Heating

gazzington

Regular Member
Hi everyone
This is probably me over planning (I do have ocd) but I’m hearing about possible power cuts in the winter months. Anybody have a suggestion on how we are going to keep our feathery tropical friends warm if this happens?
Any suggestions will be appreciated
Regards
Gary
 
Well for us we do have a enclosed log/multi fuel burner also an ordinary open fire (with secure guard over) so we would hae to use those.
It will be interesting to know what other members plan.
 
Crossing everything that these reduced power usage trials between 4 and 7pm help? I'm thinking that they hope to smooth demand to an acceptable level to avoid these potential cuts? We will see? Have a log burner in one room if desperate but very aware that when you open the door it sometimes give a big puff of smoke out which is not good for birdies lungs.
 
@gazzington Don't worry yourself too much our tropical friends will be fine as long they are not plucked birdies like my Henni (nudist!) in the tropics it does actually drop quite a bit during the night temperature wise. So long as the temperature isn't a really rapid drop in a very short space of time birdies will be fine. They have awesome under-down feathers that are better than a duvet, it traps the air in and keeps them snuggly the outer / overlaying feathers kind of seal the system to trap it in.
Power cut is more of a worry if your birdies are outside of the cage and the lights go out panic can spook them so getting them out during the daylight is wiser. I have purchased some of those LED battery lights that stick up on things and also a couple of those little RAC led lights that run on batteries (available from Sainsburys at £3.99)
They are saying that power cuts would be during the night-time hours so after bedtime for the birdies mine have covers thrown over them and their room once roosting time has come is pretty much a no-go area, so the temperature doesn't fluctuate.
Closing curtains does stop heat escape (including if you have double glazing it also helps) draft excluders also work well, heat rises and birdies roost higher up. If they are in a separate room to yourself make sure their room is warm during the daytime and if the power goes off at night, then they will already be pretty much heated and sorted anyway. Likely only drop in their room by a couple of degrees at most. If they are in a cold room then time to move them into a warmer room and get them used to being in a different area of the house.
 
Err side note to above ... conservatories do get colder than most rooms at night so perhaps shift to a room that has brick walls and less windows.
Bricks retain heat and windows don't......
Adding carpeting to the floor like a rug can also help I have purchased a throw rug and popped it into their room since their floor is laminate flooring... caused much entertainment with one particular idiot feathered friend thinking its great to try and full chunks out of it and also hide half eaten or unwanted stuff in the pile :rolleyes: there's always one that decides to be a comedian!
 
Australia dessert night time temperatures can get as low as -7 .... budgie popsicle anybody? Sorry not available as they have great feather duvets :)
There are permeant glaciers in the Congo
Central Africa ..... highs of daytime hitting lovely 33c and at night ... get your thermals on it can drop to -1 ... also no macaw popsicles available due to mother nature providing excellent thermal under-down feathers
 
I’ve been thinking about buying one of those camping generators that would hopefully keep a small oil heater going if it got cold over night
 
Just weighing in.... one of our macaws is from a reputable breeder who housed her birds and board birds in unheated refurbished barns. Also, in the bad winter a few years ago when it was getting to -15 degrees, a good way to warm hands if we were outside was to cuddle one of the hens! They didn't have any heating in their coop or run, yet they were always toasty warm! Their feathers are super effective ;) Like has been said though, the nudists are a little different.
 
Generator works on fossil fuel giving off smoke it powers the heater via a cable which has to come inside somehow soooo your going to have a window or something open for cable to come inside so defeats the object plus creates fumes that could thereby also come inside or am I missing something?
 
If your bird isn't nude like my Henni is it's not going to be a massive issue if house temperature drops slowly by say 4 degrees during the night but they are saying no electricity for say 4 hours during the night/early hours of the day not a problem.
I have a night cage Henni can go into blanket on top one underneath and if necessary will supply her with a hot water bottle she can get near but not on to - I have gas cooker I can heat water on or if needs be will heat the kitchen with should she need it but can't see it getting that cold in 4 hours unless I leave doors and windows open.
 
Suppose one of those portable gas heaters could be an option but as the depletion in oxygen plus possible fumes given off could be an issue I wouldn't recommend it for bird keepers. It's not something I would be comfortable with and worries me mentioning them but natural thought process means people would arrive at it at some point

Clarke MGH1 Mobile Gas Heater - Machine Mart - Machine Mart

www.machinemart.co.uk www.machinemart.co.uk
 
I was thinking of something l like this:
Portable Power Station,600W Solar Mobile Lithium Battery Pack for Home Emergency Power with 600W/230V AC Lithium Ions Outlets, Outdoor RV Camping,USB PD65W Type-C QC3.0 DC12V Output with LED Light https://amzn.eu/d/gpApC0y
 
It’s arrived and it unfortunately doesn’t have enough power to great the oil heater. It does however keep the tropical fish tanks stuff going. I think we will put lupin in a small travel cage and wrap parts of it with thick blankets to keep her warm
 
Ooooo I was pondering on forum the other week about trying to keep my tropical tanks heated if there was a power cut
Cheers @gazzington
 
Hehe no worries. Tropical fish are more worrying than our feathery friends with power cuts. I’ll keep searching for a good way to keep my Amazon warm though
 
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