Hi everyone, Hi Arty if you read this! I have been getting help from Arty with an injured pigeon and that is why I am on parrotchatter - however, NOW what I have done is rescued two lovebirds from a friend who was in over her head, and had 4 lovebirds in a very small cage, and her children were not very nice to the birds. ANYWAY - here I am now with 2 new lovebirds and a bit of a dilema: My dog wants to eat them, and so I have to keep them around me & in the (big) cage at all times (unless I put my dog in his room - which then is fine) BUT - the best place for them is on my kitchen counter in my great room, or on a tall stand near the counter. I have been reading up on care of the birds, and it says to never keep the birds in the kitchen. A friend who used to raise lovebirds says she kept hers right there and even cooked with non-stick cookware around them, & never had it on high temps, & her birds were always just fine. ?? Is this really a chance I want to take? My choices are so limited, it's either in the kitchen, or in a rarely visited room, which I think would be a bummer for the birds. I know that I can give them a much better life than where they were, I just need to make sure I am doing things right. I know not to burn scented candles, insence, etc. I have heard not to use non-stick cookware (which is what I have) - but I also have a gas stove, and gas oven. I know not to ever let them fly around in the kitchen, but I honestly don't know that much about the other hazards?? I can read myself silly online, but I need REAL PEOPLE ADVICE from people who actually have these birds. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I don't want to do the wrong thing and end up hurting them, and I don't want to be neurotic about it - I'm not sure where I draw the line between the two - Thanks a million for any help! Thank you too ARTY - for everything if you see this one!!

When I was a kid in the 60's we kept our budgies in the kitchen with no problems. We had a gas stove and old-fashioned cookware. But I don't want to recommend this to anyone because so much depends on individual circumstances and I can't begin to guess whether this would be safe for you.

I've kept my birds safe from dogs on a short-term basis (visitor situations) by putting the cage on top of a tall china cabinet. A long-term problem needs a better solution than that, though. Would it be possible for you to do some kind of dog training to make the dog understand that the birds are off limits? Careful supervision is ALWAYS required when you're mixing birds and predator species, but this might help reduce the risks.

Thanks Teilfan! I thought of that too! Before I had heard of dangers in the kitchen, when I was younger, we had a parakeet, even in my teens we had a Cockatoo who lived in our kitchen. Were we lucky that nothing happened? I hear some say that it's no problem, and others say their birds died from being in the kitchen. I'm at a loss, other than to keep moving them around often.
I didn't really think about working more with the dog - haha! I have 2 papillons, and the girl would probably let the birds run around with her, (not that I would do that) - but the boy is obsessed. My pigeon is quiet, and he doesn't seem to mind her anymore - but the lovebirds have a lot to say, and I think it's making him mad. Oh Gosh - I don't want to risk it with the cookware and gas stove, I guess I'll be moving them into another room when cooking. As for my little dog, what is he complaining about? HE gets to sleep on the bed, and run the house....sheesh. <wink> Perhaps I'll look into some dog training info online today. Thanks a million! Have a great day!

Hi there! I am an expert in nothing, but I have read all those things and I loved to burn candles and now I don't. Ruby in kept in our den/kitchen area but I got rid of all my teflon except one small pan I scramble eggs in.(her eggs!) but I turn on the exhaust fan and only heat it on low long enough to scramble eggs. My ovens need cleaning desperatly but I am afraid to do that.
One of these days I will move her cage in the living room and clean away but that involves too much work for now! ha

You are sweet to care!

Jessalyn and Ruby

Hello Jessalyn! HA! Yes, I said goodbye to my candles over the weekend.
BUT - the little guys are worth it...
I heard that if you heat a peeled orange or lemon, cinnamon stick, cloves and the like, it works just as well as a candle - just not in a non-stick pan I guess!! Good luck with that oven thing...I suppose I will need to do the same. Thanks for your reply!!

My mom had a budgie that she kept in the breakfast area of her kitchen. She never used nonstick cookware. That bird lived to be 8 which I think is pretty good for a budgie.

Here's how I cook scrambled egg for birds: I beat up an egg in a microwave-safe bowl and nuke it for 45 seconds. A little bit sticks to the side of the dish but it's not a big problem, and adding a little red palm oil to the egg reduces the sticking. RPO is good for birds, although it has a lot of calories so you need to use it sparingly if your birds are overweight.

No, keeping them in the kitchen is not an option because there are lots and lots of things that have teflon besides cookware: toasters, toaster ovens, rice and slow cookers, oven liners, etc. People say: 'I used to keep mine in the kitchen and they were fine' but if you ask how old the birds were when they died, they were always very young (like the person whose budgie died at eight when they can live into their twenties with no problem under the right care). Hot Teflon releases fumes that slowly burn the lining of their lungs so, please, don't risk it.

If I were you, I would put them in the room where you don't go very often. A bonded pair of lovies actually doesn't need people for anything but cleaning their cage, feeding them and letting them out to fly. It will be safe in there and, if they have a big cage (or better still be cage-free), as long as they have each other and food and water, they will be real happy.

And kudos to you for taking them in.

How sad I am! I don't want them to not need me! I would love to make friends with them...

I agree with you, no sense in taking chances...I guess I'll see about making a "bird room"...