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Post by Angela on May 25, 2016 8:03:44 GMT -5
Hi everyone, I am going away for 1 night and leaving Skye and Loki at home. Joel will come over from his brother's house to cover them and uncover, change water, fresh food etc, but nobody will be home. It's only for 1 night. It will go as low as 5 degrees celsius (which I think is about 41 fahrenheit according to Dr Google). That's pretty cold.... Should I leave the heater on over night for them?? It's a reverse cycle ducted electric heater so would be safe... How cold can they handle?? Thanks!  |
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Post by easttex on May 25, 2016 10:19:31 GMT -5
Feral Quakers are surviving pretty harsh conditions in some areas of the U.S. , and feathers are remarkably insulating. Still, if it were me, I'd leave the heat on. My general rule of thumb is that if it would be uncomfortable to me, I assume it would be for them as well. They could certainly adapt to that temp if you did it gradually, but under the circumstances, they might find it stressful right now. They'll already be missing you. |
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Post by julianna on May 25, 2016 14:39:03 GMT -5
I believe that what easttex has said is the best advice for warmth. Babies need a little warmer... at leas 78F of 26C but an adult can tolerate much cooler than that.
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Post by Angela on May 25, 2016 17:21:58 GMT -5
Thanks ladies. Yes I figured I'd leave the heating on. I guess I was just worried that if the power went off, which of course would turn the heater off (and even when the power comes back on you still need to physically turn the heater back on) that they would freeze  But as I said my boys are literally only half a km away so they'll come over and check on them and cover them up at night so I'm sure they'll be fine. Just a worry wart! |
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Post by aaron on May 25, 2016 17:38:37 GMT -5
Yeah, while they are known to survive in cold places, I think a sudden temperature change for a bird that is used to a certain climate would be a huge shock, and while they would probably survive it, it could be a real struggle for their immune system. Better to leave the heater on. When our power has gone out and our apartment has dropped as low as 60F, Cupcake has looked pretty cold. I imagine she would really struggle if it dropped to 41F. I had been thinking that I remembered reading that parrots that are acclimated for cold temperatures grow thicker coats of down feathers to help them stay warm, so a bird that has not been acclimated will not be as prepared for the cold as one that has had time to adjust. This article seems to corroborate that, and it has a great photo of some Quakers in the snow  -- www.birdtricks.com/blog/parrots-and-cold-weather/ |
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Post by Angela on May 25, 2016 20:39:32 GMT -5
As usual Aaron you are a wealth of information!!! I guess it's like any animal. I had an Alaskan Malamute (she passed away a few years ago now at the ripe old age of 13) and our summers could bring on 40C (104F) which is very hot!!! But Alaskan Malamute's have a double coat and the outer coat acts like insulation to help keep her cool in summer and warm in winter. People often thought I was being cruel having a long haired dog in Mildura, but didn't understand that she acclimatized herself to the weather, so it stands to reason all animals would do the same given the correct time As I said it is only 1 night and the boys are only half a km down the road, so I'm sure if they lost power then our house would too so they'd go and check on them for me It's just such a quick trip I thought it would be too hard on them up and back in 1 day. Just thought it would be easier if they stayed in their own environment for the one night.... Thanks heaps again! |
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Post by biteybird on May 26, 2016 5:16:29 GMT -5
Hi Angela, I'm a bit late to this thread...
In our house we don't ever have the heating on once we go to bed. At the moment it's getting down to 7 degrees Celsius. Bonnie seems to do fine with this, but she does have her happy hut to sleep in.
My feeling is that your two would be fine, but if you normally have the heater on overnight I would just go with what they are used to.
Edit: I mean it's 7 degrees Celsius outside, but I guess inside it would probably be a bit warmer.
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Post by wsteinhoff on May 26, 2016 6:19:23 GMT -5
I'd leave the heat on just to be safe, especially since they are younger. We did have our power go out two winters ago from an ice storm one night. Luckily it wasn't all night and we have very thick brick walls that hold heat but it was long enough for the temperature inside to have dropped to around 20 or 30 degrees (Fahrenheit). Bishop was fine.
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Post by Caseysmom on May 26, 2016 8:36:13 GMT -5
We keep our house at 20C in the winter, and about 23 in the summer, not much of a variance, but if the power did go out, they would prob be fine for one night.
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Post by Angela on May 26, 2016 9:07:31 GMT -5
Actually we have a wood heater that we mainly use. But of course there's not going to be anyone here to stoke the fire lol so it'll just go out!! We have the ducted heater/cooler mainly because we love it in summer. The heating side of it's pretty crappy in winter which is why we have 2 wood heaters.... Just can't go past the constant heat of a wood fire The main wood heater is down the other end of the house to them, so it's definitely cooler where they are (hasn't been cold enough yet to light the 2nd fire). The main wood heater does spread some heat down their end of the house so I guess they'd be used to some heat so yes I'll definitely put the heater on for them Thanks everyone for your advice! |
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Post by merpy on Mar 6, 2019 0:14:39 GMT -5
The important thing with birds is to keep the temp constant
I lost a Budgie because I didn’t keep it constant
He got sick every winter.
Now with my Quaker I have the oil heater on at nite because I can’t sleep with the furnace going on or off all nite
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But as I said my boys are literally only half a km away so they'll come over and check on them and cover them up at night so I'm sure they'll be fine. Just a worry wart! 
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