Hello again, I'm back with a question!

HKS

Regular Member
Hi everyone, I'm back! Its Heather... I have the caiques, Archie and Phoebe who are both doing well, Archies hormones are raging at the moment. He's just turned 6 (if that's his real age) and Phoebe has just turned 3 this month.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well during the lockdown, I know there's a few members here I haven't been able to keep in touch with as I don't have you on Facebook!

I do have a question though, maybe @DizzyBlue can help please as I know you mentioned double glazing the last time I was here.
Mam is wanting all the windows and doors replaced and unfortunately I still haven't moved out, though I hope it's not much longer.

Is it safe for the parrots? Is there fumes? If there is, how long do they last?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help as I am now filled with dread and anxiety!
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Hi Heather great to see you back and the photos of Archie, Phoebe . How are the dogs ? x
 
I had my windows replaced last year but I didn't have any birds in the house whilst they did it.
It did smell for a few weeks afterwards.

Do you have anywhere you can put them? Is there a room that isn't having the windows done?

Oh and welcome back :)
 
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I got the firm to give me the health and safety sheets for the acrylic caulk sealant they were using and investigated from there. They were brilliant and said which ever one i found if they didn't have it they would get it and use that for me.
We used "No Nonsense Acrylic Frame Sealant" a water based one and the room where the birds were was done first I moved them out the room because of noise and dust and they were back in it the following morning no problems just had the air purifier on to help get rid of dust. One thing I stopped them doing was using the glass cleaner they had to remove sticky labels and finger prints inside i let them use it outside only as that stuff was an real issue was some kind of really pongy methanol stuff more warnings on it than you could shake a stick at!
 
@DizzyBlue
Thanks for the name of the sealant, we'll be able to ask the people about that, not sure who's doing it yet but hopefully they will be as helpful as yours were.
The problem is my family, my mams pretty good but her husband thinks I'm over the top and ridiculous and he has friends with a parrot and he's obviously been talking about me to them because they said I've got it all wrong about Teflon and fumes etc and their african grey is absolutely fine with fumes in the house! How silly of me.
It's a regular argument in my house... The garage is attached to the house so I can sometimes smell petrol fumes, horrific cleaners that he uses to clean engine pieces etc. Which results in a full blown argument that I "rule the roost" and I'm over the top with the parrots. All he has to do is open the garage door but it's far too much to ask of him.

Anyways... The basement isn't being done because she's wanting the kitchen moved and bifold doors put down there. However the stairs to the basement has no door or anything to shut, it's all open plan. The living room door can be shut but if they do the front door it leads to a stairway to the basement (if there was fumes).

I thought I'd have the birds outside in the garden while they do it but if it's a cold day I guess the basement would be the next best thing. Or take them out in the car!

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The dogs are great and have no idea what's going on in the world but are over the moon to have us home 24/7 haha.
Photo quality might not be great as I've reduced the file size.
I've also still got Mavis, my little chick, she's a year old now, a lovely little thing. I hear her shouting for me when she hears me coming down the stairs haha she's never laid an egg!
Thank goodness she wasn't a Cockerel. I nearly rehomed her to a lady near the lakes district as she has two hens in the same condition as mavis but unfortunately she'd had a case of mareks disease a few years ago, her hybrids seem to be immune from it and her other hens are vaccinated. Unfortunately Mavis wasn't vaccinated and its too late once they're older.
Couldn't risk her catching that.
 
You can buy those see through plastic dust sheets from B&M cost about a quid and they are huge and tape it around the ceiling and to the wall at the top of the stairs with an overlap in the middle when I painted (water based room paint) upstairs ran the purifiers downstairs stopped any smell down stairs really well
 
Hello Heather its good to see your birds again @DizzyBlue the information on the Glazing I think should be Pinned, regarding you mums reluctance in understanding the problem with Teflon, I lost four birds at a show and another at least 20 passed away after a Teflon pan was used in the kitchen to cook sausages and bacon. it only needs to get over heated for the gasses that we cannot smell to get released, the hall was long and where my bird had been was a good distance from the kitchen. One of the birds I lost was a Yellow fronted Kakariki a endangered CITES l bird, I have known three other cases of the gasses from Teflon killing birds, two had been African Greys. love the photos.
 
