Vaping and Parrots

[OwnedByAGrey]

Hello, everyone!

I'm waiting on my vape kit (a Riva) and had asked in the Newbie Forum about vaping and parrots. Angelique very kindly pointed me in the direction of this awesome group!

Those of us owned by parrots know that they have a very delicate and unique respiratory system, one which is very, VERY sensitive to fumes and odors. Scented candles, air fresheners, aerosols, Teflon (any type of non-stick), and analog smoke are absolute no-no's. In fact, one of the reasons for my checking out vaping is due to the analog smoke and the parrots.

My concern is the effect vaping might have. My avian vet is more concerned about any potential fumes, detectable or non-detectable, coming from an overheated atty or cart.

So how many of you are parrot owners? Tell me your experiences and suggestions when vaping in the vicinity of a parrot. Have your vets expressed concern about vaping around your birds?

As for me, I have Charlie and Moses (both African Greys, 2 and 11, respectively), Poe (an Umbie 'Too, 3 1/2 years old), and Gertie (a sassy little Spectacled 'Zon, 3 years old). The only problem I expect is from Charlie, who is a pen/pencil/electronic gadget freak and is insistent that I not be too far out of his sightline. He's going to see that Riva and insist on chewing it, or, at least "touching it". I may have to make him his own little pseudo-vape out of an empty ballpoint pen housing. lol

I've got a parrot-resistant container ready to go when my supplies arrive so that curious beaks don't decide to "touch" any juice containers or batts.

Great to "meet" all of you. Looking forward to the chat.

 

[ScottinSoCal]

I have Boo, a blue front amazon who adopted me several years ago. I was at a parrot rescue facility looking for another type of parrot (I don't remember the type, but after several months of research I'd decided this type would be a good fit for my house). I was walking right through Amazon Alley - all the books agreed Amazons are too aggressive, too loud, and too demanding to fit in with my family - when I heard Hey! Hey! Pick me up!
I turned and this bedraggled Amazon was hanging upside down on the front of a cage, staring at me. The name card on the front said the Amazon was a female, and her name was Boopsie. Pick me up! It was definitely coming from Boopsie.
I stopped and talked to her, a volunteer came over and offered to take her out of the cage. It would have been rude to say no. Boopsie sat on her perch while I talked and gradually moved closer, then I rested a hand on the perch - clear at the other end. Boopsie gave me the evil eye, but gradually got used to it. I moved my hand a little closer. This went on for about an hour, until I was close enough to touch one claw, so I stroked a claw. She flipped her wings (a sign of irritation) but didn't do anything else for a minute, then she climbed over on top of my hand and said Pick me up!
The rest of the visit went fine, until I wanted her down. She didn't want down. I persisted. She insisted. I decided no bird was going to get the best of me and tried to force her onto my hand. She bit the hell out me and left me bleeding all over the patio. How could I say no after that?

That was about 5 years ago, and Boo (I was firmly corrected one day) is actually a male, and has decided I'm his mate. The sun rises and sets on me, and I've never even been nipped since that first day. Everyone else is there at the sufferance of His Most Royal Majesty. He didn't fit into our house, he changed our house to suit him. And I found out all the books may have been right in general, but that's only the averages. Boo in particular is not noisy, he's very quiet. He learned within a few days of getting there that his new "flock" doesn't respond to screaming, it only responds when he whistles. So he whistles. Since getting into a home and getting lots of fresh veggies and good grains and freshly prepared food, he's not as bedraggled as he was, and his colors are amazing. He hates - he doesn't just dislike, I'm talking good, old-fashioned hate - blond women. His previous owner was a blond woman. He's not in the least afraid of my dogs and shows his willingness to put them in their place any time they get too near his cage. His day cage is in the family room, his night perch is in my office. Well, what used to be my office. Now it's his bedroom. I'm allowed in there, but he gets cranky if anyone else goes in.

I don't vape within 20 feet of his cage, and I don't vape at all in his bedroom. He doesn't mind it, and I've watched closely. I don't know a huge amount about his past, but his vet told me he had a long-term serious sinus infection, likely caused by cigarette smoke. He has 85% blockage in one nostril and would never be able to breathe fast enough to fly over any distance. He also has one wing that was broken and not set properly, so it's a little stiff. I don't trim his feathers, because he drops like a rock if he's not fully feathered. With full feathers he can manage a controlled crash-landing.

He can demolish a $35 wooden chew toy in less time than I waited in the checkout line to pay for it, and attention must be paid when he wants it, but never when he's not at audience. Try to get his attention when he's not in the mood, and he'll tell you he'd rather not, in language that would make a sailor blush. He loves chicken, beef, pork chops and ham. He hates mushrooms, and will pick them out of his bowl and throw them on the floor. If I try to feed him the same flavor mash more than 2 or 3 days in a row, he'll go down to his food bowl, deliberately pick up his food one piece at a time, and throw it at the wall. I keep a rotating stock. He's always up for a cashew, but will sometimes turn up his beak at an almond or pecan. And, obviously, it's always a struggle to balance his wishes against the wishes of his avian vet. He wants everything, now, in large portions. His vet wants him to keep at his modeling weight. We generally do all right, but he losing a few grams of extra holiday weight these days.

 

[OwnedByAGrey]

Great read, Scott! I smiled all the way through, and laughed out loud at the use of "force" and "Amazon" in the same sentence. Woo, boy! Boo was attached to you, literally.

