What is missing from your air? Humidity!

Last winter, I took my two big birds for a yearly check-up.  My Sun Conure had been sneezing, though he didn't seem ill otherwise.  The doctor's prescription: humidity.  Being from Louisiana, I never in a million years pictured myself buying and using a humidifier!

We quickly instituted winter use of the brand new humidifier.  I run it in one location until the reservoir has emptied, then I move it to the next bird area.  The cycle keeps going until I have rotated the humidifier through all of the rooms/bird areas.  The whole process takes 3 days; like I said, we have a small apartment!

I've made other minor adjustments that seem to help the humidity levels throughout the apartment: not turning on the bathroom vent during a shower, then opening the door to let the steam flow out; cooking lots of soups and pasta; letting my tea kettle slowly steam away after I've poured my tea.  The dry birdy sneezing has decreased dramatically.  In case you're wondering why humidity is recommended for households with parrots:

"The moisture of the rainforest from rainfall, constant cloud cover, and transpiration (water loss through leaves), creates intense local humidity. Each canopy tree transpires some 200 gallons (760 liters) of water annually, translating to roughly 20,000 gallons (76,000 L) of water transpired into the atmosphere for every acre of canopy trees."


On the other hand, wild Cockatiels' range includes central Australia, where average annual humidity is only 30%.


Clearly, bird owners should research the origin and natural history of their pet birds.  This information can help you decide how much humidity you should add to your bird's indoor environment.  While our pets have been living with humans since hatching, their bodies are still adapted to their species' habitat elsewhere in the world.



*Photo by mcuscire on Flickr

Cold Toes - Keeping warm through winter

Winter, with plunging temperatures and dry air, can be tough on our feathery friends, who are better adapted to life in warm and tropical habitats.  Throw in a nasty case of feather plucking, and you need to make serious adjustments to keep your birds healthy until spring.  Over the course of my next few posts, I'll discuss common winter headaches and a few possible solutions.


Warm toes = warm bird.  I recently moved my flock of five parrots and two canaries from Louisiana (very mild winters) to Rhode Island (snow!!).  My first action was to buy a Thermo Perch from Drs. Foster and Smith for my slightly bald Sun Conure, Twinkie.

This perch plugs into an electrical oulet and maintains a constant temp of 102F (~39C).  The cord is wrapped in a small-gauge steel coil to protect prying beaks.  While the perch worked well for the duration of the season, Twinkie managed to pry his beak around the edge if the coil and sever the electrical cord.  Thankfully, we had unplugged the perch, but not yet removed it from his cage when this happened.  I maintain that this perch is a good investment, but it requires constant supervision when your feathery friend is out of his or her cage.  The thermo perch might be relegated to a separate "sleeping cage" if you have this kind of set-up.

Does anyone have any other solutions for keeping bird toes warm?  Is anyone having success keeping a feather plucker cozy?

(Photo from Drs. Foster and Smith website.)