FINCHforum

I got my first pair of hecks about 4-5 years ago, they went straight into my aviary, it's not exactly outdoor as it is has windows all around it and they don't get any draft on them, there's no real insulation though. Those 2 guys survived out there for all that time. Recently I acquired another 16 or so hecks finches and put those in with them too, they've been out there for a couple of months now.

I've been monitoring the temperature out there because it has been getting colder and colder, it's now getting as low as 44 degrees out there during the nights and mornings, that's 4 degrees celcius. The hecks seem to be doing ok, none of them look ill and they're all pretty active. The only thing is I don't know how much colder it is going to get and wonder if they'll be ok or not, you have to remember though, the first pair of hecks I had have survived out there for 4-5 years. Also, the new hecks I purchased all came from an outdoor aviary, so they were used to living in slightly colder conditions.

I'm creating a second flight for my indoor bird room and am considering moving the hecks into it, i'm just not entirely sure if I should, i'd be literally squeezing them in there in a flight which would be only about 12 inches in width, 60 inches in length and 38 inches in height. It would be much warmer for them but also a much smaller flying space than what the 5 by 9 foot aviary they currently have. It is impossible to make the new indoor flight any bigger, there just isn't room.

So the question is, do I risk leaving the hecks in the cold conditions or do I move them inside, into a much smaller flight. Adding a heater to where the hecks are now isn't really an option, I am already using enough electric on the indoor bird room.

Personally I would not want to risk loosing my birds to the elements, if it got to freezing it could be a problem for them (any finch). I would either get a heat source out there that they can go to if cold or move them in.

yeah i agree, i would invest in a thermostat controlled heater .. JMO

You could set up a few infrared lamps where the birds perch at night. Just remember that the socket has to be ceramic. Others will cause the bulbs to blow.

16 would be to many for that size flight.I dont know about hecks finch,but from i have read in the past,a flock of gouldians had got loose and living in the wild in i believe its to hampshire.Also in ny and other boroughs there are flocks of monk parrots thriving.I guess they got acclimated to the weather,tom.

In the City of Ft Myers you can see flocks of Blue and Gold and Scarlet Macaws flying free. All throughout Florida we have Quakers flying free, you can hear them as they pass by. I even had a blue one fly right by me.

We also have Quakers in Louisiana. Especially in the New Orleans and Metro areas.

When we had our finches in a flight on our lanai, our son saw a pair of scarlett macaws outside the lanai visiting the finches. Of course it doesn't get to freezing here very often but we do sometimes have a few days close to freezing.

I think the main thing is to give them time to acclimate to colder temps, which you have done, and protect them from wind and wet. If you can put an infrared lamp out there, that would give them plenty of heat. I just read on the NFSS forum about putting a light bulb in an overturned ceramic pot on the floor of an aviary, with the cord coming out the hole. The light warms the ceramic pot, which radiates warmth to the birds that huddle near it.

all my finches live in out door avairies, we do drop down blinds to keep the wind out. as long as there is no wind and they are dry they seem to do well. on the odd occasion their water bowls have frozen over but seldom do we lose any birds. it does mean i need to ensure that no birds from heated avairies are brought into my avairies.