Birds in old houses

[GreetingCardReligion]

A thought occurred to me today that I thought I would run by you lovely folks :)

How do you feel about birds being kept in old houses or old apartment complexes? Homes built before 1970, to be precise.

Many of these buildings used lead paint or asbestos in the insulation. I was doing some research on the subject (mainly asbestos) and the publications claimed that you would do best to leave it alone, so as not to damage it and release the fibers into the air.

Would you feel it is safe to keep a bird in an older building that could possibly contain asbestos and lead? I know it is a very common thing where I live and I was curious as to how much of an issue this is. Considering the house is in otherwise excellent condtion, clean, and free of mold or damage to any areas which could possibly contain asbestos, would this be a place you would consider living with your fids?

Its probably something most people don't think about - but I thought I'd pose some food for thought anyways (anything to get a new topic started other than wings )

[Alyce Johnson]

I live in a Victorian with lath & plaster. We ripped out & replaced some of the wall surfaces without any air masks or anything. Thankfully before we owned birds! We didn't know about the asbestos danger at the time.

However, I think a good sealing coat of paint is going to take care of your asbestos issue, if it's imbedded in plaster or another really stable medium. Unless you have those icky ceiling tiles that "shed" a sort of dust & rain it gradually down onto you, which would probably be a 1950s-60s thing, maybe? Those are supposed to be really bad news! I don't think I'd be comfortable living under those myself, much less keeping birds in that environment.

The other place asbestos can show up is in old flooring - linoleum, but I think it has to be *really* old. Just like the kind from the turn of the century that I ripped off my bedroom floor on my knees, again without any airway protection. I just simply had no clue, at the time. If you think you have any of that type of flooring, I'd say just put another new layer of linoleum (vinyl) down over it. That will take care of the issue of the surface wearing off due to traffic & minute fibers wafting up into the air.

The bigger issue is probably a bird chewing on window trim (or walls) painted with lead paint in the deeper layers. You could fix that issue (if you own the home) by stripping to the wood & starting over.

Be warned: Usually IME you will have to repaint or use a color stain. Wood is too porus & over time (if it's been long enough) the wood will have absorbed some of the paint, even if it was originally varnished. It's really hard to take old wood down to the point where it looks great with a natural finish. It can be done - sometimes. But it's way harder than you'd ever imagine. (I've actually run these problems past a professional restorer of old homes, so I know on this one for sure. You can't assume you'll be able to go "natural".)

For walls (if they chew) I'm not sure what you'd do about that! But obviously if they're chewing the walls, you've got another level of issue to deal with. Even modern sheetrock is probably not safe for them to actually "eat".

[GreetingCardReligion]

Thank you for all the information Alyce!

I know the walls have been freshly painted but I am a little worried about part of the ceiling. It's one of those pebbly surfaces (different from the texture of the wall) but is in very good condition and does not flake or give off dust. I've lived under this particular kind of ceiling my entire life (so far as I remember). It is in the majority of the house, excluding the kitchen and restroom which more closely resembles the wall.

Edit: My baby hasn't come home yet but I will watch particularly carefully that he does not start in on any of the walls with his beak for safety and mental health reasons XD

[Tiki]

I live in an old house too, late 1940's. We did the full scale renovation before we moved in-ripping up the lino, sanding/polishing floors, repainting, stuff like that. The exterior is made of fibreboard and we don't have insulation. Brisbane tends to be hot and in the 40's with no AC, people loved the relatively mild winters and designed houses to be cool in summer. I do plan to upgrade the insulation sometime in the future, but that is over 5 years away. At that time, I will have to look into what material the new insulation is made of and if it is dangerous to birds. If it is, I would probably rent a house in Noosa for a week move the birds there and get the job done. It is a beach resort about 1.5 hours out of Brisbane so within striking distance to supervise the workmen.