Looking for opinions on heating options

[Eralus]

So a little bit of information to begin with. I live in QLD Australia, it's coming into winter, and while it doesn't snow here temperatures can potentially get to below 10 degrees Celsius at night and early mornings.

I have two birds, an Indian Ringneck under 1-year-old and a Green Cheek Conure somewhere between 3 months and 8 months old at a guess (Rescue bird).

With temperatures dropping I'm concerned about it getting too cold for them, especially the GCC. He's so little

What are the recommendations for keeping birds warm? At the moment I'm considering getting some small Heating Lamps intended for reptiles and figuring out a way to mount them outside the cages on one side so they have a source of heat if they need it.

Any tips are appreciated, at the moment I've just got sheets covering the cages to keep out any drafts.

 

[LaManuka]

Well hello to a fellow Queenslander! Which part of our Great State do you hail from? I know exactly what you mean - those bright beautiful winter days cool off very rapidly the minute the sun goes down, don't they?

My three are housed in a sunroom that adjoins our living room, and it can get very cold out there as it is not terribly well insulated. If overnight temps are predicted to drop into single digits, we wheel the cages into the living room and close the sunroom off to keep the warmth in. I think the very lowest temperature I've ever seen in our living room in the morning after our column heater has been off overnight has been 12 or 13 degrees C, and they manage with that just fine. It's up to you of course, but provided they are protected from cold draughts, as you are already doing, you will likely find they really don't need any supplementary heat sources.

 

[Eralus]

Well hello to a fellow Queenslander! Which part of our Great State do you hail from? I know exactly what you mean - those bright beautiful winter days cool off very rapidly the minute the sun goes down, don't they?

My three are housed in a sunroom that adjoins our living room, and it can get very cold out there as it is not terribly well insulated. If overnight temps are predicted to drop into single digits, we wheel the cages into the living room and close the sunroom off to keep the warmth in. I think the very lowest temperature I've ever seen in our living room in the morning after our column heater has been off overnight has been 12 or 13 degrees C, and they manage with that just fine. It's up to you of course, but provided they are protected from cold draughts, as you are already doing, you will likely find they really don't need any supplementary heat sources.

Good to see some people from my neck of the woods on here I'm about a half-hour drive south of Brisbane.

My main concern is they are each in their own cage, so they don't have any other bodies to cuddle up with. I'm less worried about the ringneck since he's pretty hardy and has lots of feathers. The GCC was not treated very well by his previous owner and his feathers are a little sparse at the moment.

I've had ringnecks before but never something as small as a GCC, so I'm concerned about him getting sick. Am I just being overly paranoid?

 

[LaManuka]

Nope, not paranoid, just caring! Two out of three of mine are desert birds and as you know, it gets mighty cold away from the coast so they have no problem dealing with winter temperatures inside our house. My lorikeet is of a species native mostly to Victoria and South Australia so she can cope with pretty much anything even though she is tiny - think smaller than a budgie. Even so, I would never leave them in the sunroom overnight in the dead of winter because it does get very cold out there! I don't know what the average overnight winter temperature is at your place but here it would be about 20 degrees or so most nights with the heater on, and it drops down to maybe 14 or 15 on average, very occasionally lower, when we turn it off and go to bed. Perhaps it might be worth asking your vet if s/he thinks those sparse feathers on your GCC mean he might need a little extra warmth under the circumstances, a few additional degrees could make a difference to a birdie who is less than 100% healthy. I know a VERY good bird vet if you need one

 

[Eralus]

Nope, not paranoid, just caring! Two out of three of mine are desert birds and as you know, it gets mighty cold away from the coast so they have no problem dealing with winter temperatures inside our house. My lorikeet is of a species native mostly to Victoria and South Australia so she can cope with pretty much anything even though she is tiny - think smaller than a budgie. Even so, I would never leave them in the sunroom overnight in the dead of winter because it does get very cold out there! I don't know what the average overnight winter temperature is at your place but here it would be about 20 degrees or so most nights with the heater on, and it drops down to maybe 14 or 15 on average, very occasionally lower, when we turn it off and go to bed. Perhaps it might be worth asking your vet if s/he thinks those sparse feathers on your GCC mean he might need a little extra warmth under the circumstances, a few additional degrees could make a difference to a birdie who is less than 100% healthy. I know a VERY good bird vet if you need one

The lowest I've ever had it in my house has been about 8 degrees, but that isn't the norm. The average here would probably be about the same as what you've listed.

I've got an appointment with the Brisbane Bird Vet in Chermside Early next week to get him checked out and wormed so I'll add that to the list of questions to ask lol. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

 

[LaManuka]

And that, my friend, is EXACTLY the bird vet I have been going to for about 25 years or more, they are the best Keep us updated and let us know how you get on with your little ones at the vet, won't you!

 

[Eralus]

And that, my friend, is EXACTLY the bird vet I have been going to for about 25 years or more, they are the best Keep us updated and let us know how you get on with your little ones at the vet, won't you!

Agreed, they do a great job and are very knowledgeable. I'll do my best to update the thread after the visit next week. Apologies in advance if I forget

 

[SailBoat]

There is little better than local knowledge as 'heating systems' tend to be regional in nature. That all said, there are a few methods that are international in scope.

I strongly recommend that you do not use heat lamps as they by design for use with reptiles and can cause serious problems for Avians. Also, they are more expensive to operate and as electric cost continue to rise, that will be an issue.

Most birds (Parrots) can natural increase the amount of downy feathers (puffy white and/or gray under-feathers) 'with time'. The serious problems for parrots is the rapid fluctuation in temperature and as stated drafting (movement of air) is a serious problem. Moving your Parrots to an inner room in your home will lessen drafts and allow you to selectively control temperature.

Near everyone has their favorite system of single source heating units with my choice being radiant (radiator style) heater serving larger areas and panel heater server a single bird.

IMHO, take advantage of any special services provided by your utility company (electric or gas) that target reducing energy usage in your home. Depending on programs offered it can be anything from insulation, replacement of heating system (major things) all the way to small things. Point being, adding single source heating can be expensive so target those items that will save you money so that you can better afford single source heating.

Note: Take great care as many manufacturers use specific chemical treatments that can be harmful /deadly to your birds.

With hope this will get you started.

 

[Laurasea]

sweeter heater a radiant heat panel. You wild find something similar at a feed store used fir bsby chickens, nit heat lamp. Radiant heat panel