Temperature for housing Gouldians

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:40 pm

I'm debating on building an avary in my basement but the temperature may go down to 10 Celcius (50 Fahrenheit) in the winter months. Without using a heat lamp what do others think? Will I be asking for problems?

Chris

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed May 14, 2008 12:14 am

Hey Chris,

Roy Beckham states this on this website: "My Gouldians are in an unheated bird room that routinely drops to below 40 degrees F in the winter and up to 100 degrees in the hottest days of the summer. They will breed from October through March or April, with the majority of the breeding activity in December through January - the coldest months of the year."

Can't say I know firsthand, but it's interesting. I keep mine in their own room at a temperature of 70 degrees and it's quite humid.
The perk of a warmer climate is if they are startled for whatever reason, it's not that big of a deal for the hen to not spend a night or two in the nestbox to incubate the eggs. If the embryos are healthy, they can tolerate that. Also, if a chick is tossed, it's likely to survive awhile if it's warmer. I know, you have great luck with your goulds being great parents, but it's something that I consider.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Wed May 14, 2008 5:22 am

the temperature should not be a problem, my finches are housed in an aviary in my back yard year round and cope with the hottest & coldest conditions very well.
in a basement I would be more concerned about damp or mould anywhere in the room. also sunlight for the birds

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Wed May 14, 2008 7:40 am

I'm not concern about the dampness as the heat goes on in the house and frequently additional humidity has to be added to the air but it's just the cold. As for mold there really is none down there.

Chris

1of42 · Post by **1of42** » Wed May 14, 2008 8:59 am

You said 'without using heat lamps.' Are you adverse to them?

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Wed May 14, 2008 10:22 am

I just want to keep the cage clean looking without a bunch of stuff hanging around and also the cost of running a heat lamp for that long of a period along with potential fire hazards of a heat lamp. Just my opinion that I rather not use it if I don't have to.

Chris

1of42 · Post by **1of42** » Wed May 14, 2008 10:57 am

Ah, Ok.

atarasi · Post by **atarasi** » Wed May 14, 2008 3:25 pm

I think the most important thing would be to make sure the birds are well acclimated to the new temperatures first.

chrischris · Post by **chrischris** » Thu May 15, 2008 6:24 pm

How eould young gouldians do in such an enviroment. Meaning before their first molt.

Chris

1of42 · Post by **1of42** » Thu May 15, 2008 9:47 pm

I'm sure there are exceptions, but I would think it's best to be more careful with young Gouldians...keep them warm until they have their full set of adult feathers.

williep · Post by **williep** » Fri May 16, 2008 4:51 am

Chrischris, Like Mickp I keep my Goulds outside as well, I'm keeping record of daily temperatures (min and max) and recording them to create my own database. We are in our winter now and had a couple of unexpected cold days about two weeks ago where the cage/aviary temperature dropped to 4 degrees Celsius (39F). My breeding cages dropped to 8 degrees Celsius (46F) and had no fatalities; in fact there were 4 newly hatched chicks in the cages.

To me the most important thing is to keep the birds out of the rain and wind. Wind and cold temperatures are a deadly combination which I learned the hard way. So according to me the birds will do fine in the basement.