Do our feathered freinds feel the cold?

[Fagan]

I live in South Africa, and at the moment the weather is horrible ranging from -4 to 14C, could you tell me whether birds (ringneck parakeet) would feel the cold even though he is inside, my firends tell me i'm paranoid and that the feathers will keep him warm. My home is chilly, and i have noticed that he shivers, is he cold or does he have another kind of problem. If he is getting cold is there a way on how i could keep him warm without running a heater full time. I am worried that the shivering is his way of telling me he is cold, although he does not seem to do this all the time.

[charmedagain]

Hi your not being paranoid, they do feel the cold just they can usually tolerate it rather well..

If his cage is situated where there is a draught this will be harmful to him.
If its cold in your home to the point that you can just say tolerate it then what i would advise is place an old sheet or blanket over his cage on a night but leaving a gap near the bottom to allow air to circulate, during the day you can still have the cage covered but leaving the front uncovered so that he can get some light this will help keep most of the chill out..

Make sure his cage is nowhere near a draught and he should be fine...

Home this has helped

Mike

[Zeppy`s mom]

To answer your question , ye they do . If you ever see your bird all puffy and big then they are cold ,or feel a draft .Hope that helped!

[charmedagain]

Just because a bird is sat fluffed up does not mean they are cold this could be an indication they are really ill this is the first tell tale sign that all is not well health wise.

When my birds get cold they do not sit fluffed up they just sit there with there heads tucked under there wings and will shiver a little.

Mike