i have two senegals who live outside in their aviary. they are untamed. they are a breeding pair but i do not want them to breed(if they do i would boil their eggs). how do i keep them warm without putting a breeding box in or giving them a warm dark enclosed space. since it is outside a heater could not warm up the area.
Hi Elsa,
When housing parrots outdoors, you do need a contingency plan in case of extreme temperatures. Parrots do not tolerate extreme heat well at all. Anything in the triple digits is hot enough for a parrot to succumb. Some bird breeders have a water misting system above their flights to cool the birds in the case of a heat wave. They tolerate cold much better, but not freezing temperatures. Without an indoor place to retreat, they can quickly get frostbite on their feet. In zoos, there is normally an indoor area with heat. You should definitely have something like plastic panels on the sides and top to keep the wind off of them during cold and windy weather. Heat lamps can work well, but you have to be very careful about the type you buy. The shatterproof type are coated with Teflon and emit deadly fumes even during normal use. One zoo lost a large number of their exotic bird collection during a cold snap that wasn’t normal for the area, when zoo staff purchased shatterproof heat lamps for the flight cages, not realizing they had a Teflon coating. You need to research and find some type of heat source that the birds can use if they need it. You also need wire or something around the lights to keep the birds from chewing on them or making contact with them. I would try to find out if there are any aviaries in your area or research how to keep birds warm in an aviary. But you need to be able to bring them indoors if the temperatures drop too low. Breeding is only going to be an issue when the weather warms up and the days are longer. They will have no interest in breeding when the weather is cold. During warm weather you can remove any panels you put up to protect against the wind and let the breeze in to keep them from being too hot. If you do see an egg, you can simply discard it.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda
