"Taylor Family"  wrote in message 
news:l6hDd.2722$ts5.1301{at}news01.roc.ny...
>I just rescued two parakeets and their cage from a nasty home. They are 
>four
> months old and beautiful. But no matter how much I scrub the cage it still
> reeks of cigarette smoke. They, the bids, were also exposed to the smoke 
> all
> the time and were kept in a small bedroom closet. They are thin and scared
> half to death. I have 4 other parakeets and they welcome the newcomers. So
> how do I clean the cage or do I buy a new one? How do I
"detoxify" a bird
> from environmental impurities they were exposed to? I use Kaytee Select 
> seed
> brand. Is that ok or should I try a different seed brand? Thanks. Jenn
>
>

The birds are a world of difference better off than they were, so I would 
not spend any time worrying about diet. As was mentioned god only knows what 
they had before. The cage probably would need not only good scrubbing but 
time to "air out". Hopefully the birds will get along ok with each other. 
The new comers will probably take a while to come around, but they should. 
Even well cared for birds go through a period of getting used to a new home, 
these birds may take a little longer.
  If you can safely keep the new birds in the same cage with your birds, you 
can take the cage to a car wash and give it a good going over with one of 
the hand held units there, then make sure you give it a good rinse. See if 
that does not get the smell off a little.
-- 
If at first you don't succeed blame someone else and seek counseling.
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