Should I Use Essential Oils on or Around My Pet Bird?

Essential oils are becoming a lot more famous today as a way to do many things from easing anxiety to healing a wide range of medical conditions.

Essential oils are originally used in aromatherapy but they have since been considered very potent and natural options to regular medicine, and more people now use them in their homes.

Some people have even been discovered to use essential oils around their pets for different reasons.

Are essential oils safe for you bird?

Essential oils are made from highly concentrated plant substances and they having considered very useful to man. These oils have a wide range of health and wellness benefits that they offer their human users and some holistic vets have decided to include them in their work.

However, the use of essential oils in the treatment of animal conditions and illnesses relatively new. At present, there is no significant evidence to prove that the use of essential oils in the treatment of animals is indeed effective.

So, if thou share your living space with your cat, bird, or dog, it is still very vital that you take certain precautions. For bird lovers most especially, you have to consult a vet before you use your essential oils on your feathered friend.

Any form of treatment or alternative medicine may not be as harmful to other pets compared to birds so if you do not get an approval from a vet, do not try to use it.

Which essential oils are safe for your pet birds?

Did you know that pet birds such as macaws, parakeets, and parrots can suffer some serious medical conditions that humans deal with such as cough, diarrhea, flu, fatigue, and even sicknesses that are stress induced.

This is why it isn’t surprising that pet owners who believe in the potency of essential oils attempts to treat these conditions in their pets using the oils.

If essential oils are used carefully and appropriately by pet owners, like making sure they are well diluted and avoiding your bird’s eyes when you spray them with essential oils, then you have absolutely no reason to avoid the use of these oils in your bird care or in your home.

Nevertheless, every pet owner must know that there are certain essential oils that are dangerous to pets in general (especially birds). Oils like tea tree oil have been discovered to be toxic to these creatures.

The essential oils that are safe for your feathered friend includes: Oregano, eucalyptus, frankincense, geranium, lavender, lemon, grapefruit, Clary sage, chamomile, roman chamomile, and cedar wood.

Using essential oils in the air

If you must use essential oils in the air as a bird owner, one of the safest ways to do so is by using a cold air diffuser. Good options of oils to use are lemon, geranium, and lavender.

When you diffuse essential oils, you can potentially add the benefits of these oils to the air so you and your pet can breathe them in and have the goodness absorbed in your blood stream and that of your pet.

Using essential oils in this manner will greatly help to eliminate moulds and bacteria as well as reduce anxiety and stress for your pet. To use the diffusion method, make sure not to use more than three or four drops of essential oil at a time within a one hour frame.

Also, avoid the use of essential oils in a room without ventilation as it would be very dangerous. Misting is another thing essential oil is useful for.

Sometimes you may want to freshen up the room where your pet’s cage is and an essential oil mist is the healthiest option. Regular air freshener may be too harsh for your pet, however all the ingredients needed for a DIY essential oil mist is water or flower hydrosol like lavender hydrosol, bird friendly essential oil, and rubbing alcohol in a small spray bottle.

You need only a few spritzes around your room and everything else will fall in place. Do not forget to avoid spraying too close to your bird (always spray away from the animal). When essential oils get into the eyes of your pet, it could cause a lot of damage to the animals eyes.

Consuming essential oils

Humans consume essential oils just to get the best of their healing properties. However, it is nerve safe to put essential oils in your bird’s water because you want them to benefit from it.

Water and oils don’t mix so there is a high chance that the oil will be too concentrated and potentially cause harm to your animal.

If you want to moisten your pet’s food using essential oils like oregano oil, use only a toothpick drop of it. Oregano oil is great at helping to boost your bird’s immune system. The regenerative antioxidants in oregano oils have been discovered to be potent enough to heal lots of respiratory diseases that birds are susceptible to.

Topical treatments using essential oils

While it’s OK for you to sometimes apply essential oils to the skin of pets like dogs, on no account should you ever apply essential oils to the feet or feathers of your pet bird. When you apply oils to your bird’s feathers you will be making the feathers heavy and that may cause stress to the bird.

This method can only be beneficial on days when you want to clip is wings or nails and you must only use frankincense oil, lavender oil, or ceder woods oil. On days when thou have a lot of unfamiliar people in the house, you can also use essential oils to help your bird relax but make sure the oil is properly diluted.

To do this, you can simply add one teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil or olive oil with one drop of essential oil.

if your bird has a wound, these oils can also be applied topically; with an essential oils salve, you can keep the wound moisturised and prevent any infection by bacterias. To make your own essential oil salve, all you need to do is mix an oil such as lavender with shea butter then apply it to your birds wound using a popsicle stick twice daily.

Cleaning with essential oils

When it comes to using essential oil for your birds,they can be used for both cleaning your birds living area and purifying the air around it. As anyone who has been a bird owner for awhile can tell you, taking care of these wonderful creatures can be stinky business sometimes.

And using essential oils can greatly help you to get rid of the bad smell instead of using store-bought cleaners with artificial fragrance. To make an effective cleaning solution for your bird cage, all you have to do is get a natural cleaner like white vinegar, and mix it with essential oils.

The bottom line is that oils are wonderful for both humans and pets. However, there are specific ways that they should be used to avoid causing danger to your animals.

Now that you know the best ways to use essential oils with your pet, nothing should stop you from enjoying the goodness of this natural products. If you have any other useful tips that you would like to share, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below.