!- Yearly Warning About Summer Temperatures and Your Birds -!

It is that time of year again, temperatures get high, and homes get stuffy and hot. But how hot is too hot for our birdies? first off, our most important tool for summer heat, those inexpensive little thermometer / hygrometers that you can hang or stick right to the sides of a cage. Our exotic animals originally come from places like Australia (budgies) and South America (conures) where temperatures regularly are quite high. While our birdies normally like the temperature in the 21c to 26c range, they do quite well up to 32c, and can even take up to 34c for a while without having to worry too much. The greatest danger comes with cages that are placed in areas with large swings in temperature, or in places where temperatures can climb to dangerous levels such as in front of windows or upstairs in a poorly ventilated room. Of course we all know that parked cars are a no-no. A cage placed in front of a window can expose a bird to direct sunlight, and without a shady place to hide can cause overheating very quickly.

Danger sings to look out for are birds that appear to be panting, and spreading their wings to release heat. Birds cannot sweat, but release heat through panting, through their feet and legs, and from the sparsely feathered area under their wings. A bird can go into distress after as little as 15 minutes of high heat. Every year, usually in the first heat wave of the summer, I get calls about birds that appear to be in distress due to the heat. If you suspect that your birdie is suffering from heat exposure, a light misting with water will help, as well as putting the bird in a cool, dark and quiet place to recover.

There are several things we can do to help our feathered friends stay comfortable even on the hottest days. Fans moving warm air around are a great help, as well as air conditioners which can be a great relief to us as well. I have several 10,000 to 15,000 BTU air conditioners running here on the hottest days, and have spent more money than I would ever admit to on ceiling fans, wall mount fans, floor fans, desk fans, tower fans, industrial grade blowers mounted in windows and cannabis growers' air pushers and purifiers. I even tried out one of those fancy dyson tower fans, but had problems with my birdies flying through it to get that video-game style speed boost. Fun for them, but nerve wracking for me to have little feathered missiles zooming past.

One problem with fans and air conditioners is dry air. A fan blowing directly into a cage will dry a bird out through their feet quickly, and an air conditioner is also a dehumidifier. Birds like the humidity to be around 45%-50%, at least in my experience. Too high, over 60%, encourages mold and mildew, and gives that "muggy" feeling. But too low, below say 20%, can give your birds real problems and make them uncomfortable. Easiest way to remedy this is with a cool mist humidifier, done through ultrasonics. Avoid the evaporative humidifiers, as the filter they use are great breeding grounds for bacteria that gets blown out into the room, and require frequent cleaning and replacing. A cheaper solution is to put out a large container of water, with lots of surface area, to allow the water to evaporate naturally. Misting your birds frequently, as long as it does not distress them, is another good option in hot weather.