Читать книгу Birds For Dummies - Gina Spadafori - Страница 102

Depending on where you live and what kind of and how many birds you keep, you may want to add an air cleaner or humidifier (or both!) to your shopping list. Paying attention to air quality is good for your bird and for you, too.

First, the pitch on humidifiers: Today’s climate-controlled houses are often too dry for birds, some of whom represent species most at home in tropical rain forests. Daily misting is a great idea (see Chapter 7), but so, too, is keeping the moisture content of the air up with a humidifier. If you live in Hawaii, South Florida, or another tropical environment, lack of humidity isn’t a concern. In other parts of the country, however, dry air sometimes can be a problem. Remember, too, that when it gets cold outside and the heater is turned on inside the home, the relative humidity of your home drops.

As for air cleaners, the decision whether you need one depends on a couple of factors. Some species of pet birds — the cockatoo is perhaps the best example — give off a lot of feather dust, a powdery natural grooming material that originates from the powder-down feathers over the flank and hip areas. (The dust factor is why we don’t recommend cockatoos for people with allergies — other particularly dusty species are the cockatiel and the African grey parrot.)

Unlike other feathers on a bird’s body, powder-down feathers grow continuously and are never molted. They break down and produce the dust we see when birds preen their feathers. Some species, such as cockatoos, cockatiels, and gray parrots have lots of powder down, while others such as Amazons and conures produce little.

One dusty bird can really reduce the air quality of a room. Several can make it downright unbreathable. (Feather dust is not a problem when a bird is in his natural environment outside, but inside your home, it’s another story.) The level of dust you’re willing to tolerate is a matter of personal preference, of course, but if you’re living with one or more dusty birds, we recommend an air filter. You and your birds will breathe better for your decision, and you can look forward to a reduction in your home’s dusting requirements. Get an air filter that generates a good amount of air turnover for the room you’ll be using it in, and place it near the source of the dust — the bird’s cage.