Now that you have a bird in your home, you must be aware of several dangers that exist for your new pet.

Houseplants: Many houseplants are poisonous for our birds and birds love to chew on houseplants. There are many plants that are not poisonous, so if you have birds and plants, you must check each one to determine if it is safe for your bird or not. Please remove unsafe plants before your pet has a chance to chew on it. You can take a look at Gillian's Help Desk listed in the Diseases & Warnings links section to see a comprehensive list of both safe and unsafe plants as well as other toxins.


Teflon: Non stick pots and pans can be dangerous if overheated. Several birds have died and several more have become ill because their owners were not aware of the danger and may have left a pan pre-heating or a pot boiled dry when they had a bird in the home. Teflon is not just on pots and pans – your self cleaning oven will give off fumes, as will many other items that heat up such as hair dryers, electric heaters, breadmakers and more.

Avocado: This fruit is one that should not be given to your pet, as it is toxic to birds.

Scented Candles/ Incense/ Cleaning Supplies/ Air Fresheners: These products all contain essential oils, which are toxic to pet birds and should be avoided.

Junk Foods: This includes chocolate, salty foods (potato chips), sweet foods (candy) and anything else that we generally refer to as junk food for ourselves. Your bird will probably like these, but be aware that chocolate is poisonous and the rest of the junk food is just unhealthy and can make your bird ill.

Alcohol or Coffee: These are simply not good for your bird. Please remember to only give your bird foods that are healthy for you and never anything that is not.


After many years of pet bird ownership, I have decided to write e-books about the care of some of these wonderful birds.