Temperature Extreems?

[Lauren]

Just curious..

Ive read that most birds have some sort of 'anti freeze' in their feet. They don't feel extreem cold through the feet. Do IRNs have this?

Sometimes my Jibbys toes are very warm if tucked up under feathers but feel cold around this time of year.

And another..

I also read that a birds body temperature is about 10 degrees more than ours. Is this true? If so would they be able to stand cold weather?

I'm guessing IRNs come from tropical type climate so I worry when its too hot or too cold for even me. I wonder how they are coping.

*Hmm.. Pondering*

[pearl]

i know
even i have noticed that when my rose is tucked up in her feathers her feet are nice and warm
but when i take her out to play
as i have laminate flooring in a few min i can feel her feet very cold

good question psittaculachick

[Gemstone]

dont really know, Amazon loves heaters if we turn it on he will sit in front of it like a cat would

[Jay]

Ive read that most birds have some sort of 'anti freeze' in their feet. They don't feel extreem cold through the feet. Do IRNs have this?

You are correct about the "anti-freeze" concept. Birds have an array of scales, thick skin, fats and not too many sensory nerves on the feet. An intricate network of blood vessels provide efficient cooling and heating functions. Due to adaptation, some birds are more resilient to weather extremes than others. Picture a penguin in the Arctics, a duck wading in icy lakes, or wild birds perched on snowy tree branches.

My IRNs have handled 28 to 105 deg F (-2 to 40 deg C). Being that IRNs and other birds are permanently wearing a Down Jacket, I think they are more bothered with extreme heat rather than cold. In the wild, they have the weather protection of foliage which drops the temperature by about 15 degrees. And the cooling effect brought about by constant foraging flights help a lot during the warmer months of the Tropics.

[Lauren]

Wow! Thanx Depois! Thats really interesting.

I was pretty sure they could handle the cold. But wasn't sure. They seem much happier during the colder months! I've seen pictures of IRNs in the snow so they must be ok with it.

Jibs and Yoda seem to hate summer here. It can get to around 45 degrees celsius. They will just sit and pant. Poor lil guys!

Thanx for that great information!

[julie]

My neighbour actually asked me if my irns are ok outside yesterday, apparently a couple of the other neighbours thought it was cruel for us to have them outside I told them that they do better in the cold than in the heat and they breed in the colder months too. In the summer when I give them fresh water from the hose they fully jump into the water bowl and when if finally rained they were having a shower in the stuff falling from the sky that they hadnt seen for a very long time.

[kyria]

having a shower in the stuff falling from the sky that they hadnt seen for a very long time.

what is that stuff called again ? I saw it just before I left Australia also, slipped my mind it even existed. lol

[Lauren]

Oh thats stuff is good to see again even though I hate it when it happens. Love the heat but miss those warm droplets from the skys over summer!

[julie]

well its absolutely bucketing down in wagga wagga atm, and I have to go to work at 6pm until 12;30am my patrols are going to be fun.

[Lauren]

Its bucketing down here too but its absolutely freezing. The fids think its night night time because its so dark. They've been asleep most of the day.

[pearl]

EVEN HERE IN UK IT WAS BUCKETTING ALL BANK HOLLIDAY WEAKEND
ITS A TYPICAL ENGLAND WEATHER
HEHEHEH


HOPE WE GET MORE SUNNY DAYS AHEAD

[julie]

pearl, my inlaws went over to the uk for six weeks and they said they were cold the whole time. We actually need the rain pretty bad and Im sitting here after just finishing my shift and it has started hailing, im so glad it waited until I got home to do it.

[Neokireina]

I'm glad I read this too because i'm really concerned for my birds now outside in their nice roomy aviaries but so cold! being raised indoor birds I was worried about them adapting to this new outdoor life.
If there's anything out there that can make them more comfortable I'd like to know about it, short of buying them their own house :p

[Lauren]

Hehe If I had the money I would by them their own house! (with central heating of course)

[kyria]

Mine have their own room just like my kids.

But I am sending the IRN pair and the quaker pair out to aviary as soon as we get around to building one. If you have any suggestions about making a smooth transition to that Neo I would love to hear your experiences.

[Jay]

If the birds were transitioned outside during the warmer months, they would have acclimatized by now since the temperature decreased gradually.

Based on my own experience and that of some breeder friends, IRNs can handle very low temperatures, surprisingly even below freezing. IRNs are amazingly hardy and resilient creatures. One of the most respected IRN breeders in the US who I correspond with on occasion, Joyce Baum of Arizona, http://ringnecklady.net/page4.html, had mentioned that during the last cold spell early this year, the temperature in her area dropped down to 15 deg F (-9 deg C) and the outside aviary IRNs were just fine. At the same time at another friend's aviary, palm trees had frozen dead but not one IRN froze to death at an aviary complex of close to 30 pairs.

To make it easier for IRNs to regulate their temperature on their exposed body parts, wind blocking shutters should be installed in the area where they roost for the evening. There could be some truth to the assumption that birds cannot handle constant cold wind drafts. I'm not entirely sold on this however since IRNs fly during the winter months as well. Being strong fliers, they could fly at very high velocities, faster than any wind could blow when they are static and perched on a branch. But I guess it can only help to provide as much shelter as possible.

Since some birds sometimes sleep on the water and food dishes, they should be emptied before bedtime so that their toes won't freeze along with the water and food. During the colder months, the diet of sunflower seeds is increased for more carbohydrate and fat source.

While grown IRNs can survive low temperatures, eggs and chicks cannot. This is the reason why nest boxes are not hung until after the coldest parts of the winter is over.

Lastly, I haven't had any birds freeze to death but I think I can possibly attribute two IRN deaths due to heat stress or heat exhaustion.

[Neokireina]

I did notice something weird about my birds though. Instead of sleeping on the perch at the back of the aviary. Two of my pairs (only recently introduced to each other) sleep out from the cover on the wire opposite each other. like mirror image on the wire. maybe to share body heat? The wire is double mesh.
Apart from wanting to smack them in the bird brain for sleeping out in the open in the wind and the rain which i've fixed now by putting a cover over the part where they sleep. I just find this really unusual.

[Lauren]

That does sound unusual. But very cute!

[Jay]

Some of my IRNs do that too. I've actually installed roofing and shutters that overhang by 12 inches around the top edges of the cages so it doesn't matter where they roost.