Winter is coming…

As the weather gets colder, so does your cockatiel. 

It’s important that you don’t allow your cockatiel to get too cold for too long. Being exposed to low temperatures and a cold breeze for too long can make cockatiels sick.

But it gets harder to keep your home warm as temperatures continue to drop.

In this article, you’ll learn how to keep your cockatiel warm on cold days so they’re not freezing their feathers off!

But first, let’s discuss how cold is too cold for cockatiels…

Quick Navigation:

• Ideal Temperature Range For Cockatiels
• Provide A Warm Living Space For Your Cockatiel
• Increase Your Cockatiel’s Activity Level
  • Flight Training For Warmth
  • Foraging & Shredding
• Provide A Thermo-Perch Or Heating Pad To Your Cockatiel
  • Benefits Of A Thermo-Perch
  • Benefits Of A Heating Pad
• 3 Signs Of A Cold Cockatiel

Ideal Temperature Range For Cockatiels

The ideal temperature range for pet cockatiels is between 70 – 75 °F (21 – 23 °C). ^[1]

However, it’s important to note that cockatiels are highly adaptable species and their natural habitat is normally much hotter than this range. If a cockatiel has adapted to living in hotter temperatures, they won’t suffer any issues living within that temperature.

As long as it’s not extremely hot or cold, cockatiels are safe.

But if the temperature is lower than what they’re used to, it’ll cause discomfort.

A cold cockatiel is not a happy cockatiel.

So, how cold is too cold for cockatiels?

As a general rule of thumb: If it’s too cold for you, it’s likely too cold for your bird.

I’d suggest not letting their environment drop anywhere past 60 °F (15° C)

Provide A Warm Living Space For Your Cockatiel

By far the best way to keep a cockatiel warm is to warm up the living space.

I’ve come up with 5 effective ways of providing a warm living space for your cockatiels, as well as yourself on cold days:

1. Prevent cold air from coming in
2. Use a radiator heater in your home
3. Keep the cage away from doors & windows
4. Cover the cage with a blanket at night
5. Keep air conditioners off

Let’s discuss these in further detail…

Prevent Cold Air From Coming In

The first step in keeping your house warm is preventing cold air from coming inside.

Cold air from outside will push out any attempts at warming the house up, including the warmth from heaters. The most common way cockatiels catch colds is from sneaky drafts entering the house without the owner’s knowledge.

Keep doors and windows closed and less cold air will enter the house.

This is a good first step in the direction of keeping your cockatiel warm.

Use A Radiator Heater In Your Home

The radiator heater I’ve used in my home for years works wonders in keeping the house warm.

Not only is it a great way to stay toasty on cold days, but radiator heaters produce no toxic smells, so they’re 100% bird-safe!

This is what my heater looks like:

Most heaters that look like this are bird-safe.

But of course, some heaters are toxic to birds, so it’s best to ensure your heater is safe before using it around your cockatiel.

Some heaters even use PTFE-coated parts, which are deadly to pet birds.

The best way to make sure is to ring up your heater manufacturers and ask if they’re bird-safe.

Keep The Cage Away From Doors & Windows

In certain temperatures and humidities, cold air and moisture can come through closed doors and windows.

Which is why it may sometimes feel chilly near closed doors and windows.

To protect your cockatiel from this cold, it’s best to keep the cage away from doors and windows.

Especially on extremely cold days.

The cage doesn’t need to be too far away, but you should avoid having it up against them.

I know that a lot of bird owners, myself included, normally set up the cage near a window for their birds to look out of.

On cold days, I suggest setting the cage up somewhere else.

Cover The Cage With A Blanket At Night

Cold temperatures are worse at night, which makes it even harder to keep your cockatiel warm.

Following the advice mentioned above will help your cockatiel stay toasty during the day, but what can you do at night?

Well, covering the cage with a blanket is a great way to hold warmth within the cage.

A thick or thin blanket covering most of the cage should be good enough.

However, you should avoid wrapping up the entire cage as your cockatiel needs constant access to fresh air.

Leave at least one side of the cage open for fresh air to flow through.

Look at how I cover my cockatiel’s cage at night:

It allows adequate airflow while also keeping my cockatiel warm and cozy.

Keep Air Conditioners Off

What kind of maniac would use an air conditioner on cold days?

If you’re really that crazy, it’s best to leave air conditioners off on cold days. The cold air emitted from air conditioners, even on a low fan setting, can make your cockatiel uncomfortable.

Leaving the air con off on cold days will retain warmth within your home, which benefits your bird.

Increase Your Cockatiel’s Activity Level

An effective way for any animal to keep warm is to engage in physical activities.

For us humans, this would include running or swimming, but for our cockatiels, there are 2 activities that increase their body temperature most effectively:

1. Flying

2. Shredding & foraging

Cold cockatiels can warm themselves up by engaging in these physical exercises.

Flight Training For Warmth

Flying, but more specifically wing flapping, is the bird equivalent to running in humans.