:thinking: yellow fronted kakariki are not cites 1 they are cites 2 listed birds.
It's the red fronted that is Cites 1 classified
 
Hi Heather, so good to have you back. Your photos are beautiful. Mavis is absolutely gorgeous. What a great job you have done with her. Xxx
 
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Could anyone advise please I'm stressed to bits and don't know what to do

The double glazing is getting done on Monday the 26th
I decided I would stay in my room with the birds and even put plastic up around the door to seal it off and have my window done at a later date
Mother was fine with this, she explained to the company doing it and they said that's fine

Then today I asked what date they were doing mine and she's said Wednesday 28th. Had a huge row over it and now I don't know what to do to keep my birds safe, I think it will probably still smell in the living room on the wednesday. They are huge floor to ceiling windows.
I've read online it can smell for ages
I was very clear mine wouldn't be getting done till the fumes had gone as I can't take the birds back downstairs
She's told me to move out, find somewhere else to live, it's her house etc.

There's no where else I can take the birds. They aren't using the non smelling sealant either, the bloke did say they didn't have to use the spray but whether that's down in the notes or not I don't know.

I have absolutely no idea what to do.
 
It's the stuff they use to wipe the windows with after they put the new ones in that you really don't want spraying on the inside of yours if you don't want yours doing and your not going to be there stick a note on your bedroom window for the guys doing it so they remember.
Is the whole house being done in one day? Took the glaziers two days with two crews working to do my entire house upstairs and down they usually take one window out and replace it rather than taking all out then all back because they need to ensure everything fits one at a time. Three windows per day per crew for standard windows so three out three in one at a time.
You could ask where yours is in the schedule hopefully first and if you have a car put the birds in a travel cage in there for the day have your window airing for the day before taking them back inside and run an air purifier inside your room for the night while your back inside.
Don't forget to turn off the air pump for your fish tank as a precaution to keep them safe too. And yes do keep your room sealed off from fumes coming from the other rooms.
Not sure how they intend to deal with installation human contact wise while this virus regulations are running that could be interesting in theory should slow installation down ie you get one crew installing so would take a few days to do entire house.
 
Yes it will take 2-3 days
She says they'll do downstairs first, two large windows, one small and the front door, whether that will get done in one day I don't know.
But from what I've read, the caulk smell can stay for days, even weeks.

Then I'm supposed to take birds back down to living room while they do upstairs the next day, with my room being done last.

Next door had there's done and I don't think they even did it in that order (downstairs first then upstairs) and they were very slow.

Above ^^ captainhowdy said the smell lasted weeks
And I've read that many times online too

I wanted mine done a week or so later so I could lock myself and the birds away for several days in my room where its safe, until its safe to take them back down
She assured me that was fine and is now telling me mine is being done potentially on the Tuesday or Wednesday along with all he others
So now I have nowhere safe to take the birds.
 
You think by airing the room out for one day it would be safe to take the birds back into that room?
I pictured airing it for a week before taking them back to their main cage.
The silicone is very strong smelling that they use, from what I've read online
 
Also there is the basement that isn't getting done but the stairs are all open plan
I could potentially take them down to the basement (kitchen/diner) when the bedrooms are being done and hope that the smell from upstairs doesn't come down the stairs

I'm thinking ill keep them in my room on the first day, then if they've finished the living room and front door, I will either take them to the living room (to their cage) or to the basement and stay down there with them until the smell has completely gone :rolleyes:
What do you think?
I'll have to take them out in the car if worst comes to worst
I hate the thought of them being in a travel cage for such a long time.
 
Hi Heather I don't know what to advise, is it the whole windows & frames or just the panes of glass, if it's the panes of glass like we had done the other week then that was quite okay.
 
The whole windows, upvc and everything @dianaT
Been looking at booking a cottage or something for the week but there's nothing available of course with it being half term holiday and last minute.
 
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