Does my Cockatoo Need extra heat

[sweetpeepschciks]

I am a new Owner, I have a Pair of Umbrella Cockatoo's. Angel the male is 7 years old & Honey the girl is 5. They came from a home where they were raised from babys. Honey was rescued and syringe fed by her previous owner because she had a parasitic infection as a chick I know thats prob not what you call ababy Parrot. I am used to chickens. So she was very attached to her former owner. They had a big change in life and were unable to keep them. and we had met before because i raise rare breed chickens. They seem to be adjusting very well are eatting well and come out of the cage and like to be handled. Honey was stressed some when I came into her life he previous owner had to go back to work fulltime and she was not getting as much daily interaction. she had begun to pick her feathers. mostly in her back and belly. They are beginning to grow back in and she is getting alot more attention everyday. I have seen many people using heat lights or radient heat for their birds. Should I be concerned about her getting cold? Should I provide supplemental heat? I have them in an area that is about 73-75. I cover them at night. She spends most of her time with me during the day. Angel likes to spend some time with me but also to just explore and climb around on his cage. I have heat lights as well i do have a radient heater .

 

[Jewelz]

My bird is much smaller than yours & I live in a colder climate so extra heat especially at night is somewhat necessary..... Felix loves his heated sleepy cage (I use a heat pad underneath) I think it is a nice courtesy to offer them at night & I think helps them get a better sleep b/c their bodies aren't working as hard to stay warm. I have no idea what it is like in Texas at night but a lil extra heat probably wouldn't hurt. You don't want them to over heat tho so hopefully someone with larger birds & uses extra heat will weigh in on the technique they use. I have read that some people use heated perches so that may be worth looking in to....

 

[Sungazer]

The Galahs and Cockatoos that live in the wild in Australia are and can be exposed to extremes of heat and cold even over a 24 hour period. I know it gets down to-5 C at my place overnight in the winter and may only rise to 10 then in the summer is may be 40.

In other areas in the more dessert regions it often gets to 40 during the day and near freezing at night.

I know my Galah much prefers to come inside when its nots so nice outside and even stand by the fire to warm up occasionally so the can get soft and like a bit of comfort to.

 

[Mike17]

The Galahs and Cockatoos that live in the wild in Australia are and can be exposed to extremes of heat and cold even over a 24 hour period. I know it gets down to-5 C at my place overnight in the winter and may only rise to 10 then in the summer is may be 40.

In other areas in the more dessert regions it often gets to 40 during the day and near freezing at night.

I know my Galah much prefers to come inside when its nots so nice outside and even stand by the fire to warm up occasionally so the can get soft and like a bit of comfort to.

It's something of a fallacy/cliché that Australian deserts can be 40C during the day and freezing at night. I've lived and worked in or near desert regions for much of my career (I'm in weather) and if it's 40C during the day, it may not drop below 20C overnight, if the wind stays up, may not drop below 30C. Oz deserts can be VERY cold during winter, but the max may not get over 20C. It can feel colder too, because of the dry air. The only deserts which may be hot during the day and cold at night would be high altitude ones like the Gobi.

You're right to say that Oz birds are adapted to extremes of heat and cold though (they'd have to be, if they lived near Melbourne ) and it certainly wouldn't hurt to give them a mild heat source (I like the idea, if not the cost, of heated perches). My last posting was western NSW where -5 or even -8C wasn't uncommon in winter, and the birds on verandah coped with it fine although I did feel sorry for them. A friend in that town had 300+ birds and no heating. My major concern with verandah was moisture- the single-skin roof gathered condensation like crazy.