Call me dumb

[Harley2013]

What exactly constitutes as a draft? I have windows cracked today for some fresh, but cool air. It's maybe 55 outside here today. Windows open are not in dining room where Harley is, but there is cross ventilation . Is that a draft? Or is the bird directly in front of open window a draft? I did partially cover Harley however.

[finchmix22]

Gouldians are very sensitive to drafts and yes, I'd call a light wind in the 50's too cold for gouldians. They need to be kept at temps in the 80'sF. They don't survive well below 80 degrees.

[dutch]

Gouldians need temps of 80 farenheight?

My gouldians are breeding in an outdoor avairy ....at night temps reach 15 c....that's way below 80 f.....my birds are thriving....already 6 young...second clutch now 9 eggs...

My birds were purchased from a breeder with an outdoor avairy also....his bids are thriving....breeding like zebras ...

I think the problem is people are buying gouldians that have been fostered and raised on medications

[Chris103]

I think I depends on what the birds are acclimated to. Drafts for any species aren't good but most species can tolerate cold more than we think, with some execptions. My Gouldians are bred outdoors in my garage. In the summer, temps get to 100 F, and this winter most are breeding while we've had several nights where the garage was at 40 degrees...but no drafts! Only birds I've lost were two day old chicks that the parents never fed....Not due to cold. My Zebras are outdoors with no heating in the aviary, just the north wind blocked. It got down to 18 degrees and Not a single bird lost, sick or frostbitten. They have been bred outdoors for generations.

Sorry to get kinda off topic! I think I would cover Harley's cage if you want the windows open...since He Is kept in a draft free house with pretty stable temps. Better safe than sorry!

[Sally]

I agree with Chris 103, it all depends on what the birds are used to. Birds that live outside and are acclimated to cooler temps tolerate them quite well. Birds that live inside and normally are in fairly warm temps, say 70+, can still tolerate drops in temps as long as there is not a draft.

My birds are kept indoors at 70+ during the day, 65 at night. When I take birds to the mart, I take a heat lamp, as I sometimes have birds get puffy there. When the outside doors are open for loading and unloading, there is definitely a draft in the building. Put the heat lamp on them, and they brighten right up.

If you can feel air movement when you put your hand by Harley's cage, I would call that a draft. A draft at 50 degrees for a bird that is used to much warmer temps might be a bit much. When I open windows at my house, I really don't worry about the birds in the next room, but then I am not opening my windows when it is 50 degrees outside.

[debbie276]

My gouldians and owls thrive in temps in the 60's with no problem, they do not HAVE to be at 80F. I would not let a cold breeze blow on them though. I also agree with Chris and Sally

[Harley2013]

Sally and Debbie, I did not open all the windows at 50 degrees. Just a little which can still create a draft I know. It was just enough for a couple minutes of fresh air. Debbie, as you know, it was a BEAUTIFUL day today. After what we in NJ have been through, 50 feels like 80. Lol! Still a little skeptical about leaving Taz and Dingo uncovered all night. I know, I know. You can tell me to clam up anytime! just a paranoid mommy.

[dcompt]

Why not partially cover the cage for three or four nights and if they seem to be ok, try leaving it off? They really should be ok. If you come out in the morning after you've left it off and they are sitting huddled with their feathers fluffed out, it may have been too much, but chances are you won't see any difference.

[Harley2013]

I think that is what I will probably do. Thank you. I am just a worry wart. And I personally am cold all the time. So it is hard for me to judge what is too cold or not, as well as drafts. I think every room has a draft. My husband calls me nuts!

[Nerien]

If you can feel a bit of breeze or air flow with your hand, then there is a draft. If you are not sure, wet a finger in your mouth, and hold it alongside the cage. If there is a draft, one side of your finger will feel cooler. This is because the air moving over it will evaporate the moisture, and that cools your finger. So that's a way to double-check and be sure if you are feeling a draft.

Completely understand wanting to let a bit of fresh air in the house with so many days of being so closed up against the extreme cold. I do the same thing. If I have to open a window or crack open a door that will blow near a cage, I cover that side of the cage while the window/door is open. Then I switch to a different window/door to get another room or area refreshed, and cover any cage that might get a draft from that side (kind of open floor plan here).

[Harley2013]

Yes, my house is very open floor plan as well, and the whole downstairs except for 2 bedrooms is ceramic floor. So it does get a little cool and drafty at night downstairs, and the whole upstairs is the
Master suite with a walk in attic access. So I get a little concerned about the draft coming from the attic door if any, which is on the otherwise of the room from cage. Then I was thinking about the heater vent upstairs too. The cage sits to the side but about a good 3 feet or so above heater vent. That will probably pose an issue come summer with the A/C running. Might have to make an adjustment.

[Nerien]

We have baseboard (radiator) heat, so that's not a problem, but we also have central airconditioning, with the vents coming out of the ceiling overhead. One, while a decent distance away from the cages, did direct the air right towards a cage, so hubby just hung a piece of cardboard from it on that side to block the wind. This summer we will plan ahead and get some of those plastic vent covers that direct the air when they show up in the stores at the beginning of the season. All you have to do is put something on the side of the vent where you don't want the breeze flowing, and it will direct the air elsewhere into the room, preventing a draft from blowing across the birds.

[Harley2013]

Thank you, great idea!

[Sally]

My rooms all have ceiling vents, and most of my birds are in my second bedroom. There is a vent right above some of the cages, blowing air straight down on them. I put clear plexiglass panels on top of those cages, which blocks that air completely. Then I lay the light fixtures on top of the plexiglass--since it is clear, the cages are still illuminated. Though not much of a problem in winter, with warm air blowing out of the vent, it definitely helps in summer, with cold air coming out.

[dcompt]

In my little apartment there is no place to escape heating and a/c drafts, unless I stuff the cage in a closet and shut the door, and since it's 8' long, that's not an option. Also, I can't bear heat, so in the summer along with a/c there are always floor fans on in any room I'm in. Maybe my societies are just tough, but it doesn't seem to bother them. If I open up the apartment the wind does blow through - and sometimes it actually seems to perk them up. I don't open windows though unless it's at least 70 out.

I guess the moral to the story is just do the best you can and protect them as best you can, but it seems they can acclimate to different environmental parameters, if they aren't positively toxic, pretty well. After all, birds sit in the wind outside and the ground isn't littered with dead birds when the wind dies down. I wouldn't put mine in a gale, and I do try to keep them out of the draft as much as I can, but draft free just isn't possible in my apartment.