When safe to put birds outside

[sierranomad]

Greetings:

I just got some birds that will do well in my outside flight (european goldfinches) but they hae been kept inside. Any thought on what night temperature would be comfortble for them

Thank you,

[jonvill]

Hi Jon,
I think you're in the foothills east of Stockton aren't you?
Is there snow on the ground? As you can see from my avatar, European Goldfinches are from cold environments.
I had my EGFs outside in sturdy homemade flights all year here in the bay area. The only reason I brought them in was because the raccoons were tormenting them nightly. They were climbing the cages and pounding the cage fronts and somehow managed to pull wing and tail feathers off. I think as long as there is a sheltered spot to roost at night out of the elements and the temperatures are above freezing they should be fine. Beware of humidity, that can trigger coccidiosis, especially in Siberian goldfinches. Also consider the height of the cages. EGFs feel safer higher off the ground.

[sierranomad]

Yes. In the foothills east of Stockton. No snow on the ground. Right now it's getting down into the 40's at night. I know that they will be OK with this temp (more concerned about how darn hot it gets in summer) but am just concerned about going from a house that's kept in the 60's to outside?

[jonvill]

You could wait a few more weeks, the spring rains will abate and you won't have to worry about them being too cold at night.

[lou]

Jon,
The temps here where I live dropped to 14 degrees, they'll be fine
lou

[sierranomad]

O.K. Thank you both.

[mayble]

If they have been kept inside up to this point, you will want to wait until the temps are consistently higher (close to what they're used to indoors) before you put them out. If you wait until late spring/summer, they will have time to acclimate before temperatures drop in the fall.
While they can tolerate cold weather as a species, the individual birds can only tolerate what they're accustomed to.

[lovezebs]

Could you maybe bring them out in a cage during day time, when its warmer, and bring back in at night? I do that with plants (of course not this time of the year. Expecting minus 20 and 30 in the next few days here) in the Spring, to get them used to being outdoors. Would n't it work with birds as well?

[sierranomad]

I thought I'd heard that before, but wasn't sure. Thanks Mayble. I'll wait until it stays at or above 60 before putting them out.

Lovezebs. The cage Ihave them in is too big to take outside (won't fit through the door - built it inside). But thanks anyway. It would be nice to be able to take them outside on nice days.

[Jason in TX]

Other than weather, keep snakes in mind. I had a large cage with standard bar spacing on my second floor balcony last summer. I came home to find half of my birds missing. A big king snake was curled up in a nest box. My birds stay indoors now!

[finchmix22]

I agree with Jason. There are so many potential predators, you have to set up any outdoor time with safety in mind.

[sierranomad]

I genuinely appreciate the warning/concern. But I think predators are a bigger problem in some parts of the country than others. My birds have been outside (except for the new arrivals under discussion) for going on 3 years now, and have never had any hint of problem with a predator. The largest visitors have been green lacewings, but they are only a threat to aphids. And the birds end up being the predators.

Jon

[Jason in TX]

I thought that you have snakes in norcal.

[sierranomad]

Ha. Yes, that's true. We do. They've never been a problem. Of course, that doesn't mean they couldn't ever be. Though I don't see how they could possible get in. I have the flight buttoned up real tight.