(possibly urgent) teflon poisoning in chicks?

[froggyphore]

my father burned something on the stove adjacent to the brooder room. all the windows and the external door in the brooder room are open and the kitchen door was only open for 3 seconds. the fan above the stove is also on. they’re 8 weeks old and all seem fine. hes burned things many times in this exact scenario and i cook with the brooder room door open frequently but he got worried and now i’m paranoid lol. should i be worried?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Generally Teflon kills quickly. So if they are okay then I wouldn't worry. Always provide good ventilation to chicks.

 

[Banana01]

Honestly this is the first I have ever heard of it, but it sounds dangerous to birds. All you can do is to get rid of the teflon or limit your fathers access to it, and get some cast iron or other type of pots. Check out the other BYC threads similar for other ideas.

 

[nuthatched]

remember, febreeze also kills birds.
They'll be fine.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

How old is the pan? The really toxic stuff that used to offgas from burning teflon was part of an old manufacturing process not used for decades, and was really toxic at temps over 850 F. Which you don't see in kitchens. Sugar burns ar half that temp.

But short form? No. Really unlikely there is a problem, and if tgere was, the cook would be having trouble breathing, and the birds would be goners.

Relax this time, and check the inspection date on your fire extinguisher. For next time, just in case.

 

[froggyphore]

thanks for the reassurance everyone! the chicks will be moving outside in the next few days so this won’t be an ongoing situation. three of the walls in the brooder room are entirely made of windows which are always cracked or fully open and the brooder itself is a wire-walled guinea pig cage so plenty of good ventilation.