Feliway?

[silver2sg]

I looked through the memories and tags and couldn't find anything, so... Has anyone used Feliway diffuser in a house with birds?

I Googled and got a couple conflicting answers as to whether or not it's safe to use in a house with birds. On this page, according to the manufacturer, "The general rule of thumb is that if a bird can "handle" wax-

Comments

[bloolark]

Birds are not only sensitive to the perfumes from essential oils, they're sensitive to just about anything that puts particulate matter in the air. Candles do so in more than one way -- lots of them smell, and burning itself creates some chemicals, harmless or more harmful depending on whether or not it burns completely.

In this case, I'm guessing that the paraffin oil is used as a carrier, but I'm not actually 100% certain how it works.

In general, anything that changes the air quality is going to be a risk. How much of one is going to depend on the substance. I personally would follow Dr. Dustin's recommendation on the subject and use the spray rather than the diffuser. However, when it comes to air quality, I'm pretty fussy. Other people may have differing risk tolerances.

Would you be putting it in the same room as the birds?

[silver2sg]

Hmmmmm. That makes me nervous. I might just try the spray, since otherwise we'd be putting the diffuser in the room adjacent to the one the birds are in. I suppose we could also try putting it elsewhere, but I'm not sure I want to risk it. Thanks!

(Sorry it took me so long to reply, I got sick the night I made this post. :( )

It aerosolizes paraffin, a petroleum based wax.

[dakini_bones]

Birds sensitive respiratory tract does not need any paraffin.

Re: It aerosolizes paraffin, a petroleum based wax.

[silver2sg]

I don't think we'll risk using it. Thanks!

(Sorry it took me so long to reply, I got sick the night I made this post. :( )

[zandperl]

There has been some debate in this community as to exactly what about scented candles and essential oils is what causes the problem in birds. My understanding was that the oil (which serves as a carrier for the scents) is the problem, therefore even an unscented paraffin oil could be problematic. Others disagree with my understanding however, arguing that it is the scents themselves (that is, the particular molecules that the human nose perceives as a smell) which cause the problems. Unfortunately neither side in this debate has been able find sufficiently detailed reputable sources to support our argument, so the issue remains unresolved.

So from my perspective, the paraffin oil itself is harmful and should not be used. Interestingly, the last time this came up bloolark argued opposite of me, but she too is suggesting that it's better safe than sorry and avoiding the paraffin oil

[bloolark]

Nope, you've misunderstood what I said before.

The scents are bad.
Aerosolized paraffin is bad.
Aerosolized everything is bad.
Burning things is bad.
Teflon is bad.

Anything that puts particulate matter into the air is potentially harmful to parrots. How harmful it is depends on the substance in question, differing substances can react differently.

[bloolark]

Ah, I see where your confusion is.

Essential oils are not carrier oils with scents added in (in most cases) -- fragrance oils can be. Essential oils are distilled essences of scent.

Thus, there's no added oil involved in essential oils at all, it's just the stinky parts of plants boiled down to their essence.

[silver2sg]

It sounds like I probably don't want to risk using it. :( I'll just try the spray instead. Thanks!

(Sorry it took me so long to reply, I got sick the night I made this post. :( )