Moving with parrots

GinaF

New member
Aug 13, 2013
218
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Utah
Parrots
B&G macaw
I say parrots but if I know me, I'll end up with another one at some point.

However, my question is, how well do birds relocate to extremely different climates? I ask this because there's a possibility we'll be moving to Alaska at some point. My concern is mainly the climate change from Utah to Alaska. Last winter, it hit as low as -56F. That's pretty brutal for a parrot to endure, although, she'd never be outside.

I'm also seeing that birds aren't quite so common there. My daughter really wants a grey and admittedly I love the comical nature of the amazons. I'm guessing if we're going to add onto our flock, we'd better do it before we move.
 

JoeR

New member
Aug 8, 2013
36
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North Carolina, USA
Parrots
2 Cockatiels
1 Quaker
The weather inside most homes stays constant enough to not bother a parrot. I'd be more worried about them getting used to the daylight changes in Alaska. 24 hours of relative daylight, then darkness is going to bother them, as it probably will bother you too. I'd make that the first thing I planned for. Maybe have a room with a constant 12 hour light cycle to keep them in.

Joe
 
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GinaF

GinaF

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Aug 13, 2013
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Utah
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B&G macaw
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Ugh! I didn't even think about that!

Yes... Fairbanks experiences 6 months of daylight and 6 months of darkness. How effective are the UV lamps for the winter months when it's dark all the time? Maybe I should invest in one or to of those now? Any suggestions on which ones are effective and which ones to stay away from?

Summertime can be combated with room darkening shades and curtains.

Personally, I love winter, the snow and the cold. But then again, I'm an avid skier. However, -55+ might be a bit rough on me.
 

weco

New member
Nov 24, 2010
3,342
12
USA
Parrots
Nanday, suns, parrotlet, Patagonian
If you are planning to fly these birds to fairbanks, you will only have a short window of opportunity because of the weather and you will need to do some close coordination with the airline to be sure that any plane change has suitable ground facilities for maintaining birds in case of a layover or missed connection along the way.....

On your question about UV lamps, while there are a number of members on the forums that claim their birds receive a measure of benefit from the offering available, I do not agree with them, quite simply because the lights do not deliver what these bird owners believe they do.....there is no standardization for gauging/calculating the several formulas the various manufacturers use to proffer their products.....and.....the few products that do offer a modicum of usable UV output, have a very short lifespan...as much as 6 months.....that's 6 months of on time, before the phosphors that generate those UV levels deteriorate to less than acceptable levels.....there are a number of threads, since the first of the year, on the subject, look for full spectrum lighting when searching the archives..........

If you are military & going to be living in military housing, you might want to touch base with the base housing office to determine what supplemental heating sources are available/acceptable.....when I was stationed up there, I was on a Dew line radar site & we had steam heat.....I don't know what dependent housing is heated with.....

Good luck.....
 
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GinaF

GinaF

New member
Aug 13, 2013
218
0
Utah
Parrots
B&G macaw
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That sucks about the lights. Do they hold any benefit at all? Some would be better than none. The darkness will aid to depression and my biggest fear is feather picking. Depressed birds will mutilate themselves. Thank god it's not forever, but it would be for quite some time.

I wouldn't be in base housing. How does steam heat compare?
 

MonicaMc

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2012
7,960
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2
43
Parrots
Mitred Conure - Charlie 1994;
Cockatiel - Casey 2001;
Wild Caught ARN - Sylphie 2013
I haven't moved my birds from anything as drastic as Utah to Alaska!

I started with birds when I lived in California, and my first move was to Nevada... granted, it was only like a 15-20 minute drive, but there was a noticeable change. A few years later and I adopted a bird from the Bay area. He did fine! And that trip was 4+ hrs one way!

And nearly 3 months ago, I adopted a conure that had to be flown in from Ohio. At first she couldn't "hold still". She was constantly scratching herself, fluffing up, etc. Even when standing still, she was a ball of energy! I can't say if it's because she's always been like that, if it's due to the climate change or if it's because she was nervous. Now? Well, she still moves a lot but doesn't seem nearly as fidgety! Oh, and she's been molting, too! (which started a couple weeks or so after she got here! And is still molting!)
 

weco

New member
Nov 24, 2010
3,342
12
USA
Parrots
Nanday, suns, parrotlet, Patagonian
Since I don't use them, I don't keep up on which brands do what, so to find the best of the few fluorescent tubes (we're talking 4' long tubes) that do produce the short-lived acceptable UV properties, you're going to have to do your own research.....you might want to start with the referenced information/data at the bottom on this link: Full-spectrum light - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Good luck.....



I will add that since you would be dealing with 4' tubes & their associated fixtures, you would need to be careful to only use fixtures with electronic ballasts & not mechanical ballasts (outdated but some still available).....if you understand 60 cycle electricity, then consider the mechanical ballast as a switch that turns on & off 60 times per second.....humans cannot see this cycling, however some birds are affected by it.....electronic ballasts essentially smooth out this cycling and cause little to no problem for animals that can discern the cycling.....also, electronic ballasts are cheaper to operate.....
 
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