Airing out a room in winter question :\

[theanimalperson]

Hello! My Mum and I have been talking about getting a budgie (or budgies) for a while, but we can't seem to get over this one hurdle. That is how do you air out the room in winter if budgies cannot tolerate cold drafts? My room gets pretty stuffy sometimes if the window isn't opened during the night, as I cannot open the door in case our cat comes in and scares the mice. Even having a purifier doesn't seem to help much. I was thinking maybe covering the enclosure during the night with a blanket and attaching a heat lamp. What do you guys do for ventilation during the winter?

[boomer girl]

I would cover the cage on 3 sides and crack your window open. I have heard that Budgies have night freights so that is the reason I say to leave one side of the cage open and have a small night light in the room for it but maybe someone here knows better then me. If you are talking about it getting really cold, like below 65 in the night you can purchase a bird heater to hang on its cage. My daughter has one and her Conure loves it in the winter time when it gets cold here. She plugs in the heater and covers his cage and he snuggles right up to it. If you find another heater just make sure it is bird safe because lots of heaters have Teflon coated parts and Teflon lets of toxic gases that kill our sweet birds. Tikki my daughters Conure has this heater in his cage and he really does love it.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products-...00CLA19FW?th=1

[theanimalperson]

I would cover the cage on 3 sides and crack your window open. I have heard that Budgies have night freights so that is the reason I say to leave one side of the cage open and have a small night light in the room for it but maybe someone here knows better then me. If you are talking about it getting really cold, like below 65 in the night you can purchase a bird heater to hang on its cage. My daughter has one and her Conure loves it in the winter time when it gets cold here. She plugs in the heater and covers his cage and he snuggles right up to it. If you find another heater just make sure it is bird safe because lots of heaters have Teflon coated parts and Teflon lets of toxic gases that kill our sweet birds. Tikki my daughters Conure has this heater in his cage and he really does love it.

https://www.amazon.com/Pet-Products-...00CLA19FW?th=1

Thanks heaps for your help! I'm sorry I didn't see this until now because for some reason I didn't get an email notification I will definitely have to get a heater it gets very cold even in the summer sometimes but I will have to try to find one in New Zealand. Will post pictures when we bring our bird home! I'm so excited and also nervous lol!

[maxollie]

Hi, and welcome to the community. I don't use electric heaters, but instead I use flannel throw covers. I cover all sides of the cage at night for my budgie and cockatiel. Each have their own cage. I have electric baseboard heaters in my home and bedroom. Sometimes in the winter it gets -10-20 below zero, and my birds are nice and warm through the winter months covering as I do.

Deanna's suggestions are great as well. She has lots of experience with birds over the years. Those little heaters sound great to me.

[theanimalperson]

Hi, and welcome to the community. I don't use electric heaters, but instead I use flannel throw covers. I cover all sides of the cage at night for my budgie and cockatiel. Each have their own cage. I have electric baseboard heaters in my home and bedroom. Sometimes in the winter it gets -10-20 below zero, and my birds are nice and warm through the winter months covering as I do.

Deanna's suggestions are great as well. She has lots of experience with birds over the years. Those little heaters sound great to me.

Hi! Thanks for the welcome! Thank you for sharing your experience I'm so pleased to have solutions, when we thought we wouldn't be able to get one after all

[boomer girl]

If you buy a heater for your bird really make sure it does not have Teflon coatings on it. Lots of them that are sold are toxic to birds. Teflon coatings have PFOA and PTFE coatings which when heated can kill a bird. Pans and cookware also have these so make sure none of these have this coating because if it is overheated it can kill your little bird. Not to mention these coatings are not so good for us humans either. I use stainless steel or cast iron cookware and make sure none of our heaters have PFOA/PTFE coatings. Here in the USA we have Holmes heaters that never have these coatings but many other companies seem to making things without these toxic coatings as well. We use a Holmes Radiator Heater here and it works great. I did read that most radiator heaters are not coated but make sure before you use it.