God bless you for having considered a rescue parrot. All of ours are rescues with the exception of Poe. Charlie was force-weaned by the local pet shop at 9 weeks old, sold twice during that time, and came back skinny, unsettled, and also HATES blondes (the worker assigned to his feeding was a blonde). I was told that he hates women, but I happen to be His Royal Red Heinie's favorite person. I was also told that he's a "biter", but it was evident to anyone who knows even a wee bit about parrots that he was begging for food, then nipping in frustration at the hands and fingers he had trusted to feed and nurture him. I kept visiting the shop to see how he was doing, and we kept loving each other more and more (especially since I'd sneak him food). One day, he wouldn't let loose and went to bite anyone who tried to pry him off. It was the first and only time I ever maxxed a credit card. (Don't tell my husband. LOL) He's my baby boy, Screwy Louie, Cutie-Patootie.

Poe is a U2. What else is there to say? LOL! She's not a screamer; we taught her to laugh, not scream. She's funny, a monkey, a crowd-pleaser, a shirt hanger-on (she likes to hang from the bottom of my T-shirts by her beak as I vacuum), and if you had her surgically implanted under your skin, it wouldn't be close enough for her. Cuddle Bunny!

Moses. Ah, poor Moe. He was a breeder bird from the time he was hatched until I found him advertised on Craigslist when he was 9. His previous owner was a breeder of Greys and 'Zons in Florida. His aviaries were wiped out by the hurricanes a few years ago and he moved up here to PA with his two breeding Greys (Moe and his mate), and two Yellow Napes. Unfortunately, Moe's partner died in the transport box during the trip. Greys are a monogamous species; he had been with his mate for 7 years and fathered 3 clutches of lovely chicks - never lost one. He also had never had any human contact. He came out of the nest box to eat and drink only when a human wasn't visible. I was his very first close encounter with a human-being - an honor I deeply value. He isn't tame, but is getting there. He's not dusty and dirty anymore, but beautiful and shiny, his grey parts a luminous lilac-grey blue, and his .... a glowing red. He's addicited to peanuts, so we use heavily roasted and non-salted ones for training. He will touch my hand with a foot, sometimes will even put both feet on my hand off the end of a training perch. He now talks and whistles, contact calls for me when I walk out of the room, and has learned to fly and climb, both of which he had no idea how to do when we got him. He's a work in progress, and a joy to my soul.

Now we come to Gert The Gastronome. She's all of 8 or 9 inches long in human terms; she's actually the size of a pterodactyl in hers. She's a goof and only becomes super loud when she can't see Charlie (who could care less that she thinks he'd be a good boyfriend), or she hears, sees, or thinks she hears or sees, anyone making, eating, cooking, or simply possessing food. She is the resident Food Nazi. Despite all attempts at the recommended 12-14 hour blackout, she laid 2 eggs in January. I have to force her out of her cage now or she won't eat. Once she's away, however, she's her old self. Gert was one of those birds the pet store would get from their "suppliers" (See: bird farm), put into a cage, and priced through the roof. When we saw her, she was terrified, panting, just about to die from fright. Over a number of weeks of visiting, I got her to step up and settle down a bit. Then, the store manager decided she was taking up too much room and was going to send her back to the supplier. So, I told him he could make some money on her (full price NO WAY) by selling her to me, or get nothing on the trade. She was mine. *happy dance*

Since, the pet store in question no longer sells parrots besides budgies and cockatiels. Thank God!

The parrots are allowed out all day and have their sleeping cages. Our house isn't large. It's an old farmhouse/Victorian style with very high ceilings. I have to figure out the vaping conundrum, so I'm very thankful for your experience and for learning all about Boo!

He sounds like a great boy!

 

[lion6255]

I so new to vaping and have been like a fish out of water just reading and reading and not understanding much on these forums until......I hit upon this thread. Parrots I love won't say understand but am owned by a few.I have about 20 at home at this moment. I foster and am the central Va Coordinator for Phoenix Landing. I have been owned by Parrots for the pass 30 years and Amazons I must say are my Favs.
Owned did you make any desions bout Vaping around your greys? I never smoked in the house but will possibly Vape but away from the birds as you never know and why chance it.They say that the vapor is just a water vapor nothing harmfull in it.
Bless you guys for rescuing your guys...for everyone rescued theres a hundred more.....

 

[ScottinSoCal]

for everyone rescued theres a hundred more.....

I know what you mean. Most times I talk to people about Boo, I'm trying to talk them out of getting "a pretty parrot that will talk and do tricks". I emphasize the time, money and patience it takes. Then I talk about the money a little more. Quarterly vet visits, whether she's sick or not. Nail and beak trimming. Cages. Proper food. Toys. Cleaning up the splintered remains of toys. More toys. More cleaning. Cage cleaning - yes you actually have to touch the bird poop. No, spraying it off with a hose isn't clean enough.

Too many people want an amusing accessory, and they panic and dump it when they find out their new decoration is an actual living thing with needs of its own.

 

[lion6255]

Educate,Educate,Educate can't say it enough..even the People that are trying most don't know about proper diet or toys or cages or or or........
all my Family and friends think Im a little .....OK alot off center but I would not trade my guys for anything. It truly is alot of expence and work oh my but they are so worth it.Check pics out on facebook:
Melissa Kidd Messick | Facebook