Winter is in full swing in the northern hemisphere of planet earth. I live in Florida, which is considered subtropical, but we still endure some brief periods of freezing temperatures. Up north, where I grew up and spent most of my life, it is much colder and the consistent lower temperatures are a pervasive “chill you to the bone” kind of cold. If you have an older, drafty house, it can be kind of hard to keep temperature even and comfortable from room to room.
We get a lot of inquiries here at BirdTricksStore about how cold is too cold for our parrots. The concerns generally stem from the knowledge that many parrot species originate from warm climates. It is presumed that because parrots have evolved to live in warmer temperatures, they would be intolerant to the cold. That is not entirely true.
In Florida, especially here in Orlando, there is a HUGE amount of tourism from South America. Retailers here rely heavily on that revenue – in some areas it can account for up to 80% of their business. It is cheaper for South Americans to travel to the states to make name-brand purchases, which are outrageously expensive in their own countries.
In January and February, peak tourist season for Brazilians in particular, one of the main items they are shopping for are winter coats. It gets cold in South America. If you ask them, they will tell you it gets desperately cold. “Desperately cold” to them means 40 degrees Fahrenheit (about 4.5c), sometimes colder. That means that their wild parrots species can and do tolerate those temperatures.
In Australia, a country that is about as large as the United States, the seasonal temperatures throughout the country vary widely. In the south, it can dip well below freezing. While Australia does have a couple of migratory species, parrots are not migratory birds and they stay put to endure whatever their local climate has to offer.
Some people have acclimated their birds to life in an outdoor aviary that do well in temperatures down into the 40’s (f). Acclimated birds have physical mechanisms in place to protect themselves from extreme temperatures:
-
Feathering. Temperature acclimated parrots produce feathering that will serve as insulation to the cold, as do the oils in the feathers. Birds will fluff up when they are cold to produce air pockets in the feathering that further insulates them. An un-acclimated bird has not produced this feathering through necessity, and is not able to comfortably or safely withstand the same lower temperatures.
- Scales. The feet are covered with scales that can retain heat. However, temperatures below freezing leave the lower extremities vulnerable and exposed. In very cold temperatures, the body protects its most vital parts, the organs, by regulating blood flow to them to keep them warm. Feet (fingers, noses etc.) are considered expendable and will be forfeited to save the systems that are necessary to preserve life if the temperatures call for it.
Regardless of a parrot’s natural place of origin, the only climate that matters is the one in which they live. Most companion parrots are not acclimated to cold temperatures. They have adapted to the temperatures common within our homes, generally between 65 and 72 degrees (18c-22c). While they are capable of enduring much lower temperatures, they are not prepared to.
Acclimating your bird to cold temperatures is a slow process since it requires the development of appropriate feathering – something that does not happen overnight. The best way to acclimate is to start allowing your bird to experience lower temperatures gradually and comfortably. As the days grow shorter as the fall months approach, the night cool lasts longer and allows a bird to slowly develop that which is needed to provide for the obvious oncoming cold season. A bird should not experience anything more than a 10, perhaps 15, degrees F change in temperature in the beginning stages to comfortably make the transition.
However, if you live in a cold climate where winter storms sometimes cause power outages, don’t go into a panic. A single heat source, such as a fire place or wood burning stove (when used safely and smokeless) can provide adequate warmth for your indoor parrot until the power comes back on. Covering three sides of the cage and facing the open side to the heat source (from a safe distance) will help maintain and stabilize the cage temperature.
In temperatures above freezing, cold, itself, is not a killer, but the energy expenditure to maintain body heat weakens the immune system and leaves a parrot vulnerable to disease. If your bird is healthy and on an appropriate diet, it will be fit enough to handle the cooler temperatures of a drafty house or the relatively short cold period during a power outage.
Wild bird species rely on the higher fat and caloric diet that life in the wild requires. They expend far more energy from their level of activity and they need fat reserves to maintain the metabolic rate needed to regulate their temperature during the very cold months.
In captivity, an appropriate diet for a bird does not include a high amount of fat by comparison. In fact, it is detrimental to their overall health since they aren’t able to burn nearly as many calories with their relatively sedate lifestyles. A high fat diet will lead to obesity and the diseases that come with it.
For a sheltered companion parrot whose typically consistent environment has suddenly changed, its overall health, often determined by diet, can make the difference in its ability to tolerate a sudden temperature change.
Author Patty Jourgensen specializes in avian health, behavior and nutrition and has been working with and caring for rescue birds since 1987.
13 comments
Hello all. .. I have raised quaker parrots for 24 yrs lve had them and love them dearlyly. Any how. Ty all for more info . I have real cold winters here in wa state spokane area gets winter storms. Biggest fear in power outages… urgh. . Chilly 65 and they puff up their feathers . Using oil heaters too helps as it is clean heat
I use an oil filled heater in my bird room. I have a pellet heater in the basement, but it’s useless if the power goes out. I push the cages close together and blanket them together. But if it lasts a long time, I pack them in their travel cages after warming up the car and either sit in the car for a while or bring them to my sister’s who lives 25 minutes away, if she has power. If not, we party in the car.
