married a breeder called him about her newest litter of puppies. Two or three had died. After talking to her on the phone DH found out she had had her house painted right before they were born.

Here's the fun part. Because of circumstances I don't remember, I ended up being the courier. Her home was halfway to my school and right along my route. He would drive to the school to get them. I drove to school with puppies yipping, and I almost kidnapped them. He had told me they probably wouldn't make it, and he was right- none of them survived. After testing it was determined they died from the paint fumes. The mom was OK.

I am very cautious about what pets are exposed to. Just recently I learned paraffin is bad for them too. And paraffin is in a lot of candles.

Wahoogaz · ‎03-12-2010

@RinaRina wrote:
I'm having my basement ceiling renovated.
The contractor told me after he installs the drywall, he'd PAINT it.
I asked him if there was something else he could do because I was worried about the paint odor and I'm not sure how effective "low-VOC" paint would be.

Anyone with birds have any other suggestions?

(BTW, a few years ago my neighbor had a mural painted on the side of her house. The paint odor seeped right thru my windows, walls, etc., right into my house. Fortunately, I was able to move my birds in time to avoid a possible disaster.)

I always follow the motto ... better safe than sorry.

I don't have my birds in the house when there's any type of construction/painting/sanding/staining/etc. being done. Just about any home improvement projects are going to put dust particles in the air that can damage the bird's lungs. We usually plan to have this type of work done during warm weather, so we can keep the bird cages out on our porches.

I'm currently thinking about painting or re-staining some of our woodwork and when I do I'll probably go with Ecos paint. (You can do an online search for it.) I'll still probably put the birds outside when I use it, but I'll feel better about bringing them in sooner than I would with normal paint. When I talked to folks in Lowe's or Home Depot a couple of years ago about their zero-VOC paints, they told me that certain colors would add VOC to the paint so I stopped shopping the brands those stores carried.

If you have time to order the paint ... I'd suggest you have the contractor use Ecos paint and still try and find a place to keep your birds for a couple of days. If family or friends can't do it ... see if you can board your bird(s) at vet or a boarding facility.

Good luck!

Dazlin · ‎03-14-2010

I had parakeets, and im an oil painter artist...all I did was make sure the birds were in a separate room. I always had a fan going and make sure good ventilation is possible. Or if you can open windows that would be good..of course with screens.

Another new name Sue · ‎03-11-2010

Any chance of moving the birds to another room for a while?

I'm glad this topic came up as I have a bird but never have given a thought to fumes affecting him, and I'm sure we have painted several times since we've had the bird. Of course, I don't leave him in the painted room. It's a dove, maybe they are hardier than others like parrots, finches, etc.