If you have any kind of bird as a pet, you will know that there are some things that you need to do in order to make sure they are in the best of health at all times.
Making sure not to give them the wrong foods and ensuring they have a safe environment are key to seeing this through. You may be wanting to renovate an old birdhouse, paint a birdcage or bird feeder, but are unsure if acrylic paint is safe to use around birds?
Within this article, we will let you know if acrylic paint is bird-safe and if you can use it around birds to spruce up some of your equipment.
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So, can I use Acrylic Paint around birds?
One of the major benefits of using acrylic paint is that, yes, it is safe to use in the same environment as birds. This type of paint is non-toxic, odorless, and doesn’t give off fumes that could be harmful to your feathered friends.
Of course, you should take care not to leave your paint anywhere near your birds, especially if they are flying free in the room, as getting covered in paint could cause problems for your bird and potential block it’s airways which you do not want.
Keeping your bird well away from the paint and only using bird-safe paints without fumes, such as acrylic is a good idea to be able to paint and keep your bird safe at the same time.
Could I use Acrylic Paint to renovate equipment?
Yes, you certainly could use acrylic to improve some of the equipment you use for your birds. Say, for example, you wished to give your birdhouse a new coat of paint or do the same for a bird feeder or birdcage, you would be able to use acrylic paint for this with great results.
This type of paint is very versatile and can be used on a great number of surfaces, therefore it is a great choice for using on almost anything that needs a fresh coat of paint.
You should always make sure that you remove your bird, or birds, from the environment whilst you are painting, so don’t leave your bird in its cage whilst you are painting it, as ingesting paint is not something that will be good for the bird’s health.
But once all the paint is dry and your restoration project is complete, the bird can be moved back into the environment and enjoy their space once again.
Should I be avoiding Oil Paints?
Using any kind of oil-based paint when you have birds nearby, as pets or otherwise, is something you must always avoid.
This kind of paint will give off toxic fumes, that may be okay for humans to be around, but for a bird can be seriously deadly in even small amounts.
If you have even the slightest suspicion that the paints you are using may contain some kind of toxic fumes that could harmful to your pet, it is well advised to cease all use of these paints and try to find another product that will be safe, such as acrylic paint.
Why are Oil Paints so harmful to birds?
The reason for oil paints being so harmful to birds is that even in small amounts, the toxic fumes that they give off can cause severe health problems in birds, as we mentioned before.
The cause of this is that birds have fundamentally different airways to humans and whereas a human would be able to cough up or filter out certain toxins from their airways, birds lack this crucial ability.
This would mean that the toxins will build up within the bird’s airways and cause horrible amounts of damage to the bird, even in very small amounts as birds have much smaller lungs than that of a human.
Birds have often been used as a way to keep humans safe in places like coal mines, as their small lungs and unique airways will be able to tell the miners when there is too much gas in the air.
Sadly, the bird would die but the miners would have a chance to survive.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, you will happy to learn that acrylic paints are safe to use around birds and will not cause them any harm from fumes. Whether you would like to paint a birdfeeder or birdcage, acrylic paint is the way to go.
Remember to always avoid oil paints around birds as their toxic fumes can be extremely harmful to them, and obviously, you will want to keep your pets in the best of health at all times.
Hopefully, this article has been useful in answering your questions and giving you some useful information on the safety of acrylic paints.
Disclaimer: You should always check with a vet if you are unsure.