Thank you for this article. I have had my Jenday Conure for several years. Every winter I worry a little about my cold house. I keep my thermostat at 55 degrees during the night and it often goes down that low. I worry when I use the wood stove because the heater doesn’t turn on in the bedrooms when the living room is heated. I leave her night bedroom door open in hopes the fireplace heat will warm that room a little. Winters come and winters go and my bird remains alive, healthy and sweet. I’m assuming sweet nature means content, which means happy.
I have a female eclectus who’s about 10 months old and I’m paranoid that after I shower her that she’s cold an uncomfortable, I am so far refraining from using a blowdrier on her but here in Auckland New Zealand autumn has just started
It that was necessary for me. I Thank you for the help in this question.
We have a Sun Conure that is 2-and-a-half years old. He/she “Treasure” is extremely bonded with his owner my 13-year-old son and is with his always except at school. From day one he was like glue to him and while Treasure tolerates being held and loved on by others, the bird really loves being with his boy. We live in Rochester NY and our temperature goes from high nineties mid summer down to sub zero in winter. Treasure goes outside several times daily and experiences temperature variations constantly. When Treasure feels the need to warm up or my son thinks its to cold Treasure rides inside his coat or shirt snuggled up against his chest. Treasure is in phenomenal health and even though early one morning while unloading to sell at Rexpo a woman chastised my son and was extremely nasty about it saying cold gives Parrots Pneumonia (which is what I was searching when I discovered this post.) I would assume the chain smoking she was doing at 5am was more likely the culprit when it comes to pneumonia but I figured some research wouldn’t hurt. In our experience the biggest danger to a conure is a cage it can escape and a water source it can get in but not out of such as a toilet. The Vet always said Hawks are a real danger here and even a few feet from you a hawk would take the small conure. Anyway I’m rambling, our birds have always been taken outside and are always super healthy and happy. No over preening no screaming no destructive behavior or antisocial or behavior beyond some teenager moodiness when it didn’t get to nap on time. That being said I think if your bird knows where to go to keep warm and you take daily walks they can happily and healthfully tolerate a great deal. But please don’t smoke in your house if you have birds.
is 55° too cold for my lilac crowned Amazon at night?I do cover the cage with a thick blanket…but I’m still worried
is 55° too cold for my lilac crowned Amazon at night?I do cover the cage with a thick blanket…but I’m still worried
My rescued alexandrine ring neck goes out side w me until sundown upstate ny in two seasons. He screams when it’s too cold and I get him and bring him in. Last night and flew away from me first time since I’ve owned him. The temp went down to 50. I had a bit of a chase this morning until he just gave in and flew to the sidewalk and let me pick him up. He immediately ate fresh berries and pepper seeds and spinach stems and watermelon and his pellets. He seems fine. So I think if your bird is healthy and well fed he can sustain temp dips. Occasionally that aren’t life threatening.
I am wondering if I can take my Sun conure out about in about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, or 15 degrees Celsius.
Patty: I “inherited” an Amazon. He’s lived indoors with us for 6 yrs at a fairly constant temperature—just like us. The former owner did the same. Bert has spent at least the recent 16 yrs of his life indoors (to the point where he actually hates outdoors). He also came to us with a picking (over-preening) problem; his right breast is completely down to the “grey”—no green left. Outdoors, we have all manner of conditions from very hot (technically 86F/30C but the humidity makes it feel more like 100F/40C) to very cold (-18F/-28C, but the winds make it feel more like 31F/_35C). Bert doesn’t seem bothered by the heat, but obviously he can only be acclimatized for cold-down to a point. So, my questions are: (1) how do people who live in apartments (I don’t now, but I used to) acclimatize their birds and (2), I don’t have an outdoor aviary, so how do I acclimatize Bert? Should I take him out for a certain time each day, and for low long, and at what rate should the exposure period be increased? Thanks. :0)
Pilota, my 56 y/o yellow crested Amazon, has been an indoor bird for the last 51 years. When I adopted her six years ago from the family of a late friend, I was clueless as to how to take care of her, and her surviving family knew little about the specifics of her former 45 years in captivity. I prefer to have the bedroom cool enough that my nose is cold to the touch, but have been trying to maintain the rooms I share with Pilota and the 4 cats at about 68-70. Not ideal for me, but she’s old and in my care, and I love her. Her cage is covered with plastic film on the top, the side facing the window, and the side facing the doorway to the den. At night, I’ve been mostly closing the doors to the den for the cats to have room to roam, and lower the den to about 65. When it’s really cold and blustery out, pilota’s cage gets covered. I’m glad to read the comfort/safety range for her is lower, as I’ll gradually drop the the temps to max out at about 68, assuming the bird still seems comfortable. I intend to continue to heat the area to about 75 on Pilota’s shower days. Thanks for all the info and input at this site!
I have a Red-lored Amazon and a Blue-front. They shake and fluff up their feathers if they are the least bit cold. Even when it is comfortable to me, they still do this. I keep my heat on 70-72 degrees and put them close to the fireplace when they act cold to make sure they are not too cold. Maybe I’m just being a protective mom that tries to make sure her babies are comfortable.lol!
Leave a comment