Rose Breasted Cockatoo Temperature?

[jsvand5]

I live in Central FL and am interested in getting a pair of Rose Breasted Cockatoo's. I have a large outdoor enclosure that is currently being used for Mandarin ducks. It's about 30' x 20' and with a little modification could be a great enclosure for Rose Breasted's. My question is how cold can they handle? In my area it is very hot in the summer, but in the winter the night time lows can get below freezing on occasion. The coldest I have ever had was down to about 22 degrees but that is very rare. Is this even a possibility or is that just way too cold? Thanks for any help.

 

[Abzeez]

When I lived in FL my parrots came in every night, and came in whenever I left the house. People down there will steal your parrots. Not to mention, do you enjoy being outside with no coat in below freezing weather?

 

[jsvand5]

When I lived in FL my parrots came in every night, and came in whenever I left the house. People down there will steal your parrots. Not to mention, do you enjoy being outside with no coat in below freezing weather?

I don't really see how the way the cold makes a human feel relates to how a bird feels in the cold but thanks for the response. I believe Rose breasted's experience quite cold temperatures in their natural range I have just not been able to find an exact temperature that they can handle. I have seen references where Rose breasteds have been found nesting when there was snow on the ground.

 

[mtdoramike]

Yep, folks will steal them. I had several Cockatiels & an Amazon many many years ago. I went on vacation and allowed someone to watch them for me while I was gone. They left them on the porch over night when they went some place. That night the temp here in central Florida dropped to 18 degrees for a short period of time and killed ALL OF MY BIRDS. It would be an expensive lesson to learn in my opinion. I think I would play it safe and bring them in at night. But to me, the best place to check would be Cockatoo breeders.

 

[Abzeez]

Also the coons. We went to a big time breeder in FL, and we asked him about having parrots out at night. He told us a story about a friend of his who had 2 large parrots in a large outdoor cage. A bunch of coons came along and tried to kill the parrots. By the time he got out there both parrots were laying on the bottom of the cage, with their legs tore off. Also snakes, and such. FL is a pretty dangerous place to be housing parrots outdoors. In my opinion.

 

[jsvand5]

My enclosure is definitely coon proof, but I guess a snake could get in. I would think the rose breasted's would be too large for rat snakes to mess with though. I have raised a bunch of mandarin ducks in the enclosure with no issues from predators. It's also pretty secure from the two legged predators. It is behind an 8ft privacy fence and then inside a locked chainlink fence. I honestly don't think anyone in my neighborhood even knows that I currently have the mandarin ducks back there.

 

[merlinsmom13]

Couldn't they hurt themselfs even if the predator couldnt get in? (on sides of cage)

 

[stephend]

If they don't migrate some wild birds seem to experience more severe temperature flucuations. Captive bred birds may lack the adaptability to survive though as I would not be surprised if they have undergone lessenings to their systems similar to ours; we can no longer safely eat the food served 100 years ago, and I would bet that cavemen were able to survive greater climate changes with less change in clothing than we are able to.

 

[Abzeez]

There are more then just rat snakes in FL. We had a black snack that lived in our barn. That thing could take out too if it was hungry enough. And no one probably cared about a bunch of ducks. A too is much cooler. Best of luck.

 

[jsvand5]

So does anyone have an idea about the low temps they can handle?

 

[Abzeez]

Not low 20's or below freezing. You are talking about taking tame parrots and sticking them outdoors, which the are not used to. FL gets to cold at night for parrots to be outdoors.

 

[bmtaylor]

Hi,
I was told about 45, but I think that is to cold. I would not go below 55 just to be on the safe side. Good luck.

 

[Catherine]

The temperature they can handle depends on how & where they were raised so no one is going to be able to give you a specific number. If the birds were raised indoors then you can't leave them outdoors in cold climate (or even outdoor without shade in very hot climate). The safest thing to do is to have their beautiful outdoor play area which they will love and then keep a little "sleep cage" indoors for the winter nights.

Do be careful of snakes. The parrots are much smaller than ducks and the bad thing about snakes is that they will kill the parrot and only learn afterwards that it is too big to actually swallow. ( I used to own a lot of snakes)

The breeder you buy the birds from will be able to tell you how they (and their parents) were raised. How the parents of the parrot live will also influence their ability to handle the temperates you are asking about.

If someone does try and give you a specific degree of temperature they can handle I wouldn't trust it because each bird and each suburb is so different.

 

[henpecked]

No i can't help with what temp they can handle, BUT where are they coming from? Many exotic birds will acclimate to colder temps over time, where you get your birds from could make a difference. You could also provide temp.shelter in cooler weather : temp plywood to block the draft and maybe heating, the good thing about fla. is that when it gets cold it doesn't stay that way long.