[yakkwak]

Hello all. Live in N. Texas area. We are not used to severe winter storms but are having one now. An alert was given for possibility of roving blackouts. How to keep my beautiful blue Pacific warm? I was thinking of placing inside of my shirt but am afraid of what would happen if I doze off. Don’t have a generator (city person). Was thinking of placing a large tablet, full brightness to bring up warmth, inside the small travel cage and put him in there. Any other ideas, please? If I cover the cage with lots of blankets, would there be enough oxygen in there for such a tiny creature?
Feather babies 1st.

 

[Two Parrotlets]

I have read about the ice storms that have hit Texas and are still expected in the news. If you have any hand warmers that are chemically activated, you can use those to keep your parrotlet warm if the electricity goes out. You can cover the cage with some blankets as you mentioned and have it so that there is a place for you to check on him.

I would only put him inside your shirt if you are awake. You do not want to accidentally roll over onto him.

 

[David Miller]

I hope you keep your power! If push comes to shove and you get desperate, is there any way you could possibly go somewhere for help? I have been in snow storms up north and they are a little different down south. Since you are city, is there any way you could go to a shelter? If you live in an apartment complex, ask the supervisor if they have a generator back-up for the building. If you use hand warmers, make sure they do not leak fumes. ( Some have been known to do this because of damage).
Try to find a place to go.

Dave

 

[ozzie3860]

Keeping a parrotlet warm is not as hard as you would think. They have their very own down jacket. All they have to do is interlock their feathers together and puff out and they will keep their heat in and the cold out. So for our part we just need to keep them out of wind, breezes, and drafts. Anything that will disrupt them will keep them from locking their feathers together and keeping warm. So rooms with out fans and maybe a cover over most of the cage should do just fine.
Also they regulate their heat through their feet. So if they are insistent about sitting on your naked skin that is what they are up too.

 

[yakkwak]

Thanks all. I have no place to go. Maybe? a shelter will take animals (my Yorkie and feather baby) too. Everyone provided some good ideas. We will hope for the best but have some tools now to try.

 

[Rubydoo252]

Hot water bottles are VERY useful in keeping warm. If you don't have an actual hot water bottle, you can fill a Nalgene or other heat-safe container with the hot water. Then place them beside (not inside) the cage and cover the cage with thick blankets to help keep the heat in (but make sure to allow for fresh air to come in). That is my emergency heat plan for Tumi, and it has been very effective so far.

 

[Anya]

I have encountered ice storms where the power was out for a few days. It is not fun. If the power goes out and your house starts getting cold, a smaller cage or carrier would be easier to keep them warm in. Put extra blankets over the cage. I remember when my house got very cold, cold seemed to radiate from the walls, so add an extra layer of warmth at the back of the cage. Put rolled up towels under doors and at the base of any drafty windows. One time, during a blizzard, I was living in an apartment, with no storm door, and the cold was coming through, so I covered my whole front door with a blanket. Close the vents. Does you have a gas stove? You can give your bird some warm food – like some wheat spaghetti and grains. Do not heat up dry food. Birds use up lot of energy trying to stay warm so make sure they are eating.

 

[yakkwak]

Thank you. I do not have a gas stove. It is nice, however, to know that others have survived these sorts of things. Our rolling blackouts continue and we won’t be out of the woods until the end of the week. Would this be a good time to allow for millet? It is typically reserved for training around here.

I love the hot water bottle idea! When the power goes out, I can fill up some thermos (what is the plural for that?!) before the water heater goes cold.

Thank you all so much!

 

[Rubydoo252]

Definitely, this is a good time for millet. It is a fast energy source, and energy means warmth! I would take advantage of when the power is on to boil lots of water that will keep you warm when the power is off. Hopefully this will resolve soon, although I know that lots of members are currently experiencing extreme cold and potential power outage. Stay warm, everyone!

 

[David Miller]

I hope you have power to read this and stay warm. I heard that Texas had a lot of massive blackouts all over the northern part of the state. Turn on your oven and get it hot inside of it. Keep the oven door closed and if you need some warmth, open the oven door a little bit. This will help, some. Do not put your bird near the oven when heating it, but it will be okay later on. Wrap towels or blankets around the bird cage. Let there be an opening at the bottom for fresh air to be able to vent in. If you open a space at the top of the cage, the warm air rises right out!

Please let us know how you are doing! We care very deeply about all our forum members.

David and Vicki👴👩🦜🦜

 

[JackieRTP]

Please do not use your oven as to heat your home. They were designed for cooking only. There are many reasons why this is a bad idea.

 

[Rubydoo252]

If you have an electric oven, it can't be used for emergency heat regardless of the safety of it. However, many house fires and deaths are caused each year by using things like ovens as heaters. Safety is the most important thing in the event of a power outage. Candles as well as very dangerous and should be avoided.

I HIGHLY recommend the hot water bottle approach pretty much exclusively. Water can be boiled with or without the aid of electricity, and then placed in heat safe containers. While there is a risk of burns initially, even that goes away eventually. Hot water retains its heat for an extended period of time, and is very effective at keeping small cages warm. It also works wonders at keeping people warm!

 

[JackieRTP]

Attempting to heat a home with a gas oven can result in carbon monoxide poisoning that can potentially cause death or in less lethal harmful, side effects. At low concentrations, carbon monoxide can cause fatigue in healthy people and chest pain in people with heart disease. At higher concentrations, carbon monoxide can cause impaired vision and coordination, headaches, dizziness, confusion, and nausea. It is fatal at very high concentrations

 

[Tofu]

Hello all. Live in N. Texas area. We are not used to severe winter storms but are having one now. An alert was given for possibility of roving blackouts. How to keep my beautiful blue Pacific warm? I was thinking of placing inside of my shirt but am afraid of what would happen if I doze off. Don’t have a generator (city person). Was thinking of placing a large tablet, full brightness to bring up warmth, inside the small travel cage and put him in there. Any other ideas, please? If I cover the cage with lots of blankets, would there be enough oxygen in there for such a tiny creature?
Feather babies 1st.

Hello! Resident northern hillbilly here who has themselves been hospitalized for hypothermia- If you can you want to get your hands on an emergency blanket- one of the silver metallic ones they are the best emergency insulators without power in my opinion if that's not possible pick another strongly insulated product like a winter coat to protect the bird from cold drafts. Parrotlets are surprisingly hearty and can handle lower temperatures pretty well in case of an emergency. I agree with the hot water bottles thing others have said. You can use your own body heat. Put them in their travel case and wrap up together while holding it (Ive done this with budgies in a winter blackout and it removes the fear of dozing off). The most worrisome is cold moving air so protecting from drafts should be the top priority. I wouldnt over cover the cage by layering too many blankets because yes youre right they still need some air flow at all times.

I would be wary of the tablet just because you cant control the heat, but you have to do what you have to do- also heating pads from cvs or from pet stores on the bottom of the cage where they wont touch it can radiate some needed heat your worry then is you dont want them to touch it or heat the bars to hot where they can touch it and possibly hurt themselves.

All living things pretty much show signs of hypothermia the same way in that they're lethargic- being too cold feels like you're going to sleep so if you are worried about a bird being too cold you want to watch their energy levels closely, make sure they're eating and drinking moving around and if not and they fluff up they're getting too cold; that's what youre looking for basically when it comes to behavior. We typically feed Tofu more in the winter becasue she is expending more energy keeping her body temperature regulated; even though we have gas heating and do provide her with a heater but its getting below -20s in the nights here and basically the best heating we have is snuggling lol