FINCHforum

I have 2 cute zebra finches who live in my home office. I also have 2 rather gassy dogs who like to keep me company in the office while I work. I know birds are very sensitive to things in the air (although apparently not sensitive to dog farts), so I've wondering if there's anything I can do to clear the air in my office that will be safe for the birds since it will soon be too cold to keep the windows open. Or do I just need to invest in a gas mask for myself?

2hounddogs

hahah I wish I was immune to dog farts

I do not know what it is about scent that is bad for birds. Some sprays and so on are petroleum based so I can see that might not be good.
There are all sorts of natural scents such as dried rose petals and natural potpourris. I've used those for years.
I've research and read about scents for many years, and while people are very opinionated, and surmise all sorts of stuff, and frequently cite experience, I've never read any scientific cold hard proof of what exactly is bad.

Hmmm maybe just spray a bird deodorizer or cage cleaner in the air??? That would get rid of a fart smell.

You can make your own room deodorizers using essential oils. From what I understand it is the "fragrance" that is bad for birds (and people). Essential oils seem to be tolerated well, but don't last as long as "fragrance" although being fragrance free for many years now, I find the fake smells irritating to the back of my throat. I do sometimes use a plug in, but it's downstairs, behind a closed door.

2hounddogs

Why not try a small air purifier with a hepa filter ? (NO IONIZER !)

It will keep odors down somewhat, and also keep down some bird feather dust.

try these... you can make these, organic and safe!!

http://www.theyummylife.com/Natural_Room_Scents

Put the dog outside and close the windows.

You could change your dogs' diet.

My thoughts exactly... are they on a rather fatty diet? Your vet may be able to help with that.

Id go with Cindy's suggestion. Essential oils can be too much, there are many different ones that you would use to fight illnesses, thieves oil combo for example. You would have to be careful which you used and combined.
Agree with diet change for the dog, it can't be all that comfortable for him/her to be so full of gas all the time.

cindy debbie276

My first American Pitbull had the worse gas ever! I was in my early-mid 20's and she slept on my bed. It was normal to wake up to **sniff sniff I think she smiled when she'd pull one off.

Some breeds are known to be little ...gassy. ;)

cindy

Whoe Cindy, love those fresheners......but I wanna EAT THEM!! YUM!!!!!

My uncle use to have an air purifier with scent cartridges in his bird room... All scents were natural though (mostly citrusy) but it smelt good.

Birds have a very sensitive respiratory system.... they should not be exposed to the artificial air freshners, perfume. The DIY air fresheners are safe. I have set a pot of water on the stove with a cinnamon stick and orange peel and vanilla in it, it smells wonderful, let it lightly boil for a bit and turn it off, the smell stays around for awhile.

to learn how sensitive and different birds' respiratory systems are read this... it even has illustrations and videos of how they breath using all their air sacs

http://people.eku.edu/ritchisong/birdrespiration.html