Said another way; Wing flapping and flying use a similar amount of energy as humans while running.

Since we all know how our bodies feel after running for a while, it’s not hard to imagine how birds feel after some flying time.

They would feel tired, exhausted, and most importantly, their body temperature will increase.

Therefore, casual flight training is a great way to quickly warm up your cockatiel on cold days.

The longer they fly, the faster they warm up.

Try to encourage long-distance flights for extra exercise!

Foraging & Shredding

The next best physical activities for keeping cockatiels warm are what they spend most of their time doing in the wild:

Foraging for food and destroying various objects in their habitat.

While it might not seem very energy-consuming to us, these 2 activities keep their bodies moving.

And therefore, the activities will help keep their bodies at a warm temperature compared to if they weren’t doing anything.

Don’t leave your cockatiel bored if they’re cold.

Provide a few foraging and shredding toys to get them busy, active, and moving around.

Provide A Thermo-Perch Or Heating Pad To Your Cockatiel

If you’ve been searching for ways to keep your cockatiel warm, you’ve probably seen heated perches and heating pads.

Or you’ve at least heard mentions of these items.

Now, are they actually necessary for your bird?

Well, if you can keep your home at a warm temperature during the cold seasons, the answer is probably not.

But if you can’t do that, these items will certainly benefit your parrot.

Let’s discuss the main benefits and features of both thermo-perches and heating pads!

Benefits Of A Thermo-Perch For Cockatiels

Thermo-perches are exactly how they sound:

They’re electrical powered perches that can heat up to keep your bird warm.

It might sound like a dangerous item, but the modern-day ones have safety precautions and are low-voltage. This means there is a 0% chance of your bird burning their feet on the thermo-perch and it’s not going to burn your house down either.

Overall, a heated perch will benefit your cockatiel if you struggle to keep the home at a warm temperature during winter.

Check Out The K&E Pet Products Thermo-Perch

Benefits Of A Heating Pad For Cockatiels

Heating pads are similar to thermo-perches, except your cockatiel can’t perch on them.

They’re flat heated rectangles that you can install on the side of the cage so your bird can snuggle up to it when they’re cold.

Like the thermo-perch, it’s powered by an electric cable.

While heating pads are good options, I think your cockatiel would benefit more from having a heated perch that they can stand on when it gets cold.

Despite this, heated pads will still keep your cockatiel warm in winter.

Check Out The K&E Pet Products Snuggle-Up Heating Pad

3 Signs Of A Cold Cockatiel

Now that we know how to keep a cockatiel warm when it’s cold, I think it’s important to discuss the signs of a cold cockatiel.

I mean, how would you know to warm them up if you don’t know they’re cold?

Knowing when your cockatiel is cold will help you prevent them from getting sick.

Below are 3 potential signs of a cold cockatiel:

1. Shivering

Shivering is probably the most noticeable sign that your cockatiel is cold.

Cockatiels shiver involuntarily when they need to warm their bodies up, so of course, this happens when they’re cold.

When you notice shivering, they might be a bit cold.

But shivering and shaking can happen for a number of other reasons.

2. Sneezing

Sneezing normally occurs when dust or feathers enter your bird’s nostrils.

But it can also occur when your cockatiel is cold.^[2]

If you notice unusual sneezing, especially excessive sneezing, it might be time to crank up the heat and turn on the thermo-perch!

Note: In some cases, sneezing is a sign of sickness. If you believe your bird is ill, take them to a vet asap.

3. Excessive Feather Fluffing

It’s difficult to conclude if your cockatiel is cold based on having fluffed-up feathers.

While being puffed up can indicate coldness, cockatiels are known to do this when they’re relaxing or sleeping.

Just look at my cockatiel:

This was on an 85° F (30° C) day, so he definitely wasn’t cold.

However, if you notice fluffed feathers for long periods when you wouldn’t think they’re tired, it’s likely due to the cold.

In which case you need to warm up the house.

Conclusion | Short Summary

So, how do you prevent your cockatiel from catching a chill on cold days?

Let’s briefly recap what we covered in this article:

The best way to keep your bird warm is by keeping their environment warm, which can be done in the following ways:

• Close doors & windows to stop cold air from entering the house
• Use a radiator heater in your home
• Keep the cage away from doors and windows
• Cover the cage with a blanket on cold nights
• Keep air conditioners off

We also discussed that encouraging your bird to be physically active will help keep them warm.

And the 3 best ways for a cockatiel to get physical exercise are:

1. Flight
2. Foraging
3. And shredding

Providing your cockatiel with a thermo-perch or heating pad is another great way to keep them nice and toasty on cold days.

Finally, we covered the 3 signs of a cold cockatiel, which were:

1. Shivering
2. Sneezing
3. And being fluffed up for extended periods

Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best in the colder seasons!

Sources:

1. https://petkeen.com/ideal-room-temperature-for-cockatiels/
2. https://kelleysislandnature.com/keep-cockatiels-warm/