Temperatures and Parrots.

[kaylayuh]

What temperature is too hot for a parrot? Mother Nature clearly has a vendetta against the central and eastern portions of the United States with all of the flooding and 86 degree weather in April. My personal heat threshold is a bit low because I take 600mg of lithium daily and it causes heat to affect you more quickly and causes dehydration, so I'm can't really judge what's okay and what isn't.

It's been in the upper 80s and I'm wondering if this is safe for birds? If not, what it the highest temperature you'd allow your bird to be in?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

It think cold is much more likely to be a problem than heat -- most parrot species are from places with quite hot summers. That said, rapid changes are probably harder to deal with that heat per se. It can get to the 100s here, and I'd probably worry about the birds if it got to the high 90s in the house suddenly. But we do have A/C and use it. Outside I'd worry about access to shade and water more than the temperature itself.

That said, I have a husband who likes to go on foot from the lowest point in Death Valley to Whitney Portal in August, where temps in the 120s aren't all that unusual, my ideas about how much heat is too much may be a bit skewed.

[patdbunny]

It think cold is much more likely to be a problem than heat

That is a reasonable line of thinking. But from my personal experience, I've had birds drop dead from the heat more often than the cold. It gets over 100 here in the summer and has dipped to about 20 in the winter. Even with shade and access to a lot of water they drop dead in the summer. Huge improvement once I put misters and fans up.

Not too sure what heat tolerance your birds can stand since you guys are more humid over on the east coast. Watch the panting and soak the bird down with cool water if you have to. Indoors you'll have less heat stress.

[kaylayuh]

Not too sure what heat tolerance your birds can stand since you guys are more humid over on the east coast. Watch the panting and soak the bird down with cool water if you have to. Indoors you'll have less heat stress.

I've been misting them (and myself!) down with cool water and giving them ice cubes with treats inside. It is incredibly humid here since we've got those storms from the midwest coming this way, so I think that makes it a little worse. The birds don't seem to really notice that it's a bit muggy and hot, so I was just wondering.

[Vikki]

Yes, birds can deal better with heat than cold (given that most of them are tropical by nature). Keep a fan in the room they are in so there is good ventilation (even if it is hot, humid air) and make sure they have cool water to drink all the time. I also tend to put large dishes of cool water on the floors of my guys cages when its really hot to give them the option to cool off in a bath on their own.

Also, little known by many... some birds love to chew on ice. If you can get grated ice and leave a cup of it in their cages, they will appreciate it.

[patdbunny]

Also, little known by many... some birds love to chew on ice.

Really? Learn something new every day. I'll have to keep a lot of ice on hand this summer.

Thanks Vikki!

[Vikki]

My pleasure. Just the other day we were sitting in the rescues play area enjoying a break and one of the senegals flew over and practically gave himself a hernia trying to fly away with an entire cube of ice that was in my glass. It was hytserical to watch. I should have video taped it.

[kaylayuh]

Also, little known by many... some birds love to chew on ice. If you can get grated ice and leave a cup of it in their cages, they will appreciate it.

I make it extra fun for them by freezing all kinds of things into their ice cubes. I've put berries, nuts, seed, vegetables, and all sorts of other things in there for them.

[Vikki]

Oh yeah, once it gets really hot we make special birdy pops for them, you can even do savory ones with watered down broth, grains, veg... they love it and its a type of forage because they have to work to free the prizes inside the ice.

[kaylayuh]

Oh yeah, once it gets really hot we make special birdy pops for them, you can even do savory ones with watered down broth, grains, veg... they love it and its a type of forage because they have to work to free the prizes inside the ice.

I thought about blending a combination of peas, carrots and broccoli and freezing it and then freezing it inside some ice. Kind of making almost a bird pesto mixture and freezing it.