Heating an outdoor birdroom

[tt101]

Hi everyone,
I have plans for an outdoor bird room that I plan to build this summer, it's going to be 12-15' long by 9' wide by 8, tall and I'm not sure how I'm going to heat it. Here in Edmonton we get around -25 degrees celsius from end of November until around mid march so I'm wondering what is the most economical way to heat this room?. How do you heat your outdoor bird rooms?. I have about a foot wide of insulation planned so this is going to be really well insulated. But that also brings me to the problem of ventilation, how would I achieve good ventilation with so much insulation?
Thanks

[DanteD716]

Hmm, a strong space heater? How close will it be to your house? You may be able to add a vent going from hour house to the room, but it would be alot of work and probaly costly.

[tt101]

It's not going to be close enough to add a vent and that would probably be really costly. I thought about using a space heater but I know that a space heater would cost a painful amount every month. I was thinking of plugging a temperature sensor to the space heater that way it only turns on when the temp falls below a certain temperature. Now my issue with that is I can't guarantee it won't always be on, but with so much insulation I think it would retain heat and the heater would not go on often......I wish we had better weather

[PrettyBird]

Thats the thing about our winters here...they get really cold! sometimes up to -40!

Im not sure how you can set up that big of an aviary outside with insulation and heat, without it costing ALOT of money.

If you had maybe an area build that was entirely closed off (like a wooden shed with a door) you could set up the space heaters in there and insulation for the winter months.
Attached to that would be the "flight" area, so in summer months the shed door can remain open and the birds can fly out into the flight area.

That being said, it still gets pretty chilly at night during some days in the summer as well
I dont know how they can survive it unless, like I said you had the shed to keep them warm at nights.
The heating costs would be so expensive IMO, that the outdoor aviary although gorgeous, wouldnt make sense over here.
You would also have to have it "predator proof" from mice, squirrels, cats, larger birds etc.
Thats why like I said I opted to do it indoor.

If you lived in BC (van) or something maybe would be a bit better for them outdoors lol

Sorry I cant offer any other advice, good luck with your decision.

[DanteD716]

The heater I use in my birdroom has a built-in temperature sensor, so when ever it goes below 75 degrees F in my bird room it kicks on, the room has a very large ceiling but the heater still works, it goes on maybe twice a day and keeps the room warm, it is also small, no larger than a bowling ball, so if you get two or three of those they would work with each other and keep the room at a steady 75 or whatever you'd like, they are 20 dollars each, price may vary, and I live in Buffalo, NY, if you do not know where it is, it is along the boarder of Canada, a twenty minute drive to Niagare Falls, and it also gets very cold.

[tt101]

Thats the thing about our winters here...they get really cold! sometimes up to -40!

Im not sure how you can set up that big of an aviary outside with insulation and heat, without it costing ALOT of money.

If you had maybe an area build that was entirely closed off (like a wooden shed with a door) you could set up the space heaters in there and insulation for the winter months.
Attached to that would be the "flight" area, so in summer months the shed door can remain open and the birds can fly out into the flight area.

That being said, it still gets pretty chilly at night during some days in the summer as well
I dont know how they can survive it unless, like I said you had the shed to keep them warm at nights.
The heating costs would be so expensive IMO, that the outdoor aviary although gorgeous, wouldnt make sense over here.
You would also have to have it "predator proof" from mice, squirrels, cats, larger birds etc.
Thats why like I said I opted to do it indoor.

If you lived in BC (van) or something maybe would be a bit better for them outdoors lol

Sorry I cant offer any other advice, good luck with your decision.

sorry im a little confused.....do you think im building an aviary.....like a open no wall mesh aviary?. i meant a bird room like an actual building-our weather is deffinitely not made for any sort of outdoor aviary -. it wouldnt make sense trying to heat an open space in winter .....

