Hi All

 

I have two questions.

 

How hot is hot before you start getting deaths in nestboxes when breeding during summer in a bird room? I know outside in the aviary the budgies can with stand a 40 degree day here and there with some sprays etc.

 

My next question is how much light is required if you keep your breeding boxes inside a shed or a enclosed area. Do they need natural light to breed well?

 

I currently have my breeding boxes in a shed with a sky light. my original thoughts was to remove the birds from the boxes in Dec to Feb to beat the heat that way.

 

what are peoples thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Hi All

 

I have two questions.

 

How hot is hot before you start getting deaths in nestboxes when breeding during summer in a bird room? I know outside in the aviary the budgies can with stand a 40 degree day here and there with some sprays etc.

 

My next question is how much light is required if you keep your breeding boxes inside a shed or a enclosed area. Do they need natural light to breed well?

 

I currently have my breeding boxes in a shed with a sky light. my original thoughts was to remove the birds from the boxes in Dec to Feb to beat the heat that way.

 

what are peoples thoughts.

 

 

There's differing ideas of how hot is hot. If your breeding room has a fairly high height to the roof it will keep cooler. The average shed of around 1800 high will be too hot, where a height of around 2400 to 2700 will be better.

If you have a skylight thats where the heat comes in in summer. My skylight to my birdroom lets heat in through summer. I put a large sheet of lattice covered with shadecloth up there in summer to shade the skylight. It makes a huge difference.

Is there trees for shade over the birdroom ? It helps.

Airflow and cooling draughts and breezes are also important in cooling down a birdroom or shed. Being able to open doors at the right time of day and still have mesh inner doors for safety is good.

February gets way too hot.

If its too hot for parents to stay in the nestboxes and the chicks are laying prostrate and breathing hard it s a sign you should have stopped breeding weeks ago.

If there isnt enough light in the shed your breeding results will suffer too. If you want to breed through summer and your conditions arent quite right look for alternatives.....like garage or spare room in the house with airconditioning.

Edited October 19, 201014 yr by KAZ

A whirly gig (I think that's what they are called, those spinning things you can put on top of roofs) is also a good idea to keep the temperature down as much as possible. If doubtful I wouldn't risk it. Maybe put a thermometer in the nest box on a hot day before you put any birds down just to check the temperature is reasonable... that way you don't have to go looking for an alternative quickly halfway through raising a clutch. I know that probably means that this summer you will be checking to see if its safe, annoying but at least your birds will all be safe.

Thanks Guys.

 

At the moment i am breeding in My garage shed, So i am lucky to get the roof height. I was just tinking of insulating the roof to stop the extra heat from coming in. I think the height of the shed at the top of the gable is about 3.0 meters.

A whirly gig (I think that's what they are called, those spinning things you can put on top of roofs) is also a good idea to keep the temperature down as much as possible. If doubtful I wouldn't risk it. Maybe put a thermometer in the nest box on a hot day before you put any birds down just to check the temperature is reasonable... that way you don't have to go looking for an alternative quickly halfway through raising a clutch. I know that probably means that this summer you will be checking to see if its safe, annoying but at least your birds will all be safe.

 

 

Temperature of an empty box and temperature of a box with chicks in is entirely different JB. If the weather is hot enough in the birdroom to make you sweat it is likely too hot for bird breeding

 

BUT if you can get a couple of the old bonaire water coolers and afford to run them it all helps too.

 

Temperature of an empty box and temperature of a box with chicks in is entirely different JB. If the weather is hot enough in the birdroom to make you sweat it is likely too hot for bird breeding

 

BUT if you can get a couple of the old bonaire water coolers and afford to run them it all helps too.

 

I agree KAZ. Just saying if its hot in a nest box without birds, its going to be even worse with them in and so not starting to breed would be better than starting and then realizing its too hot.

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