# Bathing in the Winter



## Java (Jan 11, 2011)

My cockatiel is always itchy due to the dust that he produces collecting on him. It is critical to give him a bath by misting him, however I have a major concern about doing so. Essentially, my house is freezing. It was built in the 1880s, and it is poorly isolated and drafty. Our only source of heat is a pellet stove that nearly never works. I need to always keep his cage covered in order to protect him, and yet it still does not look like enough. When I take him out to play with him and give him exercise in my "bird room," he looks miserable and cold after a while. I have been contemplating of getting a space heater, but the wiring upstairs is too poor and blows the fuse.

That's enough of my rambling. I feel so bad for my bird Java. 

What do you suggest that I do in order to clean him safely without the chance of him catching a cold in this environment?


----------



## LittleGems (Jan 12, 2011)

Just how cold is your house? Unless there is icicles hanging from your ceiling, I am sure he is just fine. My bird room is heated to no warmer than 64 F, and my birds still get bathed/misted daily - in fact mine prefer to bath in ice cold water! As long as they get a chance to acclimate to it, birds can handle much lower temperatures than most people realize. When I use to have outdoor aviaries my birds actually really enjoyed playing in snow...


----------



## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

LittleGems said:


> Just how cold is your house? Unless there is icicles hanging from your ceiling, I am sure he is just fine. My bird room is heated to no warmer than 64 F, and my birds still get bathed/misted daily - in fact mine prefer to bath in ice cold water! As long as they get a chance to acclimate to it, birds can handle much lower temperatures than most people realize. When I use to have outdoor aviaries my birds actually really enjoyed playing in snow...


I watched a cockatiel playing in the snow on youtube... where i live its not warm here either i simply stick heating on and have a heater on make sure its nice and warm for them (me mostly)


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

You can have a humidifier going in the room where your bird is at during the winter. During the winter the humidity levels are low and a humidifier helps.


----------



## stormdream (Jan 15, 2011)

I feel for you! I have a similar situation; my apartment is older and has zero in the way of insulation, and we've had a cold snap here recently. The place is generally OK during the day, but it gets _cold_ at night. I asked the bird vet about temperatures, since I'd been running the heat pretty frequently and was worried about my gas bill. 

He said the mid-50s-60s is fine, provided the temperature drop isn't abrupt (say, taking a bird from a 50-degree room into an 80-degree room). He did say that younger birds need more warmth, so I try to keep it around 70. 

Have you looked into a heat lamp? You could place one near Java's cage and turn it on after he's had a bath.


----------

