Eclectus Parrot... comfort heat.
Frank Murphy
Winter is fast approaching and we would appreciate comments and advice on
the following. The bird's cage is located in an open area between the
kitchen and family room. Great for companionship but impossible to isolate
for nighttime heating.
It had been our practice to set the overnight temperature to 60 F. Fine for
us under blankets but I suspect it's a bit chilly for a tropical bird.
Is there some form of cage heating that will keep the bird comfortable?
Perhaps Americans in the northern tier states have the same problem, but
all replies appreciated
jw...@trytel.com
"Frank Murphy" <FMU...@Axionet.com> wrote:
Hi Frank,
Just a thought, but how about a water bed heater taped to the bottom
of the cage. In Canada I believe these pads are around 30-40.00
Canadian. Or maybe if the dollars allow for it, build a large
plexiglass box, large enough to accomodate the cage but leave the cage
door access side open. Maybe the combination of the two will help to
contain most of the heat, and at the same time the bird won't feel
isolated with a normal cage cover. Just an idea.
TTFN
JIm Wilkinson
Cherane Pefley, Certified Avian Specialist
In article <01bbaeec$24e198e0$4f9e...@Axion.axionet.com> Frank
Murphy wrote:
>Date: 30 Sep 1996 16:26:48 GMT
>From: "Frank Murphy" <FMU...@Axionet.com>
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Eclectus Parrot... comfort heat.
>
>Winter is fast approaching and we would appreciate comments and
advice on
>the following. The bird's cage is located in an open area between
the
>kitchen and family room. Great for companionship but impossible to
isolate
>for nighttime heating.
>It had been our practice to set the overnight temperature to 60 F.
Fine for
>us under blankets but I suspect it's a bit chilly for a tropical
bird.
>Is there some form of cage heating that will keep the bird
comfortable?
>Perhaps Americans in the northern tier states have the same
problem, but
>all replies appreciated
A cage heater would be trying to warm up the room, not the cage.
I'm afraid this is way to cold for an eclectus.
I think maybe at least 65 might be a compromise between you and
your pet. Your walking on thin ice with making it 60.
I would also give a little higher fat for those nights that the
birds have to tolerate these conditions, but myself I think 65 is a
better bet if not 70 better yet.
No way around this one, for you do have a tropical bird in your
midst that must be considered.
Cherane
>
S. Keith Graham
In <52pmu8$q...@news-e2c.gnn.com> Cpe...@gnn.com (Cherane Pefley, Certified Avian Specialist) writes:
>A cage heater would be trying to warm up the room, not the cage.
>I'm afraid this is way to cold for an eclectus.
>I think maybe at least 65 might be a compromise between you and
>your pet. Your walking on thin ice with making it 60.
>I would also give a little higher fat for those nights that the
>birds have to tolerate these conditions, but myself I think 65 is a
>better bet if not 70 better yet.
I can't speak for an Eclectus, but lots of breeders keep outdoor
Aviaries for a number of "tropical" birds. I've seen pictures of
the large Macaws (and a number of other birds) playing in Snow.
They were slowly acclimated; they were fed a much higher fat diet;
they had "windbreaks" to keep the wind off; etc. But freezing,
near 0 F temps; are survivable by some species of these birds.
And I can't imagine that temps never get to 60 in the wild near
them, but I could be wrong. Anyone got a travel brochure from
their corner of S.E. Asia?
Also, I suspect with some planning, keeping the drafts off (a cover?),
maybe a little cage warmer (or one of those electric floor heaters that
look like an old fashioned radiator), and the temp near the bird should
be higher than the 60F in the rest of the house.
Keith Graham
s...@sadr.com
Ian Kerfoot
> I can't speak for an Eclectus, but lots of breeders keep outdoor
> Aviaries for a number of "tropical" birds. I've seen pictures of
> the large Macaws (and a number of other birds) playing in Snow.
In the Birdman of Alcatraz's "Diseases of Birds", he mentions
raising canaries in an unheated room. He had a 5% fatality rate
due to the cold. He said the problem could be eliminated by
heating the room, but he prefered to keep it unheated to weed
out weak stock.
The Duke of Bedford also mentions keeping parrots outside in
the middle of winter. He also mentions some birds coming down
with pneumonia, etc.
From what I can make of it, parrots will usually survive in a
moderately cold environment, but not always.
Ian Kerfoot
Cherane Pefley, Certified Avian Specialist
In article <52pqhd$8...@gypsy.cad.gatech.edu> S. Keith Graham wrote:
>Date: 1 Oct 1996 01:01:33 GMT
>From: vap...@cad.gatech.edu (S. Keith Graham)
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Re: Eclectus Parrot... comfort heat.
>
>I
>I can't speak for an Eclectus, but lots of breeders keep outdoor
>Aviaries for a number of "tropical" birds. I've seen pictures of
>the large Macaws (and a number of other birds) playing in Snow.
>
>
>Keith Graham
>s...@sadr.com
but.....isn't this the topic of our conversation? I'm writing
about the Eclectus.....and I breed them
I would never put my Eclectus through an environment that my Macaws
could tolerate....
Cherane
S. Keith Graham
>> I can't speak for an Eclectus, but lots of breeders keep outdoor
>> Aviaries for a number of "tropical" birds. I've seen pictures of
>> the large Macaws (and a number of other birds) playing in Snow.
>[Examples of birds dying from the cold]
>From what I can make of it, parrots will usually survive in a
>moderately cold environment, but not always.
Did they mention what kinds of temps they were talking about
there? 60 isn't warm, but it isn't exactly freezing either..
(And with no drafts, which can steal body heat, things are better
than in an outdoor aviary.)
What exactly is "moderately cold"? (Of course, to a bird that
has never had the temps around them go below 75F, 60 is probably
fairly cold..)
Keith Graham
s...@sadr.com
Ian Kerfoot
> What exactly is "moderately cold"? (Of course, to a bird that
> has never had the temps around them go below 75F, 60 is probably
> fairly cold..)
I haven't the foggiest notion of the exact quantitative
values. That is largely why I am waiting until after
graduation to get a bird. I don't want to play games
with the margins.
A breeder that I spoke with said that 65F was the lowest
temperature that it is safe to keep most types of parrots
at. Below that, they are prone to respiratory problems,
which are sometimes fatal, and always trouble. Older
birds are somewhat less sensitive to the cold.
Ian Kerfoot
Frank Murphy
S. Keith Graham <vap...@cad.gatech.edu> wrote in article
<52pqhd$8...@gypsy.cad.gatech.edu>...
> In <52pmu8$q...@news-e2c.gnn.com> Cpe...@gnn.com (Cherane Pefley,
Certified Avian Specialist) writes:
>
> >A cage heater would be trying to warm up the room, not the cage.
> >I'm afraid this is way to cold for an eclectus.
>
> >I think maybe at least 65 might be a compromise between you and
> >your pet. Your walking on thin ice with making it 60.
>
Thank you for the observations and advice. It's going to cost a bit to keep
the entire house at daytime temperature, but it seems to be the only
solution. I had hoped that the trade had developed a cover/ heater
combination that colder climate owners were familiar with. Fortunately it's
my daughter's bird and she'll pay the heating bills.
I just had a thought. The pet store in the mall has parrots.... and I'm
sure the mall owners don't keep the temperature high during the closed
hours. Wish me luck!
Frank