Keeping birds warm in the winter months

[Myzomela]

Hi E Orix,

Hope you didn't lose too many of your valuable chicks with the rain as you feared.

Can you let us know how you've fared?

Seems that birds are either being drowned or cooked at the moment , depending on which part of the country you live!

[Jayburd]

rescued 3 literally swimming baby redrumps at work the other day...

[E Orix]

Myzomela(thanks for asking)
I have just been able to have a good look through my collection and there are a number of Weaver nests lost.
It was expected as we had constant rain for over 48 hours and by my measure in excess of 220mm.
The surprising fact is there are 3 nests of chicks that I was worried about, all have come through without any sign of problems.
The losses were nests of eggs, obviously the hens with the chicks covered them,but as I have mentioned before each time the female leaves the nest she will bring back something to help line the nest, as the hens incubating had far less trips back to the nest they were not lined anywhere near as well as the others.
That and possibly the hens didn't care too much for a clutch of eggs, the good part is the cockbirds will build quickly and the hens will go down again.
The Grenadier Weavers didn't miss a beat as their nests are quite substantial and rain doesn't really cause too many problems.
All in all far better than I was thinking yesterday as the rain was pouring down.
Today is is sunny so everything is on the go again.

[spanna]

great news orix, glad things weren't as bad as you thought they would be. prepare for the worst and anything better is a bonus eh?

[desertbirds]

Good news Eorix.Bet the birds are going nuts when the sun comes out.We didnt get our big storm either,if we got the rainfall you have received we would hve been in trouble.I was worried Friday arvo as my dog wouldnt come out from under the kitchen table and the Redbrows were really excited,seemed like they were flying to the wire looking for a way out.Loads of flying ants today so they are keeping busy and although its wet we should be ok.Good to hear all was not lost at your place.

[Myzomela]

Very encouraging news E Orix,

Glad to hear it.

Interesting observation re hens bringing in nesting material as they revisit the nest. I bet you'd rather save chicks than eggs any day if you had to chose!

Good luck with the rest of the season.

[Jayburd]

glad to hear it's mostly OK down there!

[gouldianpaul]

i've insulated the roof and side walls and have put cafe blinds for those cold nights/days.

[Poohbear UK]

This was mine a few weeks ago...the boarded section has heating at about 55f the rest is sheeted against cold winds but not the cold.Bengalese and Bichenos insist on roosting in the cold section which one night was 17 below freezing..they are all fine and thriving.The last few nights the temperature has been around 50f at night and is the first time this winter the heating has been off.The shed section has artificial lighting for 2 hours after dark to encourage the birds to roost in there...dropping to a red night light overnight.

[finchbreeder]

Good luck to all you people world wide with crazy weather conditions. Makes me glad I live in about the only part of the country not experiencing any Major wierd weather. True we have had less than 350mm of rain all year and it has been more continuously over 30dayly and over 15nightly and constant humidity is lasting for weeks. But no floods, no fires (well not closer that 50/100ks) and no snow. My Home.
LML