What is coldest temp can Amazons stay indoors temporary?

My bird likes to go into the garage as I have an old cage in there when I work.

Now the temp is high 40's to low 50's in there. Is this too cold to stay in there for a couple of hours?

What is the coldest I could leave her in there and will she let me know if it is too cold for her?

I'm not sure what the correct answer is as far as temperature, but if it were me, I wouldn't take her from the heat of the house to the cold of the garage and back and forth. I think they can handle colder temps but it should be a gradual change. Just my opinion...someone correct me if I'm wrong...

I've had all of my birds, including a Blue Front exposed to the mid 40s indoors. That would be the dead of winter in Southern California, in the garage. While the outside temp can be in the low 40s to the occasional 39 or so, insulation and the hot-water heater boost it a bit.

Acclimation is crucial to temperature extremes, but not sure what the absolute recommended min and max temps are by species.

I'm thinking mid to high 40's should be OK as long as there is no draft. What do you think?

Inside the house is a low 60's, so it is pretty cold already.

What could really happen? If the bird felt cold would she scream and let me know?

Also, keep in mind that some parrots who are raised outdoors in colder climates have been acclimated to it, and can there for stand much colder temps than our 'indoor guys' can. Acclimation is more important than ultimately what exact temp is too cold. Generally, in birds not acclimated to the cold, a range that's comfortable for you, is comfortable for them.

Avian vets will say that temp should not drop or rise more than about 10-15 degrees within a 24 hour period. That being said, sometimes we've come home in the summer to find it hot (don't have thermometer so not sure of temp), but I'd switch on the central a/c, and or open window and put box fan there to suck in cooler air, and at times I'm certain they've experienced a drop of temp that was faster than is textbook ideal, and they're fine. If the bird has a good healthy immune system I wouldn't overly worry.

BlueFrontOwner said:

I'm thinking mid to high 40's should be OK as long as there is no draft. What do you think?

Inside the house is a low 60's, so it is pretty cold already.

What could really happen? If the bird felt cold would she scream and let me know?

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Just use your common sense about HOW COLD it is, and I think you'll be fine .

She would fluff up like they do, in attempt to trap air in the feathers which gets heated up with their body temp.

Have you seen how some people here have bird hoodie jackets? Not all birds will wear one, and I don't know if you personally think it's silly or not, but I'm sure it also helps to insulate.

While I agree that a bird should be acclimated to cold weather (freezing or below F), but they are built to handle cold temperatures.....our birds have at least four layers, maybe five of insulation.....air space, down feathers, air space, secondary feathers, air space, primary feathers.....the various layers of feathers can be raised and/or lowered to increase heat retention as necessary.....this is where the caution against wind/breeze comes into play as blowing cold air can quickly usurp the built-in heat reserve a bird can generate.....

Our feathered friends have another built-in way of helping keep warm.....since there are very few blood vessels in their legs & toes, the veins/vessels in their legs are located right next to each other, so that fresh blood warms the legs & feet. In cold weather birds are able to constrict the blood vessels in their toes and legs so that they don't loose heat from walking or perching on cold/icy surfaces.....it may be hard to believe, but birds do not feel cold in their feet like we would if we walked around barefoot on icy sidewalks.....then there's the fact that a bird can sit down on its lower legs & feet to provide additional heat.....

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating keeping our birds in cold weather, but our feathered friends are really better prepared to handle cold weather than we humans are.....

We humans wear sweaters because we don't have any built-in way to create our own added insulation, but I've often wondered how much warmth bird sweaters/coats actually provide our birds or may have prevented our birds from properly regulating their own warmth, so have never gotten any for any of my birds.....

weco said:

We humans wear sweaters because we don't have any built-in way to create our own added insulation, but I've often wondered how much warmth bird sweaters/coats actually provide our birds or may have prevented our birds from properly regulating their own warmth, so have never gotten any for any of my birds.....

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C'mon Walt, admit it.... Wouldn't you love to see your whole flock dressed up in little hoodie jackets?

It doesn't get that cold where I live, but I want one for Griffin just for the fashion I admit. He'd be adorable lol, poor Griffin!

That's OK, I've worn my combat badges from the flock, but have a pretty good relationship with them, so am not interested getting on their bad sides & sacrificing more flesh for someone elses idea of "cute." Sorry, but I prefer to keep all my remaining parts intact.....

Glad someone posted this as I was thinking the same thing as it got cooler here in Florida around 40-50 in the morning. ZaZu likes it when I open the door near his cage and he climbs on the cargo net and looks and listens to all the wild birds in the morning.
I'll just wait till it warms up then open the door.
Thanks for the good post and responses.

Not claiming to be an expert, here, but from what I've read temps in the 40's and 50's would be pushing it a bit. Not because parrots are ultimately incapable of handling even lower temperatures, but rather because they need gradual acclimation (not to be confused with the more short term acclimation Julie referred to when making a shift of 10-15 degrees) and exposure to colder weather to prompt their bodies to generate heavier down during their molts for greater protection against the cold.

