FINCHforum

Hi again

Is it safe to burn incense with finches in the house? I usually burn Nag Champa...not sure if the type would make a difference?

Cheers
Chainey

I think it is best not to burn incense around your finches.

What about essential oils? I'm guessing its not a good idea but thought I'd ask anyway...

I am no bird expert, so take this with a grain of salt I guess.

I have had several hookbills and parrots in the past, but I am new to the smaller finch/waxbill birds. I've been doing quite a bit of research as of late on the smaller birds for my aviary. Practically all of my research has been relatively identical to my past research and study of the larger species.

That being, not to burn incense around the birds. I have many breeders of parrots tell me this directly in the past and a vet or two brought it up as well. Granted, I do not burn incense and rarely even asked, but most of the breeders I had spoken with at their locations or bird shows, brought it up without even being asked. I assumed that having them bring it up without even mentioning it myself meant that it was a rather important thing not to do.

In regards to actual finches and such, my research has basically said the same thing, which is suggested not to subject them to such things or smoke for that matter (especially teflon non-stick cookware).

Birds simply have tiny lungs, and they breathe at a much faster rate, which can cause them to be affected by the smoke or air pollutants must faster, which is why (as I understand it) that the air around the birds should be kept as clean as possible and free of such man-made pollutants that can be controlled by simpy doing it or not.

I have read that certain types of finches are more susceptible to such smoke than others, but I do not recall right off which were, but all are susceptible to it. I am sure there are people out there that do burn incense around their birds, but I expect if you ask any breeder or vet, they will simply tell you not to do so.

I guess one of the main conerns is that we as humans will do so because we enjoy it or do so for religious purposes, etc. The benefit is that we are fully able to decide that and avoid it if we choose. The birds, however, do not get that option, and when caged in a house they cannot escpae it if it bothers or harms them. It's not something they deal with in the wild and as such is probably something they will not take to well or enjoy. In most animals, smoke tends to get associated with danger or harm and they tend to try to get away from it.

Burning oils may produce little to no smoke, but the aroma may or may not be enjoyed by the birds. The other unknown situation is what chemicals are being produced or introduced into the air by such things, which is typically what really determines what is directly harmful to them or not.

My opinion is simple though. If you choose to do so with birds in the house, make sure the birds are located in a area where fresh air can be obtained or as far away from the smoke/aroma as possible. If burning such things is just a hobby, I would suggest not doing so. If you do so for religious purposes then I would just suggest you do what you can to keep it away from the birds as much as possible.

I keep my birds in a bird room, with all vents covered and no scented anything. The bird room is also very far from the kitchen or anything, and I always keep the door closed.

EmilyHurd wrote:I keep my birds in a bird room, with all vents covered and no scented anything. The bird room is also very far from the kitchen or anything, and I always keep the door closed.

Basically, I do the same. The aviary is in the back 1/2 of the second bedroom which is the furthest location away from the kitchen. I keep the bedroom door closed, and the door to the aviary stays closed (which is a solid door), and the aviary windows are plexiglass not screen, so basically it stays sealed off from the rest of the house. I do have 4 filtered vents between the aviary wall and bedroom though, as well as the ability to open the three windows in the aviary if necessary or for nice warm days.

I have not noticed any cooking smells or aromas penetrating into the aviary as of yet, but it is still new, so I will have to give it some more time to know for sure, although I'm not sure how much mroe I could do, aside from installing very fine HEPA filters or other air cleaners. So far though the birds seem happy and are enjoying the aviary.

However, I do very little cooking, and dont use incense or other forms of air scenting stuff.

I do burn incense from time to time, but never in the same room as the birds -- in fact, in the opposite corner of the house.

I would recommend not doing it anywhere near them. They can be awfully sensitive to airborne chemicals.

When I lived in my apartment, I would use the airwick stuff and burn candles in the exact same spot as my finches. Now that I look back at that, I don't know if it was good or bad, but I can tell you that it wasn't deadly to them, and I did it all the time.

I now don't use any fragrance around them, and it makes some people mad b/c they think the birds stink... which I get used to, so I don't smell it.


I guess if you were having important company, it wouldn't hurt to burn some fragrance.

And I take that back... I spray perfume on every day and still walk in the bird room, so I'm sure they get a wiff of that