If Your Home is Cold in Winter

[spiritbird]

Some of you may need supplemental heating of some type for your birds. There are several options for birds. Here is one

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[Lady]

It looks nice but I think Lady would attempt to chew on it. She chews on anything on or close enough to her castle!

[spiritbird]

Just put the heated perch back in the cage. I have had it for over 8 years now and works great.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Casper chews up wood and cardboard - it warms him twice, firstly when he is using all that energy with his beak and then again when we burn all the bits*

*he is also in a room with a central heating radiator and a log burner (nowadays known as a carbon neutral biomass converter) and has a fleece cover over his cage at night.

:th_smile:

[Cedardave]

I don't mean to stir up controversy....but to a large degree,in my opinion,I think many people coddle their companion birds to a point that the bird is unable to adjust to changes in their enviroment on their own.Birds naturally run at a high body temperature...they also have to contend with temperature fluctuations in the wild.Unless your home gets really cold, or the birds cage is in a cold drafty location...there really isn't a need to overdo the heat.While these birds origonated in the tropics for the most part, they have had to adapt to the different places they are living with us,likely for a couple generations.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

You're probably right Dave, I know that we have feral parakeets around us that are thriving and I have seen pictures posted of escapee amazon parrots that seem to be doing alright in the UK. I like to give Caper a bit of outdoor time if the sun is shining (only about ten days in the last sixty) so we both get a bit of vitamin D. If he gets cold he ruffles his feathers up.
I did go and see a customer a few years ago who had a large empty aviary in his back garden. Apparently his Macaws both died one night when the temperature unexpectedly went down to below minus ten celsius/centigrade (14 F). They had been doing fine for years I was told. :'(

[spiritbird]

So I will continue to be a bird coddler and make sure they are warm in cold weather. So far they have not perched on the heated one but they will.

Who would leave their birds in an outdoor aviary when it is sub zero temps??

[kendrafitz]

I have seen those heaters. Went back and forth on getting one. Ended up sticking with a heated perch. Rosie got a new heated perch for xmas (our 3rd one - she broke 1 and I broke the other). If this breaks, I will probably go for the little heat pad.

We have natural gas heat. I always feel safer having the heated perch in case our furnace breaks or the heat isn't working well. The perch is one of 5 in her cage, so she has a choice.

Better safe than sorry is my motto. :)

[94lt1]

While true ..birds internal temps run much higher than ours..cooler temps aren't great for them...cooler being 40 and below..yes they can live in it..but I prefer to keep our flock happy and comfortable...

When they go out to day cages in the summer, we keep em in the shade with fans going...

In the winter I keep em at least at 60° usually 70 or if I think one is acting "off" or sick..they go in a 75° area..so the added heat can help them possibly ward off whatever ..until i get the vet over or the bird to the vet..

I've seen green cheeks and suns playing in snow in Aspen Colorado. They were pets that got a way or something.. But both were fat and playing..neither would let us approach..

[Cedardave]

Dont get me wrong...theres nothing wrong with taking great care of our feathered friends....after all, they count on us to do so.Im sure anyone who has any sence would be sure their needs are met...including adequate temperature.

[spiritbird]

Aspen! A beautiful town. One of my twin daughter's lives in Aspen Woods. It's like looking at God's paintbrush. Sorry had to go off topic for a bit.

[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Kendra you make a good point there, the trouble with gas powered heating is that not only is it affected by interruptions in gas supply but also when the leccy goes off because of pumps/timers/other controls. This is tough on those that do not have open fires to sit by.
Brandon when Casper was poorly and an in-patient at the vets they put his cage in the nice warm exotics room along with all the snakes and lizards. I'm not sure the snakes and lizards were good company, their conversation skills leave a lot to be desired but the warmth was good for him. When he was well enough to be in the general melee with the other birds he taught another, non-talking amazon to say "hello". I bet that was a surprise for the person it lives with when they got it home.

[Albert]

Buncha bird coddlers. Salty's getting his workin papers next week and he's gonna earn his keep 'round here, I tell you boy.
Cage to cage seed salesman or sumpthin. Keepin him in mangos is costin' me a lotta bananas!

[bill-e]

I actually got a heated perch and my Nike uses it often. But having said that, my Amazon of 40 years lived in a house that was/is kept at 60 at night and when we're out and only 65 when we're there and she never had even a sniffle during those 40 years.
I think that as long as you keep the drafts off of them and initially take care to acclimate them, then my experience is that they will be fine.

Since my experience was only a data point of one, when I got Nike, who also was used to a cooler home, I got her the perch.

I got the sand covered small perch and she seeks to like it. I placed it right next to her favorite sleeping perch so that she will even get radiated beat from it. Nike is also covered, which my amazon never was.

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[spiritbird]

Keep an eye on the bottom of her feet Bill because a rough surfaced perch can cause damage. Foot bottoms are tender.

[bill-e]

Keep an eye on the bottom of her feet Bill because a rough surfaced perch can cause damage. Foot bottoms are tender.
Yea, I had read about that. I'm planning on sanding down the "sand" a bit to smooth it out but still provide grip. She is so dainty that I actually doubt that there is much pressure on her feet but I have been concerned.

After I bought it I was second guessing myseld that I should have bought the smooth one and just added Vet tape.

I've been away on business all week and I'm anxious to see how she reacts when I get home. My wife, not previously a parrot lover, said that she was doing housework with Nike snuggled in the hood of her hoodie.

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[Casper's 2nd best friend]

Haha does your wife realise she is now a marsupial? :th_smile:

[spiritbird]

Now cleaning house with a bird in hoodie would make a really cute video.