# Cooking...



## WhiskeyBird (Apr 6, 2013)

Since bringing Whiskey home I've been absolutely terrified to cook. It's been about six weeks and I've literally made one fried egg, then promptly freaked out that I was going to kill him (this has me terrified: http://www.cockatielcottage.net/hazards.html

I bought a stainless steel pot and cast iron skillet, but it sounds like I can't even use cooking sprays. Basically I'm getting sick of microwave meals and popcorn... So what do you do? What are ways that you prepare food to work around any potential problems? What meals do you make that are safe around your tiel? (I'm a vegetarian, so you can skip hamburgers, fish, etc.!  )


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## Strawburriez (May 1, 2013)

Wow, you're definitely a protective cockatiel mommy! Which is a good thing. c: 

I wouldn't worry so much about cooking. The biggest danger I've heard of is the non-stick cookware, if it's heated above around 225 F, but it sounds like you've eliminated that risk. Is your kitchen very close to your bird's room? Unless they're right next to each other and unless you're burning teflon it most likely will have no effect on your cockatiel. I know another thing a lot of owners are afraid of are scented candles, but a lot of people even burn those in the same room/house as their birds without trouble, though the Glade scented candles are known to be a risk due to the higher concentration of the dangerous essential oils in them that give candles their scent. My guess is, if you're this afraid of cooking, you've also done your absolute best to eliminate other possible airborne toxins from the house, which is great! But, I think you can return to using your kitchen safely. c: For one thing, you can keep windows and doors open to promote ventilation while you're using anything you think might have an ill effect on your bird. If you've got a spacious house, using them on the other side of it from your 'tiel will also help reduce risk. As for cooking sprays, you generally spray those for a few seconds at a time, and aim them at a specific container. This is really a very small window of exposure, and nothing to worry about. As long as you don't frequently burn things, smoke, use lots of nail polish and candles, etc., your bird should be fine. You just want to be wary of long term exposure to very strong airborne chemicals, especially in close quarters with your bird or in poorly ventilated areas. 

This is just my opinion on the matter, however; I'm fairly new to bird ownership myself, so you'll definitely want to get plenty of feedback from other owners as well.

If you're a candle fan, a good alternative is boiling fruit to keep your home smelling nice. You could also try some recipes that don't involve cooking, such as cucumber salad sandwiches (which are really wonderful on a hot day). I'm sure if you look around the web enough you'll be able to find plenty of recipes that don't require a heating element to suit your tastes!


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## WhiskeyBird (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm mainly concerned because I live in a fairly small apartment, which feels huge for just me and birdbrain, but really isn't much in terms of ventilation. His cage isn't in the kitchen, but it's right on the other side of the wall -- the only place I had room for it. The whole place is on the same AC system and I can't really open the windows. 

I love candles and even have a small fireplace, but I have no problem abandoning those for bird snuggles. I've ditched nail polish too; there really isn't a place I can do it where he won't get the fumes. I miss that a little more but I can deal... that's what nail salons are for!  That article makes it sound like cooking sprays being heated is danger which is why I'm concerned. 

This is the first animal that's been completely MINE, so I'm absolutely paranoid. He's my baby. Even when he chews on the metal parts of toys I FREAK OUT. When he tries to eat the paint off the wall I have to snatch him up. I have a white board in the living room too; always paranoid about those fumes. My apartment complex treats for bugs every 3 months; freaking about that. I'm worried about him chewing jewelry, plastic parts of sweatshirt strings, even cotton strings... I don't know what's NOT going to kill him and it seems like every day I read another article with a new way to accidentally kill a tiel. 

I'm going out of town for four days this weekend and a friend is watching him in my place, but I'm so paranoid that something's going to happen... We'll see if I sleep!


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

I'm paranoid about scented candles and Teflon too since we use them a lot in the house. I try and keep Kiwi away from them as much as I can and don't let him outside of my room when anyone is cooking with nonstick pans. I'm always worried that those fumes can still reach him though.

You might want to invest in an air filter for the home. I remember researching these for hours :/ They can be expensive to not as expensive, it depends on the price range. For me I like a quiet filter because me and my 'tiel are light sleepers. If you want a quiet and effective one, it raises the price a little. Here are some ones I was looking at buying soon. They're on the cheaper side of quiet/effective air filters. With these there is an option to turn off the ionizer, which is great! An ionizer in filters isn't good for birds. It infuses the air with a scent to freshen it up and acts like a scented candle.

http://www.amazon.com/Winix-WAC5500-Cleaner-PlasmaWave-Technology/dp/B004WT39QW

http://www.amazon.com/Winix-PlasmaWave-5300-Cleaner-Model/dp/B001RUS05E

I've seen them for a little cheaper at Walgreens, but depends on the shipping. I contacted the company about how safe the 5300 is around birds and they were very helpful in their answers. I remember the 5300 being safe as long as you turn off the ionizer, but they said if you had any doubts not to use it near your bird. I think they also mentioned that it didn't have any ozone emissions either. If you need I can find that email 

I would look around the internet and read the reviews on some. Rabbit air is one of the more expensive ones, but they look like they're really good filters. There are a lot of filters out there, but I thought I'd list the Winix because people were saying that it was close to the rabbit air for a cheaper price and it has a sensor on it to eliminate odors right as they drift into the room. I think that would help with the candle/Teflon fumes. Happy hunting!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I use cooking sprays all the time and have never had an issue. When we lived in our one bedroom apartment in San Diego, I'd open the window or sliding glass door when I cooked. You can use oil instead of cooking sprays, olive oil is actually better for you anyways. An air purifier would also help a lot to get rid of unwanted fumes.


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## cknauf (Aug 27, 2012)

A properly seasoned cast iron skillet is naturally non-stick, so you don't need to use sprays (An aside on seasoning--if you need to clean or unseason your skillet, many places advise you to put the pan in your oven on its cleaning cycle. Don't do this--the fumes released by the oven when it's superheated during its cleaning cycle can be dangerous to birds). You can also use alternatives to the sprays--for example, if you're making muffins or cookies, you can wipe down the pan with butter, shortening, or margarine, or put them on parchment paper.


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## TexTiel (Mar 17, 2013)

Adding my own experience. Sammy's cage is next to the kitchen. I cook all the time, us sprays, and such and nothing has ever bothered him. On the teflon, I hear you have to burn the teflon before it becomes noxious. I cook with a teflon skillet every morning but make sure it doesn't over heat by having the food in it before it heats up.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

I use cooking sprays too. Usually I just make sure the exhaust fan above the stove is on when I'm cooking.

Also, be careful with popcorn if it's the microwave bag type. Some of those bags actually have teflon on the inside of them to prevent the popcorn from sticking to the bag. You'd actually be safer giving up the popcorn and using the stove.


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## kan3288 (Jan 28, 2013)

We live in a small condo too and the bedroom is just down the hall from the kitchen (there are walls though). If I'm chopping vegetables or something, I will leave Tango out, but any cooking on the stove or opening the oven, I immediately put him in the bedroom with the door shut. We used to have Teflon cookware, but I got paranoid and bought a couple steel pots and a pan to use from now on. I usually will put the vent fan on too or have a window open to air it out. I've also used cooking spray and haven't had a problem- treat it like all aerosol sprays and don't have him in the room.

The one thing to be careful about in the kitchen though is self-cleaning ovens. I haven't done turned my self-cleaner on since having Tango, but when I do, he will be out of the house. I did turn on the broiler once to make something, and the whole kitchen smelled like chemical fumes, I started freaking out and opened all the windows and turned on all the fans. He was fine, but just be careful. Keeping them in another room with good ventilation should keep them safe.


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