But though temps in the 40's or 50's are right on the borderline for non acclimated birds, the greater worry would be the rapid shift in temps as you cross from your house to the garage. So if it's around 70 F in your home, an immediate shift down to 40 or 50 in the garage might be a bit of a shock to the system, I would think. At that point, the strength of the individual parrot's immune system would likely come into play, as Julie pointed out.

Maybe I'm just overprotective, but I'd just be too nervous to take the chance.

So I did some experimentation with my bird. I brought her out to the garage when the temp was 38 degrees in the there. I see pigeons surviving in very cold temps, so I figure 38 with no wind shouldn't be too bad. It's around low 60's in the house.

What I notice is that my bird quickly fluffed up, pulled in one of her feet and put her head behind her in her feathers, basically like she was sleeping.

She didn't look stressed or anything.

Normally she plays with the toys on top of her cage. So I assume that 38 degrees is probably too cold and to stay warm she quickly fluffs up and puts her head behind her in the feathers. I kept her out there for around 30-45 minutes and she stayed like this. At one point she was watching me with her head behind her tucked in her feathers.

Like I'd mentioned earlier in this thread, it's the sudden shifts of temperature that are the most dangerous to your bird. Going from the 60's in your house to the 30's in your garage would qualify as a sudden and significant change of temperature.

Remember, parrots are prey animals. They are hard-wired to hide any feelings of discomfort. So, just because she didn't look stressed doesn't mean that she indeed wasn't. She was just doing what all prey animals do if they hope to survive: hiding it.

And yes, you're right. Pigeons do survive in very cold temperatures. But you have to remember that most pigeons spend their lives outside. They acclimate as the weather shifts. They have time to build up a thicker down beneath their plumage. To grow a thicker coating of feathers to help further insulate them from the cold. In short, they are prepared. This is markedly different from a sudden 20-30 degree plunge in temperature literally from one second to the next.

If your parrot was otherwise healthy, then she likely got through your experiment without any lasting ill effects at all. But if ever her system is somewhat compromised, such a shift in cold would potentially leave her dangerously vulnerable. Why take the chance?

These amazon parrots are quite resilient. I wouldn't do this if it was outside, but in a no wind environment and supervised for a short time should be OK.

Just imagine if the heat goes out for a few days, the birds will quickly be subject to cold temps.

However, I did once put my bird in shock about 15-20 years ago. This was when I was a kid and decided to give her a quick bath with the hose during the summer. I put the hose on a very slow pour and gave her a hose down for only a minute or two. I guess the water was too cold because when I went to take her after this she barely could stand on my hand.

I was worried, but she went back to normal when she warmed up. Doing that was a lot worse than being in an unheated garage for a short time.

There are folks who free-fly their (cold-acclimated, I would imagine) birds with snow on the ground and several case reports of amazons surviving outdoors during north american winters in abuse/neglect cases where other species in the same aviaries died. Amazons are pretty hardy parrots and have a natural tendency to be on the chunky side, so they are probably better 'insulated' too. Still, it is not advisable to expose any parrot to the cold unless absolutely unavoidable. We've had to transport Kiwi a few times in the winter before from inside to the car, and he was fine. Definitely puffed up the second he got outside though and he was obviously cold while we were hurrying him to the warm car.

Why not use a small space heater while your out in your garage since your bird likes to be out there with you? That's what my dad does with his G2, just sets up a little heater near Alfie that keeps the general vicinity warmer than the rest of the garage.

BlueFrontOwner said:

So I did some experimentation with my bird. ......

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Resilient or not, I'd NEVER use any of my pets for ANY kind of experiment .

I personally would not do this with any of my fids...

If you really want your fid to accompany you into the garage, please get a space heater and have it "pre-heated" before you take him out there.

Also, if the heat were to go out, it would actually take the house a while to get cold (making the transition gradual)- we're talking about the instant shock of going from toasty warm to freaking cold and back again "in a short time".

BlueFrontOwner said:

These amazon parrots are quite resilient. I wouldn't do this if it was outside, but in a no wind environment and supervised for a short time should be OK.

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SHOULD or WILL??? Why risk it??? Heat it up with a space heater first...after all, even if it "should" be okay, your fid will be more comfortable and why make her uncomfortable if you don't have to?

Anansi, I couldn't agree with you more!!! I am not a long term Owner for I have Had My Yellow for 8 months now, I picked her up in the middle of winter and I made sure the my car was at the same temp or just slightly warmer than the house she was in. and I also had a small travel tote for her!!! Temp change like the one BlueFrontOwner did that takes it's toll on their immune system!!!!

I understand the want to have one's Amazon with you. Having said that, I fully agree with many of the posts regarding not exposing your Amazon to rapid temperature changes - moving from a home someplace in the 60's to a garage that is someplace in the 40's. More importantly, the 'normal' garage is no place for small children, let alone an Amazon.