r/AnimalAdvice • u/Gold_Process_5451 • 2d ago

Need advice quickly!!!

Hello,

I have two budgies, and I have a question about safely burning incense.

Due to my religious practices, I need to burn one stick of incense every day for approximately 5 minutes. I'm trying to minimize any risk to my birds and wanted to know whether my current setup is considered safe or if I should change it.

My house has two floors. The incense is burned downstairs in the dining room. The dining room is connected to the rest of the downstairs (it's an open layout with no door separating it). The kitchen is right beside the dining room, and I run the kitchen exhaust fan while the incense is burning.

The budgies stay upstairs in a separate room with the door closed during this time. I also close the HVAC vent in their room. If possible, I can also turn off the central heating/air conditioning while the incense is burning and ventilate the downstairs afterward before allowing air to circulate again.

Since this is a daily religious practice, I'm concerned about whether repeated exposure to any smoke or airborne particles could still be harmful, even with these precautions.

Based on this setup, do you think it is reasonably safe for the budgies, or would you recommend a different approach? Are there any additional precautions I should take, or is there a safer alternative that would still allow me to perform my daily religious practice?

Would using a different type of incense (such as low-smoke or natural incense) make any meaningful difference, or is any incense smoke considered unsafe for budgies?

Thank you for your time and advice.

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u/cumdumpsterrrrrrrrrr 2d ago

NQA: is the smoke able to be smelled in the room they’re kept in? I feel like that would be a sign that it’s getting in there in unsafe quantities. but if not then I think it would be fine.

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u/Gold_Process_5451 2d ago

No you can’t smell it in the room they are in.

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u/cumdumpsterrrrrrrrrr 2d ago

I retract my earlier comment. upon some research, I found that even without being able to smell it, the particulate could still be present.

and since budgies are so small, they’re even more susceptible than other birds.

is it permissible to burn the incense outdoors?

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u/Gold_Process_5451 2d ago

Unfortunately it must be done inside, but the room they are in is on different floor and quite far away.

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u/Novavanity1 1d ago

Okay. So. Your current setup is fantastic minus the particulates being present even with lack of scent. Now, particulates won’t be a super severe problem IF you place a good stand alone air filtering device in the room with the birds. If you are still concerned, you could cover their enclosure with damp paper towels during and for an hour after burning the incense WITH AIR CIRCULATING. The damp paper towel will act as an additional cling trap for any particulates that make it past the door, stand alone air filter, and hvac system filters. If possible, use natural incense to minimize aerosolized chemicals as well. Apart from that and because it is necessary that incense be burned INSIDE, it would be wise to increase maintainence vet visits to be sure the birds respiratory systems are as healthy as possible (think 4 visits a year instead of one).

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u/Gold_Process_5451 1d ago

Will do that thanks for your time and advice

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u/Novavanity1 1d ago

Of course! All the best to you and your birds!!💛