The heater I use in my birdroom has a built-in temperature sensor, so when ever it goes below 75 degrees F in my bird room it kicks on, the room has a very large ceiling but the heater still works, it goes on maybe twice a day and keeps the room warm, it is also small, no larger than a bowling ball, so if you get two or three of those they would work with each other and keep the room at a steady 75 or whatever you'd like, they are 20 dollars each, price may vary, and I live in Buffalo, NY, if you do not know where it is, it is along the boarder of Canada, a twenty minute drive to Niagare Falls, and it also gets very cold.

cool, i never knew they even made heaters with built in temperature sensors. i actually have friends from buffalo NY, so im aware of its close proximity to canada and its really cool that its working for you. im going to look into some good brand energy efficient heaters and see what i can find and btw i would have at least 2 if i was you just incase 1 fails and set up a carbon monoxide monitor. just wondering how you insulated and ventilated your bird room?
thanks

[PrettyBird]

its ok!
no I meant the room with option of flight attached. sorry for the confusion! lol

[tt101]

its ok!
no I meant the room with option of flight attached. sorry for the confusion! lol

no need for apologies, you meant that if i had an open flight area it would be hard to keep birds alive right?, i thought about making an open flight but i dont want to risk losing any birds. i will explore all my options

[poohbear]

We can have bad winters here too...I designed my aviary/birdroom with this in mind.Half is fully insulated,the other half is protected against the winds and draughts by removable panels...glazed and solid.
The completely open flight on the end, I provide for sun and bathing, and is kept closed off during the worst weather.
I use electric heaters to take the edge off the cold...they come on at 50f I would prefer warmer but costs have to be considered.The birds managed well last winter...our worse for 30 years.Many of the birds choose to roost in the colder section ...but they have the choice.I don't worry about ventilation...there are enough small gaps around the open section to allow for air circulation.

My set up from start to finish...Summer and ready for Winter....

[tt101]

We can have bad winters here too...I designed my aviary/birdroom with this in mind.Half is fully insulated,the other half is protected against the winds and draughts by removable panels...glazed and solid.
The completely open flight on the end, I provide for sun and bathing, and is kept closed off during the worst weather.
I use electric heaters to take the edge off the cold...they come on at 50f I would prefer warmer but costs have to be considered.The birds managed well last winter...our worse for 30 years.Many of the birds choose to roost in the colder section ...but they have the choice.I don't worry about ventilation...there are enough small gaps around the open section to allow for air circulation.

My set up from start to finish...Summer and ready for Winter....

Yeah I was thinking about how people in the uk manage to keep bird rooms with their similar weather. Is the insulation working for you? How did you insulate your bird house?. Btw your bird house is absolutely stunning and those rubino bourkes are stunning!!!! . Also wow 50f is only 10C....I'm not so sure I would be comfortable with that kind of temp. I would probably want it a little warmer at least 15C. I also have gouldians so just wondering how do your gouldians handle the temp?.
Thanks and I'm very impressed with your aviary and bird room

[poohbear]

All my gouldians insisted on roosting in the aviary section last year where temperatures dropped to below freezing for weeks on end.
Insulation is 2 inches of polystyrene covered with half inch chipboard.

[Martie]

Beautiful aviaries/bird building, PoohBear - thank you for sharing.

[PrettyBird]

t11o1- just like poohbears first picture is the idea that I mean.

[tt101]

t11o1- just like poohbears first picture is the idea that I mean.

Oh ok now I understand what you meant, it's what I thought you meant but I wasn't sure. I can see what you mean about how heating would be difficult with the flight attached like that.

All my gouldians insisted on roosting in the aviary section last year where temperatures dropped to below freezing for weeks on end.
Insulation is 2 inches of polystyrene covered with half inch chipboard.

Wow those are some crazy gouldians, I heard they can handle some bad weather if they are introduced gradually. I'm going to need a lot more insulation though, but I'm glad that's working for you well. My plans for insulation will probably be (from inside wall going to outside wall) sheet of plywood, 2 inch wide foam board, insulation, 2 inch sheet of foam, sheet of foil insulator, sheet of plywood, either wood or siding panels. I'm going hardcore on insulation with triple glazed windows and I decided on 4 space heaters in each corner which will work together to keep the room at 15C which I think is about 60F. Overkill I know.

[kylegood]

it should be mentioned that when insulating you can't ver stuff the walls. you need to use the suitable thickness for the stud size of the walls... this gives the room a breathing area between the tar paper or tyvek wrap and the inner moisture barrier. it also helps to prevent mold.

i live in vancouver b.c. and in my bird room i use and electric heater. this room is detached from the house and done in the same fashion that you are planning.. insulated with R12 insulation and it holds an even temperature.