How cold can my Quaker handle?

[wolfdog01]

Hello everyone! First off, I'm happy to anounce that I haven't thought about rehoming my Quaker boy for a long while, so I think he'll stay with me permanantly! Idk why I ever thought about rehoming him or took him outside to see if he would fly away, it was pretty dumb. But now he's slowly learning to free fly, so yay!

Anyways! I live in a 27-28ft camper, no slide outs or anything, and it can get kinda chilly in the evening. I finally got a new AC so I can have some heat, but it only brings it up to about 75F when it's a little less than 60F outside. I live in central Florida so there isn't a worry about snow or fridged temps, but it can still get cold at night. Now, I did rescue him from my uncle in Georgia, he was kept outside there all year round with like a heat lamp used for chickens sitting on the cage. So I would think it would get colder up there at night, even with the cheap heat lamp. He's gotta be used to colder temps than what it gets in Florida, right?
With all that said and his background, I'd like to know how cold do ya'll think he can take before being uncomfortable? I always try to keep the camper above 70F but I know as it gets colder, I might not be able to maintain that.

 

[Lady Jane]

Basically it comes down to what temperatures the bird has been acclimated to living in. Regardless of a parrot’s natural place of origin, the only climate that matters is the one in which they live. Most companion parrots are not acclimated to cold temperatures. They have adapted to the temperatures common within our homes, generally between 65 and 72 degrees (18c-22c).

Do you have any extra heat sources for your bird like a heated perch or small, safe space heater?

 

[wolfdog01]

I've looked into the perches, cause I think he would enjoy them, I'm just scared of a malfunction and it burning his feet or causing a fire. I've also been looking into ceramic heaters but I was going to wait and see how cold it actually got before I got one of those.

 

[webchirp]

Dr. Orosz and I had this conversation. She said 65 is the minimum she would be comfortable with...

 

[Nobirby]

Our place is a little chilly at night, so I put a covered heating pad at the very bottom of their night cage. They can not get to it, and heat rises. I completely enclose their cage with a lightweight down blanket, so air can still circulate. ( I explained to them none of their distant relatives were killed in the making of the blanket. Plus it is so old, but in great shape, that many feathers have been washed or dried away.)

 

[wolfdog01]

Ooo the heating pad sounds like a good idea! Is there any way you could link me to the one you have or something similar? What do you cover it with? I'm worried the paper towels might catch fire lol.
I'm really paraniod about fires starting, so heat sources I am super cautious about.

 

[Matto]

Paper should not catch fire from such a low temperature. I believe 451 degrees F is when paper starts catching fire, hence the title of the book Farenheight 451.

 

[Matto]

No matter what you use, try to make it so that they can regulate their temperature by moving towards or away from the heat source at their discretion.

 

[Mizzely]

You could use something like this K&H Snuggle Up Bird Warmer™

My birds have always endured temps as low as 65F, including a quaker. It gets down to below zero temps here and heating up to 70F degrees is a steep energy bill!

I also lost power for a week and it got down to about 55F in the house before the birds showed visible discomfort and we moved them to a warmer location.

A ceramic heat emitter is a good idea but I think it has a greater chance of fire than any of your other options, realistically.

 

[DoubleTake]

I also use a heating pad set to medium because I have to layers of between the pad and the top of the cage, basically it makes the top of that area luke warm. Pad is only in one corner of the cage. My house gets pretty cold if it gets below 70 degrees. At least I get cold lol. My heating pads are set up with a smart plug, automation is in the below screen shot. It hasnt gotten cold enough for them to actually turn on yet.

 

[wolfdog01]

I'm thinking I might go with the K&H heating plate, was reading reviews on Amazon about the heated perch and a few people had pics of burned birdie feet, so that scares me. But the little plate sits on the side, so he can just walk away if he needs to. If 55F is the coldest they can go, then I may hold off on it until I see the camper get around that low. Right now, the coldest I've ever seen it get without the heat on is 61F. He's never really seemed too bothered by the temps but Idk...can't ask him lol

 

[DoubleTake]

I just feel bad when I come in in the morning to get them from their night cage to their day cage and their feet are literally cold.

 

[Mizzely]

I'm thinking I might go with the K&H heating plate, was reading reviews on Amazon about the heated perch and a few people had pics of burned birdie feet, so that scares me. But the little plate sits on the side, so he can just walk away if he needs to. If 55F is the coldest they can go, then I may hold off on it until I see the camper get around that low. Right now, the coldest I've ever seen it get without the heat on is 61F. He's never really seemed too bothered by the temps but Idk...can't ask him lol

Remember that 55F was for MY birds. They are used to colder temps as I am in Michigan and my house routinely gets colder anyways. If your bird is not used to cooler temps (lately, not when you acquired them) then it may be different for your bird.

I have had the perches for like 6 years without incident, for what it is worth

 

[wolfdog01]

That's true, didn't think about your temp vs mine. This'll be my first winter with him and my first winter living in the camper, so I'm trying to see how it all goes before rushing out and buying things lol.
And I do wonder how their feet would get burnt, wouldn't they feel it getting that hot and move to another perch?

 

[TikkiTembo]

Our house goes down to 60 at night, and I am considering heated perches for their toes, though they don't seem uncomfortable. Probably more for my own piece of mind

 

[melissa68]

I'm thinking I might go with the K&H heating plate, was reading reviews on Amazon about the heated perch and a few people had pics of burned birdie feet, so that scares me. But the little plate sits on the side, so he can just walk away if he needs to. If 55F is the coldest they can go, then I may hold off on it until I see the camper get around that low. Right now, the coldest I've ever seen it get without the heat on is 61F. He's never really seemed too bothered by the temps but Idk...can't ask him lol

I lived in central FL until a few weeks ago. In preparation of moving north I purchased the K&H heater and put it in the cage and plugged it in (I plug in only at night).

I was surprised to see my boy cuddled up to it every morning even when it was 78 degrees in the house.

 

[mnd]

I have already posted this in another thread:
Actually you need to be careful with the k&h heater - I bought one and it overheated and scalded my irn on his chest!! He has no feathers on his chest so there was no protection from the heat! It was too hot to touch for very long and when I measured the temperature, it was at least 70 deg Celsius (150F? I’m from Australia so we think in Celsius). When I complained, k&h refused to do anything because I bought from unauthorised dealer! I didn’t even realised that was a possibility - I just bought it from an Australian site so I didn’t have to worry about the electrical voltage differences (OZ has 240V system). I am very disappointed in this company, this is still their product and they need to take responsibility for it! Very poor customer service..... Anyway, just warning everyone.

 

[Matto]

Are you sure it wasn't a knock-off product?

 

[mnd]

It has the logo and everything and was expensive enough,