Parakeets and cold weather

Question
Chris,
I read your email to Kathryn (the First Grade teacher in Philly) regarding keets and cold weather.    You said that keets can tolerate 55-60 deg if they are acclimated, but it's drafts that will make them sick.  Can you give me more details?  In the winter, I heat the house primarily by a wood stove.  Normally, it can be comfortably warm, but in the evenings, the house cools.  I usually set the thermosat to between 60-65 so my daughter don't get too cold. Their room is upstairs, so there are no drafts that I'm aware of, but what qualifies as a draft for a 1 lb. bird?  Just looking for more detail about whether I could keep a keet either downstairs nearer to the stove where the temps may range from 65-78 but where doors get opened, or my daughters room upstairs where the range may be 65-72, with less chance of drafts.  Is it okay to move the cage every day? Can I buy cage warmers?  Just looking to keep a little girl excited about animals.

Answer
Hi, Jeff.  Thanks for posting your questions!  

Birds can tolerate cooler temps better than hot temps, as long as they are gradually acclimated to the cooler temps.  Warm/hot drafts on a bird are OK, i.e., it's summer time, you have a window open, and the bird receives warm/hot breeze via the window...this is OK.  Parrots can't tolerate COLD drafts or they can get sick and die, especially in the fall when the seasons are changing (if you live in an area that has seasons)...they become susceptible to respiratory problems.  

60 deg F is fine for a bird, even a keet that weighs a couple of ounces.  Based on your post, your keet should do just fine either upstairs or downstairs in the temps you provided.  However, cold draftiness from opening doors in the winter (or fall if bird isn't used to the cooler temps yet) could be a problem if the keet is housed where any cold draftiness could reach s/he.  You could cover part of the cage with a towel or something to help keep drafts from the door from reaching s/he OR move the bird upstairs.  Yes, it would be OK to move the cage around every day or have a cage downstairs and one upstairs.  You could also have a small cage for the bird to sleep in at night, then move s/he to a larger cage downstairs during the day.  

Whatever you decide to do, just don't let cold drafts get to your keet.  A draft would be any airflow that could reach your bird.  Since warm air rises, you might want to think about hanging the bird's cage from the ceiling during cold months in order to keep the bird away from any ground-level draftiness.  A hook in the ceiling with some chains at each corner of the cage (S hooks work well to connect cage to chains) to elevate the cage off the floor works well (also makes cleaning under the cage easy).

I've never seen cage warmers for parrot cages (although pigeon supply houses carry floor warmers for pigeon lofts).  A heating pad under the cage could work to keep your bird warm (or your bird could go to bottom of cage for warmth if s/he gets cold), but this would require electricity.  You can buy light bulbs that produce heat...this might be an option.  I did recently see perches that plug in and can keep a parrot's feet warm.  Go to www.drsfostersmith.com to see these.  This might be another option.

Come back if I haven't answered your questions sufficiently or if you have more questions.

Chrys