The coating on a non-stick pan (brand name: TEFLON) is very large hazard to pet birds. The Teflon company even admits it. This coating contains a chemical that kills bird birds and can make humans sick. Almost all bird books I’ve read say to throw away all non-stick pans. If the pan is over heated or forgotten, the gases are deadly to pet birds. Even if the bird is rushed to the veterinarian instantly it is almost certain death.
I very quickly found some stories about just a few of the hundreds of birds that die each year from non-stick pans.
In December 2002 a family lost more than 55 birds after a pan on their stove overheated when the water burned off. Despite their efforts to ventilate the house after they noticed the smoldering pan, one by one they lost three Blue and Gold Macaws, a Camelot Macaw, one Scarlet Macaw, 2 sun conures, 2 nanday conures, 2 TAGS, 4 parrolets, and over 40 cockatiels.
“As I walked into the kitchen, I saw the pan that was smoldering. The pan had been full of water and the burner turned off, but a short circuit had turned it on even though the handle/ indicator said it was off. I then noticed a sun conure flying by and dropping to the ground, also, immediately dead.
The next few hours are the hardest I will probably ever go through. One by one the birds were dying. Agonizing screaming... we opened up everything in the house. It was snowing and freezing. I placed fans everywhere to exhaust the fumes. (I lost 2 Boston Terrier puppies from pneumonia 2 days later)...” says the woman whose family lost these wonderful pets.
A bird owner reported that her Yellow Cheek Amazon Parrot was killed as she heated some water for a cup of hot cocoa. The water boiled off and her bird died.
I just lost my Kola Bird (he was a Yellow Cheek Amazon) to Teflon poisoning. I came home from work and was heating up some water for a cup of hot cocoa. I forgot about the water on the stove. A while later I heard my boy fall off of his perch, but I didn't hear anything else so I went to investigate. He was sitting on the bottom of the cage with his head kind of bobbing back and forth. In less than five minutes, he was dying in my arms. It was the saddest thing watching my friend of twenty-one years take his last breath in my arms.
Nonstick cookie sheet was placed under oven broiler to catch the drippings; 107 chicks died.
Water burned off a hot pan; more than 55 birds died.
A woman on BirdTalk.com shares the following story:
My husband came up with the idea for me to make stuffed green peppers for supper.
"Yum!" I said, "But I need a few things at the store." So I made up my list and off he went to get the missing ingredients.
I decided to get the ball rolling while I waited for him to get back, so I measured the rice and water ratio, put the water in the pot and turned on the unit. I sat down to check a few emails, then decided to reply to "just a couple" of them.
When Ray came back in the door, I got up out of my seat. As I turned around my nose was greeted with a strange metal burning smell. Oh no!
She didn’t use non-stick cookware. If she did all her birds would have been dead. She owned 14 pet birds including cockatoos, african greys, and macaws.
Don’t have an attitude of “I’ll be really careful!” Most of the birds that die this way had owners who thought the same thing. It is not worth it. Use copper, stainless steel, or other bird safe pans. If anyone who reads this owns a bird, please don’t let it meet the same fate at these birds and hundreds of others. Remember all these deaths could have easily been avoided.
