URGENT: lowest indoor temp for Cockatoo?

[casey&casper]

Hello--

I am right in the middle of the coming ice and snowstorm in the Southern US. I'm hoping we don't lose electricity but it's a definite possibility.

I have a backup location for Casper and Peaches if it does happen and we don't get power back on in a couple of hours, but I realized I have no idea when I should implement the evacuation plan. I don't want to take them out into cold and wet unless I must.

What is the indoor low temperature threshold at which Casper will suffer physical harm?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JLcribber]

Birds are actually quite hardy and can tolerate cold better than heat. It's also easier to tolerate if the decrease in temperature is a slow gradual decline. If it gets more than about 15 - 20 degrees colder than what their "normal" living temperature is then I would start looking for someplace warmer or finding a way to warm it up.

It's "sudden" drastic changes in temperature whether up or down that is hard to tolerate.

 

[Greycloud]

I have lost power here before and it got down to the 50s. I covered cages and the birds were fine. If you are afraid it will happen you may want to move a head of schedule. Birds are pretty resilient though. I hope you do not lose power.

 

[casey&casper]

Thanks so much greycloud and JLcribber. JL, how do you define "sudden"?

 

[Cara]

They really can take more than we think. By 'sudden', I think John means taking them from an inside environment of 60 to an outside environment of 30. If the temperature gradually drops from 60 to 40, it wouldn't be 'sudden'.

Get some warm blankets and cover the top and 3 sides of their cage before it starts getting cold. If the temps start to drop, cover their entire cage or move them into carriers and wrap those in several blankets. Small spaces are easier to keep warm, and places with fewer windows.

We lost power last year and our generator blew. It got down to 40% inside, and the birds did OK. My GW usually doesn't like to have his cage covered, but he didn't mind that one night!

 

[JLcribber]

Example: your bird is in the house at 70 degrees. Its a beautiful day but 100 degrees outside. You take your bird outside in a cage. That's a sudden 30 degree change. A few minutes will not hurt but not any longer. You can go outside in the bitter cold with no coat for a few minutes without any harm but you can't stay out there long before your in serious trouble.

 

[casey&casper]

Perfect. Thanks so much JLcribber and Cara.

The last bad winter storm we had knocked out our electricity for 8 days. The water in the toilets froze solid. That's my baseline for preparation!

I'm a bit concerned about taking the birds to a location with heat using a wood burning stove, but I know they couldn't take the kind of temperatures in my baseline. It was a nasty 8 days around here.

Worse, I can't stay with the birds at the new location. I have to stay here with Sarah for most of the time. (sigh) Here's hoping it isn't that bad.

Edit: I have Casper and Peaches, 4 bettas and 37 orchids (more than $800 worth of plants) to move. This could be really interesting.

 

[Yoshi]

If power goes out - the insulation in your house will prevent the change in temps from being sudden and make them more gradual automatically. While I don't have toos, we have had power/heating problems occur in the past and we've gotten down to about 50 in the house and the birds handled it fine. I would be scared about any lower than that, though.

Heated water bottles in a covered carrier or small travel cage will help too.

 

[JLcribber]

If you have the resources, get yourself a gas generator. Then you can keep the place warm and even run some other electrical stuff. Something every home should have.

 

[casey&casper]

If you have the resources, get yourself a gas generator. Then you can keep the place warm and even run some other electrical stuff.

Try convincing my husband of that! I'm from Colorado and would love to have that sort of thing. He's from the South and doesn't want to spend that kind of money on something used once a decade.

Maybe he'll give in if we go through another week of frozen toilets.

 

[Theresa]

Everyone is right, unless one of your birds is a plucker!

 

[casey&casper]

Everyone is right, unless one of your birds is a plucker!

Thanks be to God, neither Casper nor Peaches is a plucker/barber. Excellent point, though.

 

[Cara]

We have a wood stove going almost all winter. As long as it's vented properly, it should be fine for the birds. Even if you got a small generator that would power one room, you could put heating pads under the cages or plug your microwave into it and use socks filled with rice to make a carrier warmer. We have a well, so no power means no water. We use the gennie even in warm weather.

 

[casey&casper]

We have a wood stove going almost all winter. As long as it's vented properly, it should be fine for the birds. Even if you got a small generator that would power one room, you could put heating pads under the cages or plug your microwave into it and use socks filled with rice to make a carrier warmer. We have a well, so no power means no water. We use the gennie even in warm weather.

I'm sure I'm just being paranoid about the wood stove.

We are on a well too and the lack of water can be a real challenge. I'm seriously considering initiating a nagging session, something I neither enjoy nor am particularly good at, to get hubs to change his attitude on the generator. I see it like insurance. He sees it like a decorative item.

Being from the mountain west I kept a survival kit in my trunk for five years after I moved to the SE. He eventually took it out, insisting that I have no chance whatsoever of being caught in a surprise blizzard in the SE US. I felt totally naked for about a year after that. I guess it's just a difference in experiences.

I might hit him with the freezer. If I lose the contents of my freezer it's almost a thousand dollar loss, given that it's full of beef and other meats purchased on sale or in bulk. Several standing rib roasts, a few whole beef tenderloins, etc. That might make him sit up and take notice. If I have to cook it all on the grill and stuff him 'till he's sick, that might work too.

The latest weather update says 0.5-0.75 inches of ice to start out. This could get very ugly very fast.

 

[casey&casper]

Still have power! The porches and steps are slick as snot on a doorknob but no snow yet, just ice. Put Casper and Peaches to bed as usual, hopefully I don't have to disturb them tonight.

 

[casey&casper]

WE HAVE SNOW! I know it can cause one heck of a mess but it reminds me of my childhood in CO. Sarah is looking forward to playing in it soon. So far, so good!

 

[MsCreature]

I have a freezer with lots and lots of stuff in it too, and when the power goes out we just never open it. lol it's a top-loading freezer though, so that definitely helps.

I can't imagine living somewhere without snow. Even with losing power and not having water and everything!

 

[casey&casper]

I have a freezer with lots and lots of stuff in it too, and when the power goes out we just never open it. lol it's a top-loading freezer though, so that definitely helps.

I can't imagine living somewhere without snow. Even with losing power and not having water and everything!

I have a 15 year old boy and his favorite pastime is staring into the 'fridge and freezer waiting for something edible to crawl up his arm and into his mouth. I'd have to put a padlock on the doors to keep him out.

I was supposed to be in the no-snow zone for 6 months. 21 years later. . .. It's hilarious watching people freak out over snowflakes, though. I mean they go apocalyptic. Grocery store shelves are stripped and everyone forgets how to drive.

 

[Clueless]

I have a 15 year old boy and his favorite pastime is staring into the 'fridge and freezer waiting for something edible to crawl up his arm and into his mouth. I'd have to put a padlock on the doors to keep him out.

Ahhhhhh a son. That explains how you came to this saying about the doorknob . . . .

Still have power! The porches and steps are slick as snot on a doorknob but no snow yet, just ice.

 

[Clueless]

So bread, milk, eggs . . . . truly aren't the essentials of life during snowfalls?????