WARNING on CFL (Compact Flourescent Lights)

[ac12]

I don't know how to tell if they are having respiratory problems.

I had been giving them Thrive in their egg+veggies.
I just started giving them 4-in-1.

[Diamond Sparrow]

The white powder in these lamps are associated with mercury,so be very careful handling broken globes and dipose of them carefully.What other food items have your birds been eating or drinking I find it strage that the lamp would cause deaths like this it would have to be a very strong smell.
I would treat them with Turbosole.

[ac12]

The smell was pretty nasty to me, so it must have been worse for the birds.

[ac12]

Food has been what they normally eat:
- LaFeber's finch food (primary food)
- Zupreem finch food + seeds, 1x a day
- egg + veggies, 2x a week

[ac12]

#3 just died
I watched it spasm and die.

It was puffed up for a couple days, and did not seem to seek out the heat from the lamp.
It was thin on both sides of the breastbone, so it appears that it wasn't getting enough food to survive. I saw it eating, but obviously it wasn't eating enough.

Kath, I think you may be right. The fumes weakened the birds and something else finished them off.

All the YB are puffy. And they hardly go under the heat lamps in the cage. What is odd, to me, is how their back feathers puff up and seem to stay puffed up.

[kathmcm]

Gary, I am so sad to hear this.

I did a little more research on CFLs - please take a look at the following:

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_light ... m#overheat

There is a lot of information online about CFLs that is politically motivated (both pro and con) and either dismissive of any claims of hazards, or exaggerating the risks. However, the above is the manufacturer admitting that these lamps can produce "irritating" fumes from plastic components when they overheat. What they call "irritating" could very well be toxic to a small bird confined to a space near the source of emission. The smoke or fumes from burning plastic are known to be toxic.

I do hope that your other affected birds can regain their health - it is so sad to lose them.

[debbie276]

The YBs were all looking ill. One worse than the others. I hope they all recover. Funny that the 2 GBs and the BB did not appear affected like the YBs.

I really think if it was something toxic coming from the bulb it would have affected all the birds not just the yellow. It has been almost 2 weeks now since this happened, wouldn't it be pretty immediate like teflon poisoning? Are there any other symptoms then being puffed? If their keel bone is sticking out they sound like they are going light.

[Diamond Sparrow]

How big is the cage they are in?
I dont think it the lamps.If any others are looking ill I would give them electrlite.I would be treating all the birds with Ronex 12% then treat all the birds for worms and cocci as they are thin on the breast bone

[Sally]

So sorry you are losing birds, Gary. It is hard enough to lose one, but when you lose multiples, it gets scary. I too think the CFL may not be the culprit. It may have contributed to the problem, but it sounds like your birds were puffy before the CFL was changed out. And I also agree with the others that it is strange that only the YB in the cage were affected, and that you are still losing birds two weeks after the incident. I think fume poisoning would be fairly immediate. If the birds are very thin, then something is causing them to go light. I wish I could offer some advice, but I am not good with health problems.

Can you separate the YBs? You need to be able to see their poop and see if there are any changes there that would help you figure out what is going on. And if they are not eating, I'd give them something like Morning Bird's Survive, which is for sick birds, and as Diamond Sparrow suggested, an electrolyte--Pedialyte will work. But I think the most important thing right now is to try to diagnose what is wrong with the birds.

[CandoAviary]

I hate to hear about your loss.
When I bought this shop I had all the old florescent light fixtures removed and installed the new electronic ballast type. The old type and cheaper (shop lights) have transformers ballast. When this type burns out they do indeed emit hazardous odors, melting plastic, and sometimes even smoke. All potentially toxic to birds.
I didn't want to take a chance with the birds at the store so I put the newest electronic balast I could find.
I don't know how the compact bulbs would do..they do have the electronic balast but I have never used them.

[ac12]

I don't know if CFL are rated to be run 13 hours a day constantly. I have to research it. That may be part of the problem. The CFL circuit may not have been meant to run so many hours straight.

The other problem is the CFL setup I have is with the lamp being right on the cage, where the vapor does not dissipate much before the birds breath it in, vs ceiling lights being farther away.

Their poop seem to be OK. I just cleaned the poop tray so I can see their poop.

I'm stepping up the feeding, so they can EAT all they want, and giving them more of the food that they seem to like, millet and such.

I did give them MB Thrive for a week after I found the stink bulb.
They are on 4-in-1 right now.
After that will be WormAway.

[debbie276]

Here's an article about going light that may help:
http://www.nativebirds.co.uk/index.php? ... &Itemid=28