# A Very Close Call Today



## ZeldaCA (Dec 30, 2007)

Today I decided to use the self-clean feature of my oven for the first time since we moved into this house. About 5 minutes into it, I decided, just to be on the safe side, to put all the birds, including Floyd, outside for the afternoon. It was sunny and 70 degrees, so a good day for them to get some Vitamin D. And I figured the oven might be a bit smelly as it cleaned itself.

I was very glad I did. I spoke to a friend who lost a beloved bird when she used the self-cleaning feature on her oven. Apparently the fumes are as toxic as Teflon is, and can kill pet birds as quickly.

Tonight all our feathered friends are now safely ensconsed waaaaaay at the other end of the house in a room sealed off from the rest of the house, with an open window, again, just to be on the safe side. But I just wanted to pass on this information, for those of you who did not know. We all know Teflon fumes are fatal to birds, but so are self-cleaning ovens! Board them or move them outside when the oven is cleaning, and don't bring them back for 24 hours.

Our birds are too precious to lose this way.


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## TAWhatley (Mar 6, 2001)

Great reminder! Yes, fumes that to us are just rather bothersome can be deadly to our birds. Always best to be safe rather than sorry.

Terry


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

I'm glad you removed them. A very dear friend lost 8 birds last summer because of Teflon poisoning. One of the birds I had hand raised and so it hit me hard. I can't begin to tell you how awful it was.
I'm glad yours are safe.


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## CHRISTIN RN (Sep 2, 2007)

OMG! I had gotten rid of my telflon pans years ago before I even had birds, however, never even thought of the self-cleaning oven! And my 2 doves are in my room which is right off the kitchen!
Thank you soooo much for posting!
Thank God your little ones are safe and you thought quickly!


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Reminder*

Here is the thread on household toxins, scroll down for more links:

http://www.pigeons.biz/forums/showthread.php?t=5047


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## ZeldaCA (Dec 30, 2007)

Christin, here is the first website I checked, which talks about why and how this happens:

http://www.orgsites.com/ri/ripbc/FumesAndOvens.html

You can also type in "self cleaning ovens and birds" and many resources will come up. If my posting this helps just one person to save their precious birds, I'll feel happy. I put the birds outside yesterday on a whim, not realizing I was saving their lives! And the fumes were bad once the oven heated up, I even moved outside for awhile so I wasn't breathing them!


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## Lovebirds (Sep 6, 2002)

Are these older ovens you're talking about? I ask, because, we have a self cleaning oven and I cleaned it right before everyone came for Christmas dinner. It gets VERY hot, but I never noticed any odors or fumes and Wally was right here in the dining room, about 25 or 30 feet away and it didn't bother him at all. I never even thought about it being dangerous. Apparently it wasn't THIS time...........I'll know better next time.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

Lovebirds said:


> Are these older ovens you're talking about? I ask, because, we have a self cleaning oven and I cleaned it right before everyone came for Christmas dinner. It gets VERY hot, but I never noticed any odors or fumes and Wally was right here in the dining room, about 25 or 30 feet away and it didn't bother him at all. I never even thought about it being dangerous. Apparently it wasn't THIS time...........I'll know better next time.


You can't smell the Teflon.


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## ZeldaCA (Dec 30, 2007)

LoveBirds, my oven is approximately three years old. I kept it pretty clean until this last Christmas, when a few accidents reached the bottom of the oven and made a greasy mess!

Apparently, it's not only the odorlessTeflon fumes, but also the chemicals which occur when the greasy build-up on the bottom/sides of the oven are on their way to being incinerated. This can include formaldehyde, which is extremely toxic to birds. I have a VERY sensitive nose (a bad thing most of the time as I can smell all sort of things I don't want to smell, lol!) and could definitely detect an odor coming from the oven. Plus as Charis pointed out, all the bad stuff I could not smell was there as well.

The birds are still in another room, but I will move them back once it's been 24 hours since I cleaned. I'm even going to bake something this afternoon before moving them so I can see if the smell is completely gone.


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