27/12/2022
I wrote this article on bird acclimation to weather because a lot of people don't seem to understand it. Like, your bird will freeze to death and die if your lamp fails. That tells me 1) they don't have any knowledge from experience on how birds use lamps and 2) don't understand a bird's acclimation process living outside, lamp or no lamp.
I spend most of my time in winter in heated buildings or vehicle. Yet, I have to go outside everyday for at least an hour or so. How come I don't I die when I step outside of my house? First of all, I cover myself in outer wear to stay warm and dry, and then I also get accustomed to the cold. That is what acclimation is. My body can handle the fluctuations. So what is initially cold in the beginning of winter I can handle those same temps later on with not as much bundling up.
It is no different for birds. They may warm up under a lamp, but can still spend most of their time in a cold pen or coop or even outside of a shelter and employ other things to keep warm while there. Between all the tools birds have to stay warm like food + water, herbs, activity and shelter from the elements, they figure it out. If a lamp goes out, they simply do something else to keep warm.
What you do need to be concerned with is extremely cold temps over a period of time. Acclimated or not, if a bird cannot generate enough heat to keep their body core warm, it can cause significant health issues, even to the point of death. I don't worry about a heat lamps going out. I worry about prolonged polar vortexes.
Bird Acclimation Article read here:
http://www.moonlightmileherbs.com/acclimation.html
