How can you tell if your bird is hot?

Question

The weather just changed and it got considerably warmer today than it has been in a while...so how can you tell if your bird is hot or uncomfortable with the temperature?

Answer 1

The bird's wings will stay folded but come away from his body (like a human moves his bent arm away to apply deodorant). Additionally, he/she may "pant" with his beak slightly open - chest moving rapidly with inhale and exhale. The bird may also avoid extra movement/activity and doze more right before he/she demonstrates what I just described. Birds are very sensitive to rapid temperature change. It is stressful on their system -- can be dangerous to their health/deadly to be too hot or cold for any amount of time. You can mist them with clean, fresh, tepid or cool water (not too cold!) placed in a clean = never-been -used-for - anything-else, spray bottle (like what people mist their plants with) if he/she is overheated. Also, offer bird drinking water after misting. It is ultra-important to do this immediately and to reduce the temperature in the environment or move cage to cooler place if bird is too hot. An avian or exotic animal veterinarian is a good resource to call and ask about all of these things, as well. Hope that helps:)

Answer 2

I'm not sure, but most pet birds are from warm environments, and so my guess is that they are used to hot weather. If it's too hot for you, the bird might be hot though, I would imagine.

Definitely make sure that there is plenty of clean water for the bird to drink. Double up on water dishes if need be.

I can tell if my mom's pet birds are cold, because they fluff up, but she always keeps her house pretty cool, even in summer, so I don't know how they would act if they're too hot.

Your bird might enjoy a bath, or maybe even getting misted by a spray bottle held from far away. Be careful when introducing this though, so you don't scare or startle your bird. My mom's bird takes coaxing to get into his bathtub (a big plastic bowl), but he loves splashing around in there once he gets in. Just use room temperature plain water.

I'm not an expert, I've just had experience with my mom's pet birds.

Answer 3

Birds can suffer from heatstroke so always make sure that they have a place out of the sun to relax. Make sure that they have clean water to bathe in and to drink.

When a bird is hot, they will hold their feathers very close to their body and pant. This is a very bad sign!

Here is a great article about it along with what you should do:

Heatstroke in Companion Birds
Holly Nash, DVM, MS
Veterinary Services Department, Drs. Foster & Smith, Inc.


Birds, like other warm-blooded animals can overheat. This most commonly occurs if:


The bird is kept in a cage in direct sunlight where there is no shade or shelter from the sun.


A bird is in a vehicle with the windows closed or with inadequate ventilation.


Too much supplemental heat, in the form of a heat lamp or heating pad, is supplied.


The bird is wrapped in a towel (a common method of restraint) for too long of a time period.

Overheating tends to occur more commonly in birds that are overweight, so keep your bird at her optimal weight.

Signs of heat stress or heatstroke

Signs of heatstroke in a bird include:

Panting (open-mouth breathing)
Holding the wings away from the body
Anxiety or agitation
Heatstroke can be fatal, so prompt attention is required.

First aid for heatstroke

To treat a bird with heat stress or heatstroke:

Move the bird to a quiet, cooler location
Mist the bird with water until his skin is wet
Keep the bird's feet and legs moist with cool water
Do not additionally stress the bird
Monitor the bird closely and contact your veterinarian

Answer 4

"Check the bird's temperature by gently touching the bird; it should feel warmer than your body temperature. If the bird's surroundings are cold, he will also be (and feel) cold. If the bird is overheated, it may hold its neck extended and breathe with its mouth open." It may also drink more. Ofter clean, tepid bath water for it to splash in.
Another source on the web:
"If the environmental temperature becomes too hot, birds must mobilize water to lose heat through evaporative cooling (as we do when we perspire) and avoid death from overheating. Since birds have no sweat glands, heat must be lost through the respiratory tract by panting, or in nonpasserines by the rapid vibration of the upper throat and thin floor of the mouth (gular flutter)."

Answer 5

Simple.

I used to own parakeets when I was a kid and this one parakeet would open her wings and wiggle them back and forth on a hot day, so we would turn on the air conditioner to cool her down a little bit or fan her lightly so she could get cool again. We also let her out of the cage so she could fly around which has the obvious effect of cooling bird down a little bit, at least in theory lol.

Answer 6

They will leave their beak open and pant a little as well as hold their wings away from their body to cool off. If your bird is outside make sure they have a shaded area too and maybe a bowl of water at the bottom of the cage so that they can bathe or play in. :)

Answer 7

Birds lack sweat glands, their feet (the only exposed skin area) usually become very warm, and the bird pants (open mouth tongue may be slightly extended)

Answer 8

If it's getting calls from other birds at all hours of the night and is showing up with expensive gifts.

Answer 9

since polly doesn't always want a cracker (or tell you her inner most thoughts) check the feathers. if she/he is shaking or attempting to shake her feathers loose away from her/his skin, that's a good indication. be careful. birds adjust to the temps a lot better than we do. they might be uncomfortable for a mere minutes & then climatize while we take longer & maybe never. fans or a/c units blowing on the birds is/can be harmful. go slow & use caution.

Answer 10

Then, praytell, WTF does it teach ??? A bullet hollow between the eyes proves the physique grew to become into shot lifeless, yet there are not any Fingerprints, DNA, photographic or video evidence etc, to teach that he grew to become into murdered. Absence of evidence isn't evidence of absence. Many human charlatans (like Nostradamus, Edgar Cayce and others) have tried to predict the destiny yet have failed, and purely the Writers of the Bible have a one hundred% precise checklist. . . .