Temperature fluctuation

[Taellie]

Recently hubs and I have been low key discussing the possibility of getting a bird... but our biggest concern is temperature fluctuation. We live in eastern Europe, and it can get pretty darn cold, and we live in a house with, idk what it's called in English, a manual furnace? If we aren't consistently feeding it, it isn't heating. So during the day things are up and down, within reason, but at night it's another whole story. I don't know exactly because we haven't checked yet, but I'm sure it goes down to 15c/60f or so. If not colder. During the day, I'd say it fluctuates between 20c/68f to 27c/80f or so. My first instinct is to just forget it because that feels like too much drastic change in too short of a time span, but maybe I'm wrong? Thoughts?

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[noodles123]

a fluctuation of 10 degrees F is far too much for a bird in a short period regularly and drafts are bad too.

 

[LaManuka]

Australian species like cockatiels and budgies are probably the best idea for you. They have evolved in arid inland Australia to cope with huge swings between daytime and nighttime temperatures (it gets mighty cold out there!) You could also consider the New Zealand kakariki which can also cope with much cooler temperatures than many of the tropical species. Provided they are not subjected to draughty conditions they should cope well in your home.

 

[bill_e]

In the New Hampshire winter my hawkhead will be basking in the living room with the pellet stove on and a room temp of 75°+ (Maybe closer to 80° at her highest perch) and then go to bed in her room where the nighttime temp is set to 60°.

My concern would be what happens if you get stuck somewhere and cant stoke up the heat. I'd feel safer with backup heat in the room where its cage is.

 

[Laurasea]

You can maybe get the radiant heat panal called the sweeter Heater. You can also attach it to a thermometer that can kick it on and off, I used to have the thermostat but my dog peed on it and shorted it out but I use the sweeter heater on cold days. Hands outside the cage , out off a lot of radiant heat, made for birds.

 

[Taellie]

I think we'd definitely look into a backup heater if something were to happen, if we do decide on a parrot. Hubs loves cockatiels, so if they're hardy enough for the temperatures he'll be thrilled!

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[noodles123]

Make sure it doesn't contain Teflon/ptfe/pfoa/pfcs--- many heater coils contain an invisible coating of this material and it is deadly when heated.

You will need to call the manufacturer to verify (and provide the full chemical names, PLUS abbreviations) of each of those listed above. There are some bird websites that already have lists of bird-safe heaters online, but you might double check just to be safe.

 

[LaManuka]

Cockatiels are terrific little birds and are very hardy. Their natural habitat here in inland Queensland can range from high 30's to mid 40's Celsius in summer and can drop to single digits or freezing quite often during the winter. My house has TERRIBLE insulation against cold (most houses here are built to let heat escape and mine is no exception!) and is often in the single digit range Celsius overnight in winter and my guys cope with it well since they are all inland natives.

The ONLY drawback with cockatiels is their propensity towards panic attacks in the night, or as I call them the "night terrors", where they'll have a nightmare or something spooks them in the night and they thrash about in their cage and scream like someone is trying to murder them. My cockatiel Fang used to do it quite frequently but he has a night light left on for him and I leave about a third of the front of his cage uncovered and happily it has virtually eliminated the issue altogether.

 

[SailBoat]

As so well stated above, drafts are an issue. The best situation would include a cage cover to create a still air environment for your new Parrot. This allows them to fluff their feathers and maintain their body temperature, whereas inconsistent drafts displaces the still air and drops the temperature within the cage and specifically around the Parrot.

Set the cage away from an outside wall / a corner connected to an outside wall, windows and doorways.

FYI: There are also stand alone radiators that are 'oil' filled and the heating element is placed within the oil bath. They commonly include a thermostat. I have seen them in Western Europe, so I know that they are available in the EU.