parakeets living in an aviary

Question
I am thinking about getting a parakeet and putting it in an aviary to live in all year. I
live in North Mississippi where the temp. can get down to 10 to 15 deg. (it
mostly stays in the upper 20s or 30s) and in the summer it can reach temps. over
100 deg. If you could answer this for it would help me a lot. and if this isn't
the right bird for this area then would you please recommend a different bird
that could live in this area.


Answer
Hi jack!

I've never really owned any other bird bird besides budgies, so I can't help you there, but it is possible if you take extra care to keep budgies outdoors in that type of weather, but you would need a few things. You would need a heating lamp, usually with an infra red bulb of high wattage. This is to keep your parakeet warm. And in the summer you would need a pan of water for your budgies to bathe in and a heavily shaded area. Parakeets are very hardy, especially since they are native to Australia where it gets incredibly warm in the day and extremely cold at night. I would also suggest getting a mister if possible to keep them cooler on the hottest of days, or at least until they acclimate to the weather. And just a suggestion, two budgies in an outdoor aviary are better than one, as they can help keep each other warm in the winter and preen each others feathers. In conclusion, you could keep budgies in your area as long as you at least get a heater in the winter and a shaded area for summer.

Hope this helps!
Erika