Turning on the heater

[Crystal Taylor]

About a month ago my bird died within a half hour of me turning on the heat. My vet said that initial burning smell was what killed him and Linda said she thought that was a cop out on the vets part because she has so many birds and it has never affected them. I just had a thought that maybe my heater might be coated with a non-stick surface? It's probably far fetched and I'm thinking too hard.... but... anyone else have any thoughts about this? I am still feeling tons of guilt over this because I lost something I loved so much... came home with in the middle of the day to see, and was what I cuddled with and loved on for a few hours every night. I really miss his company... we called him the "Bumble Monster: (not his real name... it was "Bombay Blueberry") because he zipped around like a bumble bee and was a monster (to my cat, cell phones, and pencils) in an adorable little love filled body.

I'm hoping my new babies will fill this void eventually but, as they are still pretty scared of me, this hasn't happened yet. I am trying to be very patient though. To be honest, I don't know if that void will ever be filled. I still miss my first lovie (Mango the first) to this day and he died about 5 1/2 years ago.

Sorry to be so down, I am just really feeling sad tonight about having lost him. Bumble Monster and I were like Dave and Ditto. We were happy just being me and him and he did silly things like Ditto does like flying back and forth from the cage to me to bring food to eat in my lap. I know you all know how I feel. Sorry to leave a sad a sad post. It just hit me sometimes very hard that he's not coming back.

[Mummieeva]

Huge mommy size hugs(i had to get a license to give this too). It was a year ago almost that I lost my Angel She was a masked and not tame at all. It will always hurt but know your birds are watching over you and your new flock. I do not know if there is Teflon in normal heating systems but I know soem space heaters have it. I have to agree with Linda though. Sounds like a vet cope out. Your new birds found a great mommy in you. They are lucky. We are here as a board for the good and the bad dear. Vent,cry,fuss,and scream all you want.



Steph

[TGerard]

Crystal Taylor,

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. This board is here for you no matter what your mood may be. To answer your initial question, BarbieH (my better half) and I agreed that there isn't any teflon used in home heating systems. (Barb is an editor for the heating and cooling industry.)

Did the vet come to his conclusion over the cause of death after performong a necropsy? If not, then he is playing a guessing game.

[Crystal Taylor]

Tim-

I did not have a necropsy done because I didn't have any other birds so I didn't NEED to know what it was. I'm a college student so a $200 procedure that wasn't necessary (because the bird was already dead) was not something I could rationalize spending. Had I had the extra money I would have had it done for peace of miind but... you know you have to make choices and they're not always what you would really like to do.

My vet said that the bird died of heart failure because his beak was so pale. The beak had started to get a shadowy look to it (almost like bruising at the tip) about 3 days before he died. Saturday night I became concerned, no vet on Sunday, and Monday we had a hurricane (Florida). I think the paleness was a gradual thing because I didn't think it was pale when he said that to me. He was rubbing his beak on everything the night before he died so I think he was losing feeling in it or somthing. I had the first available vet appointment the next morning. I turned on the heat to keep him warm when the cold front came in after the hurricane. I had the doors and windows open to vehntilate that smell and then I noticed him convulsing about 20 minutes later. He died within 10 minutes after I got him out of his cage and started rushing him to the vet. The bird had had a yeast infection and a bacterial infection, both of which were treated and confirmed clear (through retest) 2 weeks prior to his death. Linda thinks that, because the vet never gave me any sort of replacement good bacteria to give my bird after the antibiotics killed all the good and bad bacteria, the bird probably died of a secondary infection which he had no good bacteria to fight off. I guess I'll never know for sure. I'm going to ask my vet tomorrow what the bacteria type was because I'm bringing in my three new birdies for a well bird check in the morning.

Crystal

[Janie]

Tim, I am relieved to know that a (central) home heating system is OK. Thanks for that information.

Crystal, was this a portable heater? I have read that portables CAN have teflon coating. I just added a portable combo heat/air system to my bird room but did check out all information on the product before I bought it to be sure that it did not contain teflon coating.

I am very sorry for the loss of your buddy. I know that hurts a lot. :(

[Paulette]

Crystal.....I don't know how everyone else feels.... and although the Holidays are for gathering and fellowship with Family & Friends & that occasional person who is out a pocket that we invite into our homes because everybody needs a place to come to and enjoy the holiday....the older I get the more...well I don't want to say sad because it's not necessarily that....but the more I miss those who have passed.....and it's at this time of year when I feel it the most.....the longing to be with family and those who love us...and somehow that includes pets and warm memories with them....I think because everything crosses over/overlaps.....people and pets.

I especially miss my grannies at this time of year we lived with one and would always take her with us to the other one. And this is really silly, my Nanny (maternal granny) that we lived with until I was 9, then we built our own house about 1 1/2 miles away. My grandpa died when I was 1....so at the holidays especially TG and Christmas....she would always say, Frankie would have just loved this....and I always thought what a morbid thing to say....and I never knew my grandpa....so it seemed even weirder. Well, every time we get together with my folks for a holiday.....I find myself thinking and saying, Nanny would have just loved this! Well, my mom and I get a kick out of it even if nobody else gets it. :D

Tim, Janie, Steph.....thanks for that information about the heating....interesting stuff.

[Crystal Taylor]

No space heaters. I live in an apartment with electric heating and entral air.

[Booda's Butt]

Crystal, I'm so very sorry to hear of your loss, everytime I hear of someone losing one of their babies, I just go and hug my birds extra hard.

Thanks for bringing this up though, it's been suddenly very windy and bittery cold these past few days here in Chicago, and we just recently turned the heat on, because I was uneasy with the birds around. It's a central heating system, I called the bird store, and my breeder, and my vet to make sure there was nothing I should be worried about. It just had a general burning smell, but all 4 of my birds did not seem affected at all.

We do also have a little portable heater that I will be very careful about using now that I realize it may have non-stick stuff on it.

[Mummieeva]

We are going tonight to get a small space heater. I need it for rooms I am in during day. I am going to be sure I read the package well before we use it. Both for myself and birds.



Steph

[linda040899]

Steph,
Try getting an oil filled radiant heater. No danger involved with them whatsoever. The oil is in a sealed unit and there's no non-stick anything involved with them. The oil holds the heat and these heaters seem to be a bit more economical. I have 4 of them and I love them!

Just my :2cents:

[butterfly1061]

Yep, I bought an oil-filled heater at Wal-Mart ($30-$35) last winter and I love it! I did buy a Honeywell Ceramic Heater ($50 w/remote-control :whistle: ) today to put just outside the bird room. That way they don't get too much heat (only in the evening) and it can blow into the living room too. :)

[Mummieeva]

Did not get one today as Wal-mart was sold out of every single one. So going to try again this weekend. Now to figure out how to use one in hallway outside son's room.


Steph

[butterfly1061]

FYI - If you can wait a few days and order one online at Wal-Mart's website, they ship really fast from my past experience. :) Or try HomeDepot or Lowes too.