A buddy is going out of town on business for 4-6 weeks (possibly longer, he doesn’t know yet) and has asked me to take care of his African Grey. I have cared for parrots in the past and know the amount of work and effort that goes into doing so, so please, no well-meaning warnings about how one should be experienced in parrot handling before tackling something of this nature. Back then though, I lived with a woman and kept my house considerably warmer than I do now to suit her comfort level.
My question is this: I usually keep my house quite cool, around 64 degrees. Will this endanger the parrot?
Parrots can tolerate surprisingly cold temperatures as long as the temperature drop happens slowly and the bird isn’t exposed to drafts. If your friend keeps his place warmer, I’d suggest turning your heat up when the parrot first arrives, then gradually reducing the temperature by 2 degrees per day until you get it back down to 64. That gives the bird a gradual adjustment period. Feral parrots survive Chicago winters - the African Grey will be fine in your comparatively balmy apartment!
Parrots can tolerate surprisingly cold temperatures as long as the temperature drop happens slowly and the bird isn’t exposed to drafts. If your friend keeps his place warmer, I’d suggest turning your heat up when the parrot first arrives, then gradually reducing the temperature by 2 degrees per day until you get it back down to 64. That gives the bird a gradual adjustment period. Feral parrots survive Chicago winters - the African Grey will be fine in your comparatively balmy apartment!
Sunglasses = fine
Cell phone = borderline
Pants around buttocks, boxers showing = way too cool for a parrot
You could also rig up a heat lamp to one side of the bird’s cage or perch. Be careful not to roast him! And it has to be far enough away he can’t get ahold of it or chew on the cord. But by doing so in such a way that he can move closer or farther from it, he’ll be able to find his own comfort zone.
At night, a heavy towel over one corner of the cage should help hold in his body heat. Some parrots will even sleep under a blanket if you provide one! (I had three lovebirds and a conure who would do exactly that)
But 64 degrees shouldn’t be a problem, particularly if you allow him a few days of gradually lowering temperatures to adjust to it.