FINCHforum

I always wondered, air drafts cause problems for birds and placing a cage close to an open window isn't advisable. I am not questioning this as I did have problems when my birds were close to an air conditioner.

But drafts and winds are both currents of air right? How can birds outdoor not get affected when the weather is windy meanwhile they're overly sensitive to fans and air conditioners?

If air drafts and winds aren't technically the same then could someone explain to me the difference and how birds can be adjusted to one but not the other?

Thanks

I think the problem comes in when there is also a temperature change involved, like having a slightly-open window in winter, so cold air is blowing on them in a heated room, or directly under the a/c vent in summer. My bird room has 4 windows, and in mild weather, they are all open, with breezes going thru the bird room. Last summer, I had a window fan pulling the hot air out of the room, which also created a breeze. So mostly, they need to be protected from cold drafts in the winter. In the wild, birds can seek shelter, too, whereas in our cages, they can't get away from that draft.

We live in air-conditioned, heated, cooled, dehumidified or humidified houses. The problem isn't really that the draft is there, but how different it is to the air they're breathing all the time.

A bird hanging out outside flying free doesn't go from one extreme to the next....

But a bird in a 75F, humidified house getting a blast of 30F cold dry air...that can cause a problem. (Heck, how many of us get sinus irritation in the spring when everyone turns on the AC and dries the place up?)

In my bird room I have the vent covered and try to prevent drafts as much as possible... it's hard though, the window that is in the bird room is not thick and cold drafts come through that. Altough I have a ceramic heater for each flight cage, so that if the birds are cold they can go sit under it. I have not had a finch die of any type of draft though... I do worry about the temp in the bird room a lot though.

Thanks everyone, now I have a better understanding and I'm thinking of covering the cage and leaving only the front side open cause the room is exposed to different temperatures and drafts whenever someone opens the door