Cold weather coming with baby bird... cage heater?

We have a new green cheek and this will be our first winter with her. She's about 6 months old. In the past, we generally keep a colder house in the winter while we are away during the day at work (64ish) and bring it up to low/mid 70's when we are home. She currently has one of those felt tee-pees where she retreats as the nights are getting colder, but we're concerned that this will not be enough.

Question is, how cold is too cold for a conure as I've heard all sorts of opinions on this?

If 64 is indeed too cold at night, I'd rather add localized warmth to her cage rather then wasting it on the whole house/floor... could you recommend a bird safe heater, etc. for the cage?

Hi, just to ask are you aware of the dangers that some happy huts create to parrots.

It must be made from a non thread bare fleece to be safe.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5bPsMktYOU"]MAKE A SAFE "HAPPY HUT" FOR YOUR PARROT THAT WONT BECOME THREAD BARE AND KILL THEM - YouTube[/ame]

A good cage cover that eliminates any draughts is one good thing to have. http://www.cozzzybird.com/

You can get heated perches but best if you research that for yourself. Anything that creates heat be extra critical of for your birds safety.

https://www.thespruce.com/keeping-exotic-birds-warm-during-winter-390756

Your Winter Weather Sucks! There is just no fashionable way to say it! Huge temperature swings and mid to high Humidity, then periods of no Humidity. And, then you get those wonderful Winter Weather events call Northeasters! Also, most of your State heats with Fuel Oil!?! Expensive to burn and no one updates their burns because its so Bloody Expensive to update. Also, your electrical costs are stinking high also. Its like the Perfect Storm of the wrong place with the wrong heating tools. So, I understand your thinking, well kind of!

I'm in the Mid-West near one of the Great Lakes! So, we get semi-cold weather 'warmed' by Lake Michigan and Lake Effect Snow. The weather is semi-predictable: its going to be cloudy near all the time and its going to snow and be cold!

Rule Number One! (For Everyone) - Call your locate Utility (commonly electric) and ask them for a Free Home Energy Inspection! They commonly come ready to fix a bunch of mid to small issues and list out the mid to major stuff! NOTE: Commonly, they have grant programs for upgrades or replacements for the big stuff! Clearly, you have to qualify. That said, they also have a bunch of cost off-set programs and reduced interest rates.

Take that list and start DYI'ing anything that you can handle! Its your time and a bit of your money to off-set your heating costs, Both Electric and Fuel Oil!

Rule Number Two! Insulate!!! While the 'person' is conducting the test to determine heat loss! They create a vacuum and measure against known loads on the equipment to determine the inflow of air into your home. You walk around to every opening in your home and check for inflow of air! What they do not fix, you will want too! Drafts are the most serious issue with Parrots. A generally warm home with a cold draft that is flowing right over you Parrot will cause serious illnesses. All the stories you hear regarding Parrots dying in the Winter, the majority are those exposed to cold drafts!

Drafts (airflow either in or out) is like leave a window or door wide open all Winter long! And, why would you do that? That expansion foam 1 to 1 (no expansion or minimum expansion) is what you want. DYI'ers tend to over flow the foam and that becomes a problem! So, minimum to no expansion is what is best for a DYI'er. Note: Mark each place and tape the area around it prior to begining. EVEN if its takes several days to mark and pre-tape. Once you start foaming, keep going! when you stop, the foamer commonly plugs and that's it for that can!

Each home is different and what level of detailed work is required and the products involved will differ also. Ask Questions of the person! They commonly have a good idea of what to use for where you are in this World and what works best in your area and your type of problems.

Rule Number Three! Everything You Once Heard Regarding Temperature Set Back Is Not Always True! If it takes more than one hour to regain your normal at home temperature, Temperature Set Back May Not Be A Good Choice For You!. Bet you never heard that one before! NOTE: Temperature Set Back is based on New Technology Equipment in a New Home Built to Current Heat Loss Recommendations! If that defines your home - You Beat, Practice Temperature Set Back! If you live in a more common home, a 40+ years old (older or a bit newer), your should be looking at Steady State Temperature for normal day to day temperature control!

Why: When you Furnace is running, you are positive pressurizing your home! Any little to major hole is bleeding heated air! When the furnace is not running your home is at a steady pressure and although you are exchanging air it is not as extensive as when the furnace is running! I will save the major read regarding all the nut and bolts regarding the two approaches if someone wants to go into that level of detail later.

Point being, if you have done little over the years to upgrade your home, steady state is your choice and also your reason to upgrade your home! If you do not own the home, well it comes down to how much you are willing to spend your money fixing their dump! Upgrade to a newer rental unit before Winter sets in!

Your Parrot and Your Life Style! You need to change something! Because if you are willing to walk out of the door and leave your parrot in a place that you would not say in, that says a lot about you. Now, if you want to heat a room for your Parrot that provides a temperature on par with the temperature you have the home at when you are home, that great! So, your target is to set the Parrots room with a heat source that will maintain normal temperature, which is something like 68 to 70 degrees in that room. Do not use point of heat products like perch heaters or base of wall style attachments to the cage! They either (perch heaters) over heat or they (base or wall heaters) create drafts! Proofing: Heat Rises!

This will get several people stating that they steady state at 64 all the time and their Parrots are fine! And that is true, a bit cold for me, but that's me. The problem with your Life Style and a Parrot is the Variation that you bring to the picture! Way to much variations in temperature! Your practice creates serious drafting problems for everyone!

If this is the life style you choose, then create a Parrot room that is stead state on the temperature side and work hard to eliminate your drafting problems. You will be shocked at just how much more comfortable your home will be when you upgrade your heating equipment and air filters with the new 3" variations and start filling in all the household drafts.

We redid our cottage and it measure out at 885 flow rate. A normal home of like size is 2750. With a few minor issues fixed we came down to 815 flow rate. Going lower is possible, but then you get into 'Sick Home' problems.

Get Rid of the drafts and the cost of heating drops rapidly. Up-grade your burner and/or furnace and the pay-back is in a few years. At that point, Winter is a totally different reality!

A bit of work and you could be Enjoying Winter! Well as much as one can in Massachusetta!

Enjoy!

We've lived in this house for 15 years and have suffered through having a very cold drafty front room every winter. But now that I'm getting a bird, we're ripping open the walls and will attempt to fix the issue as best we can--we believe it's a foundation/sill leaking cold air in. So we'll be reinsulating. Maybe there's no insulation. Funny that the coming presence of one small bird illicits such massive moves forward FINALLY! I guess a kick in the pants was needed.