hot hot hot

[gemini84]

ok need suggestions.

its extremely hot atm where i live..... in eccess of 110 f.

what do u guys suggeat i do to keep my fids from over heating?

atm i have them all in my room in front of a portable a/c that doesnt do much. im spraying them with a fine mist constantly, given them showers etc etc.

i have supplied them with cold water but dont seem to be drinking so i just keep giving them cold juicy fruits.

they still panting with wings elevated......help

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Oh no

During a heat wave my room was in the upper 90's and lower 100's during the summer, when it's hot like that I like to bring Rosie downstairs but often the ceiling fan is on down there and my brother gets mad if I turn it off to bring Rosie down(it's a 5-10 degree difference on hot days). So instead I bring her back upstairs, put her in her cage, and turn my ceiling fan on high for a few minutes then down to medium. Air circulation is a huge help on hot days, just make sure if it's a ceiling fan your fids are locked securely in there cage.

Try freezing water bottles then hanging them in your birds cages. A lot of birds(including mine) loooove licking condensation off of cool cups. also make sure to change the water often, when it's really hot bacteria can start growing in as little as 15 minutes.

This is very wasteful, but you can also stand with them in front of the open fridge. You can't do it forever, but it will temporally lower their temperature as the cool air comes out.

 

[gemini84]

i know oxy loves the condensation so i will def try the water bottle thing. i have a pedestal fan and box fan going in their room when they in tbere or in lounge. thanks again for the quick response and helpful hints. im in such a panic as i almost lost oxy to heat stroke about 6 weeks ago and it wasnt nearly this hot

 

[LoveMyParrots]

That's bad, it's the perfect weather here at Melbourne right now! Not too hot and it too cold!

I make frozen treat for Ozzie on really hot days! It's very simple! All you need is natural fruit juice, and fruit and veggies! Pour the juice into a plastic cup, add in different fruit and veggies, and put it in the freezer for a few hours. Ozzie LOVES it!

I sometimes also just put fruit in the freezer, Ozzie's fav is frozen watermelon!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That's terrible you almost lost him, how did you save you save him? I understand the fear of worrying about your bird.

I just browsed around online and thought these might be useful

"Most of the hot air that enters your home comes through the windows. Thermal curtains may be the solution if your home has lots of windows. If that’s not an option, try using pushpins to hang blankets over each window."
"Check the western exposure of your home. If you have windows that face west, check into inexpensive blinds from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Even aluminum foil taped over your windows (gasp!) can help keep your home cooler."

" In the earliest morning hours, open windows to let in all that cool air. Be sure to close them again, along with all blinds and curtains, once the day begins to heat up." We do this at my house, we open all the windows in the evening when it starts to cool, then at night we close all the downstairs windows and leave the upstairs windows open. In the morning we open the downstairs windows around 5/6am then they get closed the moment it starts heating up, along with all the blinds.

 

[BeakersBro]

Other than pour cold water on them, I don't know. That's what I did in the summer when Beaker was flying outside in his harness and he started panting. He stopped panting within a few minutes of making him wet with cold water. Good luck!

 

[goalerjones]

With my first, unfortunately "trainer bird", I almost learned the hard way about heat stroke. I learned the panting and tail bobbing signs fortunately in time to avert disaster.

 

[Akraya]

I hose my birds down outside in the shade when the heat's revolting. Otherwise all I can do is provide tubs of water and fans oscillating on their cages, I know my GCC will bath a lot if hot but not sure how Alex would handle, been on school break has allowed me to keep an eye on them all though. Keep all the curtains shut to stop heat coming through, on the hot days here there's never a breeze (living close to Wauchope NSW now)

 

[sonja]

Is it not common to have air conditioning in Australia?

 

[gemini84]

no sonja its quite common to have a/c in australia, but i live in a house known as a queenslander. its a very large open house set on stilts. to put in stall an a/c in my house (although im renting so i cant) would cost a fortune to run.

my main issue atm is very high humidity causing the extreme heat and it is getting trapped under the house and rising through the floor so i need to leave windows open so the heat can can escape and i get some fresh air.

 

[Remy]

Could you set up a closet or small room, and run an AC unit in there during hot periods? It'd be less expensive than trying to cool a large room.

Also, maybe ice cubes in the spray bottles, and fans directly on them.

 

[Akraya]

A lot of older houses don't have air con and a lot of the time it's not worth it because of how open our houses are built, or you could be like me who's a lowly renter who can't afford air conditioned places =( fans and ice ftw!

 

[MonicaMc]

I typically do ice cubes in the drinking water and cold bathes.

I've also heard of the fruit pops using either water (so it's clear ice) or fruit juice, but haven't actually done that for my birds.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That sounds like a really cool house! I looked up photos of them.

We have 4 eucalyptus in the backyard that give a lot of shade, but when it's really hot and before we had double paned windows we would hose off the deck and patio. Maybe you could hose off the bottom area of your house?