Tolerating the climate

[Noddy Boid]

Hi Kim.

I have a galah who is about 8 months old now, and we are just coming into cooler weather - I am in Australia.

I keep her in a cage out on my back verandah in a sheltered spot - ie, three sides of the cage are protected - and at night I put a heavy woollen blanket over the cage to keep out drafts and light. As she is on the verandah, she is never subjected to rain.

These birds are native in my area, so obviously the wild ones can cope with the climate which isn't that severe - our climate is generally pretty mild even in the dead of winter.

So provided she is covered up at night from drafts, is she OK to be left outside? The cage is too large to be brought inside, although I am happy to buy a smaller one to house her inside the house overnight.

[KimBear]

Shelter from wind and rain is very important and it sounds like you have that covered. Also, since your bird is being gradually exposed to the cooler weather, she should be fine. If it ever gets REALLY cold, and that's a matter of opinion about what is REALLY cold, but if you ever get temps at or below freezing, you may want to either bring her in or install some sort of heat source, like an outdoor heat lamp. If you do that, just make sure she can't reach it or the cord, and that the bulb can't get wet. It sounds like you're not likely to experience that kind of cold, though.