FINCHforum

Hi

I have a 2.7m x 2.7m outside aviary that is half covered and half open. I am thinking of installing 2 ceramic heat emitters, 1 in each back corner which are covered. Will this provide enough heat? How often should they be on in winter? I have Gouldians, Blue caps, Stars, Diamond sparrows, cherry finches, African Silver bills, Grass finches in this aviary.

Steve (South Africa)

Depends what wattage you use, ceramic heat emitters do not emit lot's of heat. If you have any Halogens they would be a far better option

I don't have outside aviaries, so no experience with this, but when I had cages in an unheated shed, I mounted a heat lamp on each cage and had no losses during that winter. I like the ceramic heat emitters because they don't put out any light, so they don't disturb the sleep pattern of the birds.

Perhaps if you put a perch near each heat emitter, so the birds could choose to sit in front of the heat or get away if they wanted? I have no experience with halogen bulbs at all.

Steve, the best is to close off your aviary from all drafts. I use clear plastic and also those clear corrugated sheets. You at least don't get rain up north in winter, so you are luckier than us in the Cape. But you do get nasty frost which I remember well growing up in Jhb.

In the aviary where I use heat lamps, they are placed facing the back of the aviary onto the main perching spots. You can see where most of your birds roost in the evenings and position the lamps accordingly. How often the heat must go on and when you must start, is honestly up to you. I start closing up my aviary's from end April and by the middle of May, they are usually sealed up with plastic. I only really start putting the heat on once the nighttime temps start to drop below 10'C. Once the winter has fully settled in, I leave the heat on 24/7 until it starts warming up again. I use infra-red heat lamps for the metal aviary. Expensive to run but emits the best heat.

In spring, the heat goes off first and then I start un-wrapping the aviaries in stages. As we get horrible wind where I live (80km/hr wind gusts is normal for us) I keep the plastic on the aviary's in case I need to roll it down on really bad nights. The poor waxbills get blown off of their perches!

My other aviary (which is half wendy house) just gets one 'heat lamp' to use. See the below thread

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=30979