Kia ora (hello) from New Zealand! Long time reader, first time poster. Super excited to be here 
My partner and I adopted a Green Naped Lorikeet late last year at the beginning of our New Zealand Summer (December 2023) and we love our birdy very much. His name is Tango. He has an ear fetish, and loves to lick faces. He is also obsessed with the rice cooker.
Anyway, our predicament…
During the summer months, we have been putting his cage outside in partial sunlight in the morning before going to work, and brining his cage inside in the late afternoons when we got home. Where we live (Hamilton, New Zealand), this seemed to be OK as the temperatures remained quite mild throughout the day (~20°C).
However, we are now diving head first into winter. Now if anyone knows anything about Hamilton, they will know that it can get foggy and cold. This morning the temperature got to 1°C when we left for work (granted, will likely warm up to 13°C). At the peak of winter, we can expect average temperature of 10°C, with average lows at around 0°C.
Ideally, we would want to put him outside as there seems to be a lot more he can look at when compared to inside (happy to be schooled on whether this is appropriate or not). We make sure to rotate in a bunch of enrichment to keep him entertained, and he gets plenty of out-of-cage time when we are home (including weekends). We are not opposed to keeping him inside on cold and wet days.
We are looking for some advice from other feather parents (ideally from those who have lorikeets), on;
My partner and I adopted a Green Naped Lorikeet late last year at the beginning of our New Zealand Summer (December 2023) and we love our birdy very much. His name is Tango. He has an ear fetish, and loves to lick faces. He is also obsessed with the rice cooker.
Anyway, our predicament…
During the summer months, we have been putting his cage outside in partial sunlight in the morning before going to work, and brining his cage inside in the late afternoons when we got home. Where we live (Hamilton, New Zealand), this seemed to be OK as the temperatures remained quite mild throughout the day (~20°C).
However, we are now diving head first into winter. Now if anyone knows anything about Hamilton, they will know that it can get foggy and cold. This morning the temperature got to 1°C when we left for work (granted, will likely warm up to 13°C). At the peak of winter, we can expect average temperature of 10°C, with average lows at around 0°C.
Ideally, we would want to put him outside as there seems to be a lot more he can look at when compared to inside (happy to be schooled on whether this is appropriate or not). We make sure to rotate in a bunch of enrichment to keep him entertained, and he gets plenty of out-of-cage time when we are home (including weekends). We are not opposed to keeping him inside on cold and wet days.
We are looking for some advice from other feather parents (ideally from those who have lorikeets), on;
- Whether domesticated lorikeets can handle low temperatures (my research seems to have a bottom line of 4°C/40°F); and
- If not, whether anyone has had similar experiences where they live, and what they do (do they have a nest box set up in their cage to keep their feathered family warm, or do they just keep their bird inside on those extra cold days.
