Ask Lafeber

Cockatiel and heating perches

Hello，
Winter is coming and the temperature in my room may be a little cool for my featured friends. So I wonder if I can buy the electric heating perches for them, keeping the rod itself at a constant temperature of 40℃. But at the same time I’m afraid about the low temperature scalds to be hurting my birds. Maybe a cockatiel’s body temperature is warmer than human’s, I wonder if a constant 40℃ rods too warm to be safe for a bird. And what else should I do to keep my feathered friends warm? Thanks a lot if my question will be answered.

Hi Levine,

Definitely do NOT use something at that temperature – you will blister your bird’s feet! I doubt you can be comfortable in a room that is too cold for a bird. They do best between 20Celcius – 25Celecius(68F-78F). When it gets hotter than that, they can get to the point of overheating. When it is lower than 10Celcius(50F), it’s getting too cold. You can always cover the cage at night if the room is drafty. Generally if a human is comfortable with the indoor temperature, your bird will be comfortable, too. It really comes down to what they get used to, as long as you avoid extreme heat or cold.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda