San Diego Parrot keeping

[Pip Logan]

Hey everyone! I live in San Diego and curently own 6 homing pigeons that are being bread to race. My question is I would like to have an out door parrot and was wondering what kind of breeds can withstand living outside here in San Diego. Any thoughts?

[Michael]

Flying parrots outdoors is a million times more complex than pigeons because pigeons naturally learn to come back but parrots require extensive training.

[Pip Logan]

Well I wasent planning on flying them just keeping one or two in a aviary outdoors.

[Michael]

Ah ok. I assumed that since you fly pigeons and are looking for an outdoor parrot, that it implied you wanted to fly them. Why don't you help us out and give us the temperature range for your region so those who are unfamiliar with your locality may be able to help out.

[Pip Logan]

Ok! Summer time highs round 101in the day and winter lows at night around 30 degrees with about two weeks of rain on and off durring the winter. I hope this helps. If u need more help please ask!

[Kathleen]

30 degrees Fahrenheit (I'm assuming Fahrenheit) is freezing temperatures....I don't know if that is suitable. You may have to take them inside on the very cold days.

[Pip Logan]

Thats do able but what is a hardy Parrot? One that would thrive in an outdoor setting.

[fabaceae]

Hi,
I'm rather surprised about the caution expressed here. San Diego is one of the mildest cities in the lower 48, and certainly warm enough for parrots to survive outside in.

Do I need to point out the numerous flocks of wild parrots in the San Diego area (to say nothing of those past and present in NY, CT, IL, CO, etc.) as well as the awesome book and documentary "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill" that describes the flocks in San Francisco (much cooler all the time than SD)? Most sources say that all animals, even those from the tropics, show a great deal of adaptability in terms of temperature as long as they are given adequate time and nutrition to adjust to each season. This also reminds me of the now extinct conure-type parrot (Carolina Parakeet) that inhabited much of north america until 100 or so years ago (as well as the Thick-Billed Parrot that used to range well into the high mountains of the US Southwest. The reason we now have no regular resident native parrots in the continental US is not due to our cold winters, but to human and evolutionary factors.

OK, enough rambling. I hope you'll decide to do whatever suits you best. Just feel fortunate that you live in such a mild climate when the rest of us are counting the weeks until the ground thaws out again.

[Michael]

Yes, but those ferrel populations have free movement and access to whatever resources they need to survive the cold. A non-flighted, caged parrot would depend on its owner to provide everything necessary rather than find what it needs. If the owner screws up, the bird pays. These are tropical birds with evolutionary adaptations for living in the tropics. Inside our homes it is fairly close to that so temperature is not an issue for keeping them indoors. So why risk their discomfort by locking them up outside where they are helpless if conditions are harsh?

[miajag]

I agree. These feral parrots are able to survive because, when it does get cold, they can find a place where the wind isn't blowing and/or huddle together with a bunch of other birds to keep warm. If they're in a cage outside they can't really get away from a cold breeze if one comes along. At the very least they'd need some sort of safe, reliable heater, but the best thing for the bird if you're going to get one is to keep it indoors.