Warm Room then Cold Room: Bad for Parrots?

[Superbird]

The living room where my birds stay get up to 88F in the summer. It's breezy and shaded by lots of trees so it never gets too hot. My bedroom however gets up to 100F easily because of window placement and my neighbor's white wall that reflects sunlight all day. My computer which is also in the bedroom makes ambient temperature worse.

For this reason, I want to install AC in the bedroom window only. My birds like to follow me in the bedroom on weekends, then back to the living room when they feel like it. Will frequent exposure in the cold bedroom then warm living room be bad for their general health?

PS. Can't afford AC in living room right now. Even if I did, I don't want to cut them off from fresh air and the green scenery. I keep that window open all the time even when I go to work.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

Birds can adjust to colder temperatures if the change is gradual. I've heard of some people who house their birds in rooms that are in their 60s (the temps, not the age of rooms) haha

Given that you want to cool the bedroom down from 100 degrees, its a good idea. But since your LR is around 80, Maybe try bringing the bedroom down to 70-75. If you were talking about going from say 80-90 down to 65, I'd be more cautious.

I run an AC in the living room and bedroom, I don't run it when Skittles is wet, nor do I allow him direct access to the flow of the ac and he's fine.

I think I'd be more worried about heatstroke in those temps than catching a cold or something.

 

[plumsmum2005]

I don't think that draughts are any good for them which is possible from an open window, fan, or AC.

Re white wall reflecting sunlight/heat, have you thought about perhaps either putting some sun loving plants/bushes, small fruit tree (lemon for example) or an independent trellis to cut it down a bit?

 

[Superbird]

Thanks for the responses!

Skitty: That's a brilliant suggestion. I never thought of that. Do you think with the bedroom at 75, and the living room at 85-88, the disparity in temp won't be an issue?

Plum: I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment building do planting trees/shrubs is not possible. I intend to keep the birds away from direct AC vent. They do well by the open living room window, they enjoy the breeze. I keep it closed in the winter months.

Hope to hear more input! Thanks so far!

 

[RavensGryf]

From personal experience over many years, I can tell you that a healthy bird with a good immune system will be fine. I have central ac in my house, and in the summer it gets VERY hot, and we do cool the house off significantly.

 

[Skittys_Daddy]

@Ravens THAT is totally true. It's just like with humans. The stronger our immune system, the more protected we are from illness. A poorly fed bird will get sicker much easier.

@Superbird I actually think you'd be better off with temps that range from 70-90. Parrots are tropical birds so they do okay in those temps. In all honesty, any temperature change/adjustment from 75-90 is not going to be an issue if your bird is healthy. I'd be more concerned if you went above 100 or below 70.

 

[MonicaMc]

From personal experience over many years, I can tell you that a healthy bird with a good immune system will be fine. I have central ac in my house, and in the summer it gets VERY hot, and we do cool the house off significantly.

Ditto.


My birds get temps into the 90's during the summer months and down into the 50's, at night, during the winter.

Have a heater that maintains temps at certain times of the day, but is generally off at night and during the middle of the day during the weekdays. It's on more often during the weekends...

Don't have an AC unit, but house is cooled by a swamp cooler. In other words, it's manually controlled, not automatic. Due to having cats and a dog, the bird's room is kept closed, so they don't really get much in the way of cool air from the swamp cooler.


In the wild, birds have to adjust to fluctuating temperatures all the time. A breeze could easily be hotter or cooler than the surrounding air, and night temps being different than day temps.





I wonder if the worry about drafts being dangerous came from canaries in a coal mine? The canaries usually didn't die of drafts, but due to gas which could have been moved through a draft in the mines?

 

[Superbird]

Thank you so much for the responses! I was hoping to hear that it would be okay. I suffered many hot summers in the bedroom because I was afraid of how it would affect the birds.

No more of that!!!!