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will carbon monoxide affect birds first?

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Parrots (CO Risk in Pet Birds)

Last Updated on January 28, 2024 by Carrie Stephens

If a parrot inhales CO, it’s likely to experience carbon monoxide poisoning. Birds have highly efficient and complex respiratory systems, which are vulnerable to harmful gases and fumes.

Parrots need a high oxygen intake due to their fast metabolic rate, which is required for flight. Inhaled carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin, replacing oxygen and severely affecting the heart and brain.

The warning signs of carbon monoxide poisoning in parrots include muscular weakness, lethargy, disorientation, and seizures. Carbon monoxide poisoning is usually fatal to birds.

Understanding Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas produced by burning fossil fuels when oxygen is low.

When fuels are burned with sufficient oxygen, full combustion follows. Then, carbon dioxide (CO2) reaches the atmosphere. CO is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide.

There’s no easy way to tell if CO is present. This gas doesn’t produce scent, taste, or color. It’s also unlikely to cause immediate eye, nose, throat, or skin irritation.

While the body creates some carbon monoxide during respiration, inhaling too much from an external source can be deadly to small and large parrot species.

how quickly does carbon monoxide affect parrots?

Dangers of Carbon Monoxide

When CO is inhaled, it overwhelms the body in minutes. Carbon monoxide rapidly displaces oxygen, which prevents air from reaching the body’s internal organs.

Breathing 10 parts per million (ppm) of carbon monoxide for a prolonged period is dangerous for humans, while 50 ppm is unsafe for longer than 30 minutes.

Parrots are significantly smaller and have more complex respiratory systems than humans, so they’re at greater risk of CO poisoning.  

Carbon Monoxide Will Affect Birds First

Birds are more at risk due to their small stature and the sensitivity of their respiratory organs.

Gases less dangerous than carbon monoxide can cause serious harm to birds. Carbon monoxide poisoning takes hold in birds before larger animals or humans.

This avian sensitivity to CO is behind the idiom “a canary in a coal mine,” used to describe somebody or something to test whether the air supply is dangerous.

According to the Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, miners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries would carry caged canaries into enclosed spaces with them.

If the canary died, the miners knew a lot of CO was present and hastily retreated.

While most parrot species are larger than the average canary, psittacines are no less at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and mustn’t be exposed to this gas.

How Quickly Carbon Monoxide Affects Parrots

This depends on the health and size of the bird and the CO present in the atmosphere.

Young or old parrots, or those with limited respiratory function, will show symptoms almost immediately. Even healthy parrots usually display respiratory distress within 5 minutes.

As birds are caged, they can’t vacate the environment like humans can.

Carbon Monoxide Can Kill Birds

Parrots and other birds require substantial amounts of oxygen to fly. Breathing in carbon dioxide means the parrot’s body will be denied oxygen.

As per Respiratory Care Clinics of North America, carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin around 200 times more than oxygen, replacing this air source and impacting the heart and brain.

Carbon monoxide poisoning will kill a parrot if not immediately reversed. The CO isn’t the issue, but its impact on the body. With no oxygen circulating, a parrot’s organs will soon fail.

Symptoms of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

The warning signs of carbon monoxide toxicity to look out for include:

  • Vomiting.
  • Muscular weakness, including an inability to perch or walk.
  • Panting and labored breathing.
  • Racing heart rate.
  • Confusion and disorientation.
  • Seizures, potentially leading to loss of consciousness.

If you fail to heed these warnings and take action, the parrot will die. Sudden death in parrots is always suspicious, so evacuate your home in case of an undetected CO leak.

Treating Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning can sometimes be medically treated if recognized early.

The parrot will likely experience permanent damage to its brain or heart following CO poisoning. A parrot that inhales carbon monoxide is unlikely to survive long enough to see a veterinarian.

A vet will give the parrot oxygen until it exceeds the carbon monoxide level, aiming to restore function to its organs. How long this process takes and if it works depends on how much CO was inhaled.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can also have side effects, such as prolonged seizures. A bird will be kept at a veterinary hospital overnight for observation if it survives the experience.

can carbon monoxide kill birds?

Avoiding Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

If a parrot inhales CO, it’ll likely die unless you act quickly. Other pets and humans (especially the elderly, sick, and young) will also be at significant risk.

Devices That Cause Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Sources of CO in the home include:

  • Smoking cigarettes, cigars, and shisha pipes.
  • Burning fossil fuels, like wood, without sufficient ventilation.
  • Lighting scented and unscented candles.
  • Incorrect and inadequate installation of boilers.
  • Substandard and leaky storage heaters.
  • Portable generators as a power resource.
  • Live fire and naked flames.

Vehicle exhaust fumes, especially those from old vehicles, are a source of emissions. According to Environmental Science and Technology, 10% of vehicles on the road are responsible for up to 50% of all CO emissions.

While you’ll not have a vehicle parked in your home, keep this in mind if you plan to take a parrot on a long road trip or if you like to attach a harness for outdoor exercise.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Safety Precautions

Everybody, especially bird owners, should install at least one CO detector in their home, ideally more if using appliances that increase the risk of exposure.

If so, put one carbon monoxide detector upstairs and downstairs to ensure you’re quickly alerted.

A carbon monoxide detector is a small, wall-mounted appliance that resembles a smoke detector. CO has no smell, taste, or color, so you rely on a sensor to sound the alarm if there’s gas in the home.

If the home has a dangerous level of CO, the detector will alert you with a loud, shrill alarm. If you hear this sound, evacuate the property and take the parrot to the vet for an examination.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is dangerous to any living creature, but birds are among the most at risk. They’ll soon experience the effects of this gas before larger pets (like dogs) or humans.