Tempature Question

[DHDaniel]

Hello Group, Got a crazy question, Our B & G is now 5 months old
The Weather is starting to Change, Evening, Night and Morning temps outside
have been in the 50's. I sure do like it, but I have been setting the central heat at night, What is a ideal for a Macaw? The family & I don't like it getting too cold at night, What is good for him? Can he safely tolerate
low 70's or is that too cold ? I think I have the thermostat set at 74
Summer time a/c was set on about 76 he seemed to do fine then.

Thank You!

[The Outlaw]

Comfortable for you is comfortable for them. A healthy bird will thrive in temps between 65 and 85. I keep my thermostat between 68 and 70. All 10 of mine have thrived.

[Alyce Johnson]

Glad someone asked this question! That will save me some major $$ - provided I can discipline myself to let it get that "cold". Thanks Nancy!

[RMSacha]

Actually, even 60° is okay for some... like Outlaw said, what is comfortable for us is comfortable for them. I know of someone who actually takes her toos out when it's snowing (alright! I know I am gonna catch heck for that!). I have never seen her do it but she is a reputable breeder and behaviorist in this area...

[The Outlaw]

Actually, I have photos somewhere around here of Texas breeding macaws outside playing in the snow. Of course, they live outside and are hardened to the changing temps and do have enclosures and heat sources to snuggle up to.

My point is this: if your bird is healthy and not sitting in a draft, they are just fine at moderate temps.

[tamaran2]

What about outside temps?

I went to the zoo last year with my youngest daughter it was chilly willy but we went anyway. They had the birds up and told us that when it gets below 50 degrees they move them indoors.

So I have been using that as a guide. If it gets to 50 then I let them out for an hr or so to give them a break out of the house.

What does everyone else do?

[Irish]

We keep the temp set at 65 in the bird room. The computers and servers are in the same room, and the temp works for machines, birds and humans combined. Personally, I don't tend to take mine outside to play at all (no aviary, yet), but this last spring, when I asked about taking my birds out in the sun after a long, cold winter, I remember Outlaw saying that 65, no wind, would be about the lowest temp we'd want to go with for a bird used to living indoors, only.

[The Outlaw]

I often take my birds with me on quick trips. Consequently, even if its freezing they are on me going from the house to the car. However, they are snuggled up against my neck.

Just leave them outside for extended periods at 50 degrees. Its really just too extreme for birds used to living indoors. Remember, we have wild flocks of quakers living up almost to the Canadian border. However, they have acclaimated, our indoor birds have not.

[Ringneckmom]

Originally Posted by tamaran2

What about outside temps?

I went to the zoo last year with my youngest daughter it was chilly willy but we went anyway. They had the birds up and told us that when it gets below 50 degrees they move them indoors.

So I have been using that as a guide. If it gets to 50 then I let them out for an hr or so to give them a break out of the house.

What does everyone else do?

I am hoping that what you wrote is a misprint about going outside when it gets to 50.
I found out from my vet last year that birds will do ok up until about 50 degrees. I asked this last year when my power went out this past winter and I needed to know what was the lowest they could deal with.

Even when it gets down to just above that temp - it does affect them. I saw this as I started to transport my birds to a house with electricity. They were definitely feeling the cold and you could see them having trouble with balance.

I personally would not want to go below 65 degrees with 60 being the lowest. And this is only if the heat were out. I keep mine at around 78 degrees.

When you see how it affects your babies - you will not forget it. I dread the power going out at my house again. It took them a good 4 -5 hours to become themselves again after the house started warming back up.

Remember that your birds are from some pretty tropical environments so they do better in the warmth than they do in the cold.

[tamaran2]

This the the 3rd winter coming up that I have had the aviary. I do acclimate my birds by getting them out in the spring, summer, fall and winter. I worked with my vet on this to get them use to the outdoor so that in the winter when it was warm enough I could take them out for a little bit of a brake and I do let them go out for just a little while, not more than a hr as long as it is above 50 and not windy. They flap, fly and have a great time. No chilly willy's here they don't shiver like when they are cold. If I saw that I would bring them in no doubt. They are only out for no more than a hour.