How cold is too cold?

[Flboy]

Ok, I understand, differences in reality! Central Florida, we have a 'cold' snap coming thru. 35deg!! For house temp,what is too cold for my baby? GCC. I don't bother with heat, house does not drop below 60ish, yes my room 52. Is JoJo ok?

 

[veimar]

OMG, how do you survive at 52 INSIDE the house? We keep it at 66F during colder months, and it feels really cold sometimes. I think if your gcc is used to warmer temps 52 might be too cold.

 

[bettietheripper]

I keep my house at 70-71 and Pipa's paws are always cold :/

 

[weco]

Temps for our feathered friends can be one of those controversial topics in some circles, but we humans tend to equate our bird's comfort with our own, when in fact, the birds are better equipped to handle cold than we are.....they have at least three layers of feathers that they can raise individually to create insulating layers of air between the feather layers and the reason why Pipa's feet feel cold is that birds can control blood flow to their feet and by the way blood is routed through their legs.....both veins are side by side in the leg, requiring less effort to get blood to the feet and keep them warm, then there's their propensity to squat down over their legs & feet, when perching in cold weather.....I know of outdoor aviaries and breeders, in the Netherlands, of love birds where the breeder goes out every morning to break the ice in water dishes so the birds can drink.....

As long as they are shielded from wind, into the 30sF can easily be handled by most of our companion birds, excepting those that are ill or have compromised immune systems.....our winter thermostat is set at 60 degrees-F and I have been known to even turn on the A/C, when I only had a single control electric blanket.....

 

[bettietheripper]

That makes me feel better. I read that the temp of their feet was a dead give away for health and body temp.

 

[weco]

That makes me feel better. I read that the temp of their feet was a dead give away for health and body temp.

While you'll get recommendations from both sides of the street on this forum, think of the wild birds hopping through the snow or standing out on bird feeders in freezing weather, but then our feathered friends are usually kept at temps we find comfortable, so don't consider our birds are better prepared than we are.....then there's the efficacy of that information you read, was it the author's supposition or did they also provide credible, verifiable supporting data and/or links ? ? ?

Here's my bonafides: Hybrid Birder: How Do Birds Keep Their Feet From Freezing?

How Do Birds Keep Warm in Winter? | Garden Walk Garden Talk

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/...2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--?qid=20100221060356AACnxLT

There's a plethora of similar information on the web, but couldn't find similarly supported/verifiable data for high temps.....

Since we have to rely on common sense and, in many cases, our best judgment, given our own circumstances and the best information at our disposal, in caring for our feathered friends, it really is your decision to make, not mine ! ! !

Good luck.....

 

[Anansi]

While you'll get recommendations from both sides of the street on this forum, think of the wild birds hopping through the snow or standing out on bird feeders in freezing weather, but then our feathered friends are usually kept at temps we find comfortable, so don't consider our birds are better prepared than we are.....

As is often the case, I agree with Walt's consistently well-researched findings. I do have one caveat here, however. Birds that we see out in freezing temperatures have been acclimated to such conditions. When exposed to deepening levels of cold over time, birds develop a heavier winter down that better protects them from the cold. So my 2 ekkies, for instance, who have been consistently kept at temps around 73-75 in the winter months, would be far less prepared than, say, those pigeons I see all around Manhattan strutting about in the most frigid temperatures. Given a sufficient acclimation period, however, that might well change.

Though as Walt pointed out, even now my ekkies would be far better equipped to survive such a precipitous drop in temperature than would I.

In answer to the op's question, though, I don't think a gradual drop of your home temperature to even 50 degree temps would pose a significant risk to a healthy bird... given the absence of drafts, anyway.

 

[weco]

Manhattan...I thought you were a Jerseyite.....must be the Jersey pigeons are flying across the river to get those tourist handouts/feedings/peanuts/popcorn.....

 

[Anansi]

Manhattan...I thought you were a Jerseyite.....must be the Jersey pigeons are flying across the river to get those tourist handouts/feedings/peanuts/popcorn.....

Hahahahahaha! I've been a Jerseyite for the past 9 years, though most of my life was spent in the Bronx, New York. I still commute to Manhattan, though, where I see pigeons galore. (Funny enough, I don't recall ever seeing them in my area of Jersey.)

 

[Flboy]

OMG, how do you survive at 52 INSIDE the house? We keep it at 66F during colder months, and it feels really cold sometimes. I think if your gcc is used to warmer temps 52 might be too cold.

I cheat, only my bedroom is that cold. I have an electric blanket under the mattress pad that preheats the bed. Yes I shut it off before sleep, paranoia over magnetic fields.- and fires. When I was 15, I had the experience of an electric blanket poping and smoldering. Exciting!
I try to not turn on the heat or air too much, but since I share the house with my daughter, I keep my room a little less comfortable. That way I don't make it crappy for her.
Ya, tonight, it is dropping to 38 outside, it will be a bit cool in my room, 50?, but for JoJo, temp is set at 62, so she should be good!

 

[thekarens]

Y'all are making me cold. My birds might be fine at 60, but I'd freeze. I keep my house at 70.