San Diego Parrot keeping

[liz]

My sister has English Bull Dogs which cannot tolerate high or low temperatures. She has a building with temperature control for them to get in when they are not happy with the temperature outside.

[felix11]

I too, am wondering why you would choose a parrot to be an aviary bird. I would love to know if your plan is to have it as a companion bird but to simply house it in an aviary? I have a friend who owns two Eclectus who live like that. Parrots are obviously extremely intelligent and social. I think it is difficult for an aviary bird to receive an adequate amount of mental stimulation, although they are probably way ahead of inside birds in terms of physical stimulation (as long as it's a biiig aviary!). If you are not planing on socializing with these birds and taking them out, why not consider a less social and intelligent species of bird altogether? Turacos are incredibly beautiful birds that are similar to parrots in some ways, but don't particularly want human contact and are very happy in just pairs. Finches have a stunning array colours and can be very entertaining. Just some thoughts.

[patdbunny]

hmm . . . rosellas are parrots, kakarikis are parrots, scarlet chested keets are parrots. Those all tend to enjoy being in a large aviary more so than a cage in the house.

San Diego's weather's mild enough to have them out in an aviary year round. Need to be protected from wind, rain and be able to access shade. I think my birds in the large aviary are pretty happy about it.

[zazanomore]

I too, am wondering why you would choose a parrot to be an aviary bird. I would love to know if your plan is to have it as a companion bird but to simply house it in an aviary? I have a friend who owns two Eclectus who live like that. Parrots are obviously extremely intelligent and social. I think it is difficult for an aviary bird to receive an adequate amount of mental stimulation, although they are probably way ahead of inside birds in terms of physical stimulation (as long as it's a biiig aviary!). If you are not planing on socializing with these birds and taking them out, why not consider a less social and intelligent species of bird altogether? Turacos are incredibly beautiful birds that are similar to parrots in some ways, but don't particularly want human contact and are very happy in just pairs. Finches have a stunning array colours and can be very entertaining. Just some thoughts.

I really think it is sad how people think birds like finches, canaries, and other domesticated birds don't deserve the same amount of mental stimulation as parrots.

[patdbunny]

I have more finches and canaries dropping dead outside than parrots here in San Diego.

[felix11]

It's not that other birds don't deserve mental stimulation. It's that the amount of mental stimulation required for an animal to be content is directly proportional to its intelligence. Birds are not all mentally equal, just like mammals are not.

A mouse can be generally content with fresh food, nesting material, a wheel, a companion and space to run around. A Border Collie would NOT be content with proportionally the same stuff, because it needs more complex mental stimulation. I think it is safe to say that Border Collies get more easily bored than mice. This is the difference between animals that use primarily learned (environmental) knowledge, and animals that primarily run off instinct.

[Dave]

Did anyone ever answer Pip's question?
Living in SD all my life and in several locations, I know it can range from the single digits, to 115 or more, so my question to Pip is: Where are you in SD? That may help narrow it down a little. I think something that could handle the coast, might not make it in the desert, and vice versa.
I think Roz has outdoor birds, as does a friend of mine in the desert. I am gonna bet you will need some sort of shelter, cooling in the desert, heating in the mountains. MIne stay inside.
Another friend raises cockateils outdoors in El Cajon, where the wild parrots live. But even there she looses some on occasion to both heat and cold.
You might call EMR http://www.emrexoticbirdbreeder.com/ I think she keeps them outside, but she is in Encinitas, pretty close to the water.
or maybe Anza Exotics http://anzaexotics.com/ Or Roz http://www.roz.oops

[patdbunny]

I thought I answered the question. Just about any parrot goes in San Diego county. They can withstand night time dips into freezing temps, and highs of 100+. For my outside birds I have misters for the summer. I don't do anything special for the winter other than feed more seed for the fat content. I don't generally lose anything in the extremes of weather except for really old birds.

Must be protected from wind, rain and have access to shade.

Of course there's always an exception. . . I don't have much success with kakarikis whether I keep them indoors or out. I'm guessing it's due to the inbred US population.

Dave - one of your links comes up with a modeling website. What's that all about?

[Dave]

Ha ha ha. I just guess at the roz site!!
SO no go Sunday? Thats a bummer. Now I hear snow an Monday too. Yuck! Please keep us posted if you come back to wynola.
Dave