Conference 7.286::pet_birds

    Hi Mark,
    
    I drape the back half of the Amazon's cages now to provide a sheltered
    spot away from any drafts and a way to hold in a little of the bird's
    own body heat that is generated, although I grant you it is very
    little.  But this seems to work.  Also, put the cages on inside walls,
    not outside walls, since outside walls in many houses through cold
    into the room......  I put the cover all the way over the sides and
    just a little over the top-front of the cage at night now, since the
    temperature goes down in the house then.  During the summer, none of
    this seemed necessary..........ah, the wonders of living in New
    England!
    
    Linda

    We usually keep our house around 65 during the day and all of the
    birds seem very comfortable.  As Linda mentioned, drafts are the
    things to watch out for.  Keep them away from windows - preferably
    the ones that you can feel coldness or air from.  I have a sliding
    glass door in my bedroom and I have kept cockatiels and canaries
    suspended near it for years and with no ill effects, for the
    door is air tight with heavy thermopane glass.
    
    In the evenings we usually warm the house to about 72 - 75 and since
    we heat primarily with wood, the heat does keep all night and most
    of the day.  However the drop in temp. is usually gradual which
    is similar to the outdoors.  In the wild most of the tropical birds do 
    experience 
    fluctuations in temperature from night to day - especially the Asian
    and Australian varieties (these areas of the world can get mighty
    cold and windy at times). The down feathers really insulate the
    bird quite well.
    
    Just remember to keep your bird  free of drafts and he should be
    comfortable.
    
     
    Denise
    

    I HAVE TALKED TO MY VET ABOUT THIS SUBJECT AND SHE GAVE ME SOME
    INTERESTING INFO. SHE SAYS THAT MOST AMAZONS AND GREYS CAN TOLLERATE
    TEMPERATURES AS LOW AS 50-55 DEG. WITH NO ILL EFFECTS, AS LONG AS 
    YOU RAISE THE TEMPERATURE UP SLOWLY.. SHE ALSO SAID THAT DRAFTS ARE
    USUALLY NOT A PROBLEM UNLES THE BIRD IS IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH A COLD
    STRONG DRAFT.. WHAT YOU REALLY SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT IS THE
    HUMIDITY IN THESE HEATED HOMES IN THE WINTER. AS YOU KNOW WINTER
    AIR IS VERY DRY TO BEGIN WITH, ADD HEAT TO THIS AIR AND IT MAKES
    IT EVEN DRIER. MY VET SAYS THAT AS SOON AS THE HEAT COMES ON IN 
    LATE FALL EARLY WINTER YOU SHOULD RUN A HUMIDIFIER ALL THE TIME.
    IF YOU DON'T , A BIRDS SINUSES WILL DRY OUT AND IT WILL BE VERY
    SUPSEPTABLE TO COLDS AND VARIOUS VIRUSES. AS FOR MY AMAZON, I KEEP
    THE HEAT ON 70 DEG. DAY AND NIGHT AND I RUN A WARM MIST HUMIDIFIER 
    WHEN I'M HOME.I FOUND THAT THE COOL MIST HUMIDIFIERS PRODUCE A WHITE
    DUST THAT MAKES A MESS OF EVERYTHING AND THEY ALSO EMIT BACTERIA
    WHICH CAN DO A BIRD MORE HARM THAN GOOD. I THINK IF YOU KEEP THE
    TEMP. AT 60-65 AND YOUR BIRD HAS NO PROBLEM,BECAUSE HE'S ACCUSTOMED
    TO THAT RANGE HE'LL DO FINE.. IF YOUR NOT RUNNING A HUMIDIER NOW I 
    WOULD START. ALSO DON'T MAKE IT TOO HUMID OR MILDEW WILL FORM IN THE
    AIR AND ON SURFACES AND THAT CAN ALSO GIVE YOUR BIRD PROBLEMS..
                                        
                                            MIKE AND SAMSPSON

	1.  Notes etiquite says that UPPER CASE is shouting

	2.  It is very hard to read...

	thanks

	-dick

RE: .3 

	Just a note to clarify the difference between a cool mist 
warm mist and an ultrasonic humidifier.
	
	1. Cool mist humidifiers produce mist by mechanically spraying
cool water into a stream of air. Because the stream of mist is cool,
they are safe for children, pets - i.e. no burns. They will not produce
a great deal of white dust (as compared to ultrasonic humidifiers) and
are generally safe when it comes to growth of bacteria in the water, if
rinsed out with each filling and cleaned a couple of times a week. 

	2. Warm mist humidifiers work by vaporizing water with heat, 
killing bacteria and fungus in the process. They are now considered the 
safest (germ wise) way to humidify air. You do have to clean mineral 
deposits left behind by the evaporated water from the unit's tank. The 
direct stream of hot vapor may burn a child or pet if left unattended. 

	3. Ultrasonic humidifiers vibrate the water into minute droplets 
and force the mist out with a fan. The mist is cool, and therefore safe 
from burning vapor. Unfortunately, any minerals in the water get 
dispursed with the droplets, causing lots of white dust on everything - 
unless you get a mineral filter (ion-exchange resin) for the water. The 
other real problem is that for some reason, these units must be cleaned 
*throughly* every day, or bacterial and fungus rapidly multiply in them. 
In fact I've read that they should be cleaned with every filling! A 
serious draw back for lazy people like me......

    Peggy,
    
    As I mentioned in my previous note (#.2), I have many small birds such
    as cockatiels, budgies and finches - and all of them thrive well on
    an average of 65 degrees.  In the early fall, I had a few of them
    in my foyer and it gets cool in there in the evenings (I would say
    around 58 - 60) and they did very well and did not appear to be in
    any discomfort.  As for their little feet, I find the smaller birds
    tend to have cool feet compared to the larger birds. 
    
    I was at my club meeting last week and we had a guest speaker who
    gave a good presentation on capturing escaped birds.  She mentioned
    that as cold weather gets here the first escaped birds to go would
    be cocatiels, budgies, who would probably live until the temps dip
    below 30 degrees. Then the Cockatoos and Macaws would follow soon
    after, however Amazons and some conures are the most hardiest and
    one Blue Front Amazon was known to live throughout the winter last
    year and captured in the spring.  Apparently Amazons are very
    hardy birds and could probably survive the winters in the southern
    and western parts of Mass.  They find old barns for shelter and
    have been found cuddling next to a chimney for warmth.
    I found this very interesting.
    
    
    Regards,
    Denise