Turning garage into bird-room HELP

[MarciaLove]

Ok so my garage is fairly large it fits two cars and cabinets and other junk comfortably ( I will be removing everything in the room pretty much) I need to turn it into a room that I can put all my birds into. They wont be allowed to fly free in there unless I'm in the room though. It has three small windows and a small glass door on one side but I will be adding some full spectrum lights as well. My main issue is the heating, my garage door is of course loosely fitting so it has cracks all around it nothing that anything but bugs can get inside but not great for keeping heat in the room. I was looking at getting two of these heaters in the link below to heat the room what do you think? Lasko 30 in. 1,500 Watt Electric Portable Ceramic Tower Heater with Remote Control-CT30750 at The Home Depot

 

[weco]

Actually, mice, rats, squirrels, opossum & snakes can get into your garage, as long as you have standard 3-5 panel sectional, kick-out or roller garage doors.

Are you just changing the use of the space or are you planning to build a bird room? There is a difference in the $$$ you will spend.....where in GA...I'm in the NW quadrant off 27.....

 

[MarciaLove]

im about an hour north of Atlanta and we did have a rat problem but I bought some things that go around the bottom of the garage and the rats havent gone in again since then and the cracks are very very small around the side so no rats/mice or anything else can get in. Just change the use of the space I would love it to be a birdroom maybe eventually but dont have the $$ for that yet.

 

[crimson]

Sounds like a plan, wish I could do that for my birds...the first thing I thought of was mites. I brought up a humidifier which had been stored in our garage. In about 2 weeks I had red mites and took over a month to kill the little "ahems"

Lets just say NOTHING comes up from my garage anymore. If I store anything it's in our basement.

You might want to look into treatment for your birds to protect them, even if they are in a cage.

 

[MarciaLove]

wow never thought about mites thanks! ill be cleaning all the stuff thats not in cabinets out of the garage. What kind of treatment??

 

[weco]

That would put you in the Rome, Cartersville, Canton, Cumming area.....what are you going to do in the summer heat ? ? ?


I didn't look at your link, but you're going to need something, either for heating or cooling, that can handle approx. 2100 cubic feet of air, with at least one overhead fan, because I'm assuming the garage is open to the rafters, with no ceiling...


I'll stick my neck out & guesstimate that when temps are below 40 degrees, your heaters will be running full time and when heat is above 75 degrees, a window air unit will be running full time.....again, assuming there is no insulation on any of the walls or garage doors & with a storm door for an outside entry, you've really not got any security.....


One other thing, if a mouse or rat can get their head through an opening, they can get their body through.....

 

[MarciaLove]

yes close to Cumming and in the summer I will have fans going and can put a window air conditioner in there easy. The garage does have a ceiling though and nothing can even get its head through the tiny gap not even a pinky mouse. Also its pretty secure cause its a wooden door with top half being glass and it opens up to the porch so no ones can even see that there is a door there.

 

[weco]

The ceiling will help contain the heat and/or coolness.....

OK, barn type or kick-out doors, either way, you might want to think about changing the walk-in door to a sturdier one.

Companion birds can normally handle mid 80s down to mid 30s without any problem, but most birds will heat stress when you move into the upper 80s, because they are not flying & they cannot move into the cool canopy of forests & jungles.....think 200 foot trees (most trees in North America are in the 100-175 foot range) & possibly taller. These tall trees create temperature layers that can be several degrees cooler than temps on the floor or in the tree tops.....

 

[MarciaLove]

id be scared to let it get below 60 with my birds even though I know people who have their pet birds out year round no heat and they are fine I wouldnt feel comfortable with that thats why heat is my main concern and I have no problems with cooling the garage I have done that before when we rescued a dog that had to stay in the garage when we left the house we had to keep it cooled down and it wasnt hard.

 

[sodakat]

I prefer the low profile heaters like this: CZ600 Comfort Zone Low Profile Baseboard Style Space Heater With a Power Indicator Light

My bird room is a converted sunroom which has glass walls and ceiling and I live in South Dakota so definitely need additional heat in the winter. I've found that anything that can get knocked over, will, which is why I like the low profile style heaters.

 

[MarciaLove]

ok I need to know what kind of lights to get. I hear full spectrum is the best but what kind?? pictures or links would be great!

 

[weco]

Marcia, before you go spending a bunch of $$$, you might want to read this link and at the bottom of the page there is a continuation arrow to the next page:

Introduction | Full-Spectrum Light Sources | Lighting Answers | NLPIP



After the RPI data, if you are still interested, there is a UK site that has been doing research on UV light relevant to reptiles, but the data is usable for parrots.....the site & project is spearheaded by a retired UK veterinarian.....

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/


As to your question of which lights to use, standard 4 foot 4 lamp fixtures would probably be the best for your setup.

 

[MarciaLove]

thanks a bunch! I was looking at these actually to hang one above each cage, thoughts?
Zilla Slimline Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture at PETCO

 

[WharfRat]

If you give me some dimensions that would help. So no cars in there anymore? I have a few ideas for you. (Former carpenter)

 

[MarciaLove]

no cars anymore they are outside not sure of dimensions ill try to find a measuring tape and post them then.

 

[weco]

You've got a couple of problems with that type of fixture...first it is an old style magnetic ballast that requires a starter (little white circle left side of fixture); second, the fixture is designed for direct downlighting the reflector is designed to reflect light straight down rather than a wider dispersion. Another problem is that the fixture is designed for under-counter mounting, in a horizontal position.....hanging will not keep it horizontal......

Since it is designed for herps, you might want to ask the manufacturer what/when the drop off curve is & when it is reached for degradation of the UV efficacy for the light tube is (when the tube begins to not put out the UV it is rated for/specified)...

 

[sodakat]

Marcia, before you go spending a bunch of $$$, you might want to read this link and at the bottom of the page there is a continuation arrow to the next page:

Introduction | Full-Spectrum Light Sources | Lighting Answers | NLPIP



After the RPI data, if you are still interested, there is a UK site that has been doing research on UV light relevant to reptiles, but the data is usable for parrots.....the site & project is spearheaded by a retired UK veterinarian.....

UV Guide UK - Ultraviolet Light for Reptiles - UVB reptile lighting on test


As to your question of which lights to use, standard 4 foot 4 lamp fixtures would probably be the best for your setup.

Excellent links! Thanks so much. Vitamin D therapy is my main interest in considering FS lamps and after reading this, along with many other articles, I'm convinced it's not possible. I have looked at sunlamps but they are cost prohibitive right now.

It's very difficult finding safe sources of Vit D for Eclectus.

 

[crimson]

I use A.I.L. Avian Insect Liquid, I've had the misfortune of having red mites twice,once when I got a new cockatiel that had them, then the second time was when I brought up a humidifier from the garage.

They are incredibly difficult to kill!! and can make your birds miserable, and even paralyzed(that's what happened to two of mine) they recovered with simple iron drops and A.I.L.
I still treat my birds, and cages every 3-4 months without fail, and have not returned-thank god!!

 

[BeakersBro]

If it's not insulated, I'd definitely recommend ripping out all the dry wall and putting real R15-21 insulation in the walls, and like R30+ in the attic. Really you should put double-pane windows in (if you have windows) in the garage. You also need to do something with that big door. Keep in mind your on a concrete slab with no foundation, airspace, or insulation. That's going to get cold in the winter. If you don't insulate properly, you could wind up with a $300/month electric bill in the winter. In the summer, you're going to cook your birds in sweltering temperatures.

Also, make sure no chemicals in the garage

 

[MarciaLove]

thanks no chemicals in garage and I am planning on insulating soon! and the windows are double pane.