I could be wrong but i thought you couldnt get oil polyurethane in cali.

Regardless. Take the parrots out of the house. The fumes will eventually disperse but not enough in 6 hours for your birds.

Is your garage insulated? Do your parrots ever go on the deck/balcony or would this be a new experience for them?

The garage is insulated, and yes, they are on the deck, outside, nearly every day. The guy doing the floors specifically said, "oil-based polyurethane." I have wood floors throughout the rest of the house, except the bedrooms. The master carpet was disgusting! It had use-stains that could not be cleaned. Recently separated, and had to get rid of the bed because i couldn't stand to sleep in it, and decided that with a furniture-less master it was a good time to redo the floor.

I did not know how toxic the fumes from the polyurethane would be. My guy is matching existing floors, hence the need for oil-based product. Another question:
Would the fumes be as bad on the second floor?

Is this guy a pro or someone off Craigslist?

Guess it really doesnt matter. The fumes are goin to be around for at least a few days. Oil poly takes longer to dry which means it has more time to release fumes/gases. And chances are youre going to get at least 3 days for stain/coats being applied.

Humans are capable of withstanding the fumes. It will give ya a headache if its strong or if you have been exposed for a long time. But im a pet guy myself. I take my dogs to a neighbors or family when i do my floors and i advise all my customers to do the same. Its cruel in my opinion to leave them to breathe that junk.

Fumes rise and so the smell will too. You can plastic off all doorways and intake ductwork which will help.

Thanks for the advice. i will see if water-based poly will allow them to match the existing oak floor.
And yes, these guys are super-craftsmen with at least a hundred 5-star Yelp ratings. They have seamlessly feathered in the new floor with the 30-year-old oak floor. It is beautiful! Just waiting for refinishing. They are allowing the wood to acclimatize and change for two weeks before refinishing.

Is it possible to live on the unfinished floor and wait a few months until weather conditions are more favorable?

I live in San Diego. The conditions are fine 70+ during the day and 55ish at night.

I'd get a min/max thermometer and find out how cold the garage gets overnight. If the low temperature is tolerable to the parrots (I think it probably would retain a lot of the heat from the day if you open the doors during the day to let the 70s in and close it up before it starts cooling in the late afternoon) I would keep the birds outside during the day and into the garage at night. For the human, I could go either way on sleeping in the garage or upstairs in the house. Some people are not so bothered: my husband slept in the house with all the windows open when we had our living room floors stained and poly'd - but the smell made me so sick to my stomach I was throwing up and had to sleep on the couch at my dad's house!

Here is a link that might be useful: temps for birds

Can you and the parrots stay with friends until the smell goes away?