#bird dust

[ziggystarling]

Do you have any idea how starlings are re: dander, compared to other birds? Just looking for some background information to guess at how much they'd exacerbate my bird allergy :-)

I have a mild bird dust allergy too and when it comes to starlings they barely have any dander at all. In fact they're fairly sensitive to dust themselves, Ziggy gets sneezy in the winter when the air is dry or when the cockatiels are molting.

[pawprika-blog]

Controlling Bird Dust and Dander

Controlling Bird Dust and Dander

  Bird dust is a white powder produced by the feathers that are closest to the skin. This powder helps keep your bird’s feathers soft and silky. As a result, African Greys, Cockatoos, Cockatiels and Amazons that produce this powder are called powder down birds. Dust from the Amazon is less noticeable than the other breeds because it is darker and often goes unnoticed.

This wing dust is just one…

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[thebeakincarnate]

A very itchy (and dusty) beeb.

[tser]

Powder Down: Bird Dust Wars

We had our maintenance on our air conditioning unit for the first time in years, and the guy’s like, "Yup, this filter needs changing. It’s dirty. But...” Kind of an awkward pause. “It’s white, this white dust. You wouldn’t know it it was dirty if you just looked at it, it’s not what I usually see.... I--I don’t know what it is.” Zlato grins, and says, “Bird dust?”

“Ohhhh....” PSA: Birdblr -- be safe, don’t keep birds in your bedroom, and use HEPA filters. Keep at least one in your bedroom and one in the room with your bird(s). We also have one in our computer room, as bird dust is hell on electronics (my laptops die premature deaths). 

This is especially important if you have powder down birds (African greys, cockatiels, cockatoos, mealy Amazons, doves, etc.), but everyone should be careful, as the proteins that cause problems can be found in broken down feathers of all types. People with chickens are at risk as well, and may benefit from wearing a mask when cleaning their coops.

This is the HEPA filter kept in the room my African grey lives in. This is when it is changed regularly on the dot, right when the filter’s recommendations say so. The filters start out black. We change it more often than recommended. Notice we also have hard floors throughout the house; this helps a LOT! Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (birdkeeper’s lung) is a real threat for bird keepers, and other respiratory ailments like asthma, allergies, and similar can be seriously aggravated by bird dander. I speak from too much experience.

Be safe!