# would you use this with birds in the house?



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

I got married a couple of weeks ago and a relative gave us this awesome pressure cooker-rice cooker-slow cooker combo as a gift. It looks really cool and I really want to use it, but it says it has non-stick coating inside  What do you guys think?

http://www.amazon.com/Fagor-6700402...TF8&coliid=I11NXHK54AOQR2&colid=3FONIPDLAAFJX

It cost $120 and we don't have a receipt or know where it came from so returning it would be difficult. The guest actually brought it in their suitcase and they live in a state with much more stores than we do (Alaska).


----------



## bumblebear (Nov 15, 2009)

This is a tricky one since it's not an open pan or pot.. Usually nonstick contains Teflon which can be deadly for birds. If your kitchen is away from the bird cage, maybe your kitchen will have windows/screen doors that you can ventilate your area with. I personally wouldn't worry too much if it isn't an open pan/pot that you're cooking in, but to be on the safe side if you do use it be sure to ventilate the area.

Side note, that looks like a really nice rice cooker, it'd be a shame not to use it ):


----------



## crazycat (Aug 2, 2010)

Do you have a garage or shed that has electricity? If it were me I would get it all prepared than take it out to the shed to cook and bring it back in when it was all finished. Otherwise I would put it in a room the birds dont go in with the door shut and all the windows open while it is cooking.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Unfortunately, we don't have a garage and our apartment is very small. The bird cage is in the living room, only about 20 feet from the stove. 

Wonder what I should do with it... I could try returning it to Amazon even though I don't know if it came from there. Shipping would be very expensive (it weighs 15 pounds and we're in Alaska) but I'd probably get $20 or something for it. Maybe I'll try selling it online. Such a shame since it's so cool! I wonder, maybe it would be okay to use as a slow cooker since slow cooking only cooks at like 200 degrees? I'll try to find out what temps it cooks at with its other uses.


----------



## Duckie (Feb 13, 2008)

I agree that because it is enclosed cooking pot, it should be fine. I don't think that it should cause any problems.


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I wouldn't, from what I've read, birds have apparently died from even non-stick cookware.

From Wikipedia:

*Toxicity of overheated non-stick surfaces*

Many reports from bird owners claim that their pet birds died after the owners used non-stick cookware around the birds. The cause of this phenomenon is polytetrafluorethelyne (PTFE), a chemical used in the manufacture of industrial non-stick coatings. When they are overheated, the resulting combination of particles and gasses emitted from the surface is extremely toxic when inhaled for only a short time. PTFE becomes dangerous when the surface is heated over 396 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Other works show fatal effects at higher temperatures over a shorter duration (seconds or minutes). (572 degrees Fahrenheit). The most common source of these non-stick coatings is DuPont's Teflon, but there are other brands that produce non-stick coatings. PTFE-coated surfaces should be used extremely carefully in households that contain birds (good ventilation and never permitted to cook dry), as there are no warnings on these products about the dangers. There are a number of safer cooking options, including stainless steel, cast iron, and enamel.

Other sources of PTFE include some wafflemakers, irons, and self-cleaning ovens, among other things. People using PTFE-coated surfaces in a household that has birds should make sure that the stove is never left unattended while something is cooking on it, and the kitchen in particular should be well ventilated. A pet bird should not be kept near the kitchen due to the proximity of these fumes when cookware is overheated.


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Alrighty. After doing some research, I found that the slow cooker setting on that multi cooker is 180 degrees and the high setting when used as a pressure cooker is 239 degrees- quite a bit lower than regular stove temperatures. Also much lower than the 396 degrees that nonstick coating can become dangerous at, and like a couple people pointed out, it is a covered unit. I may keep it, but wait to use it until our baby birds have grown up. The cooker has a browning function that I'm sure I wouldn't use because the temperature probably gets higher then.


----------



## Ezzie (Jan 19, 2010)

I personally see no issue with using this, If you were going to be CONSTANTLY using it and always cooking around the birds then i would say to sell it, But really, how often do we use pressure cookers? Ive never heard of a cockatiel passing because its owner used a non stick pan occasionaly.

Just make sure you have good ventilation or windows open just in case, apart from that it should be okay.


----------



## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

I used a non stick pan and cookie sheet for months before I found out it could kill my tiels...never had a problem and they were right next to kitchen area...now that I know, I either put them outside while I am cooking and let the house air out by opening the back door...they are in the front of house on porch or I put them in a room with a fan. I have never had a problem...but thankfully I have never burned it...is that when it is toxic...when it is burning?


----------



## Berdnerd (May 20, 2010)

Tielmom, yes bad things can happen when nonstick overheats. I think it would be hard to overheat something like this cooker unless I plugged it in and turned it on for hours with nothing in it. Like Ezzie said, it will probably only get used once or twice a month. Our other pans and skillets are stainless steel or enamel coated cast iron because of the birds. A couple of weeks ago, my friend was cooking in our kitchen and I had told her about the bird issue, but she used the one nonstick skillet we have to saute mushrooms on high heat, with Phoenix right there in the kitchen in the brooder. I didn't realize what she was using until she was finished. Thankfully Phoenix and his parents were just fine, but my heart rate certainly went up for a bit!


----------



## tielmom (Aug 4, 2010)

Thank you for answering my question Berdnerd.


----------

