# How hot is too hot? Possible heat emergency?



## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Today is the first really hot day we have had with our girls in an outdoor shed. I have been off work and leaving the shed doors and windows open. Today, the solar powered fan has failed to work, defective. With the doors closed for 20 minutes it was over 90 in the shed and 110 outside in the sun. How hot is too hot? What temp is comfortable for pigeons and how do people achieve it? They are in flight cages in an insulated shed. Do I need to call in sick on hot days, buy an air conditioner, move them in small cages into the house when I am not home, or ? Put pans of water? Thanks!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I know I already suggested this, but if you made it a loft, then you could add an aviary with a bath for the hot days. I have a fan pulling out the hot air, and bringing in fresh air, but when it's hot, it's hot. Mine go out into the aviary and get wet in the bath. Can you guys add an inside screen door on the shed somehow? That way you could open the heavy door and air would go in. On my loft, the door is a storm door with windows, and you can push one up and leave just screen , which also helps.


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

There is a learning curve with having pigeons and with this learning adventure one loses pigeons and gets frantic in the meanwhile. You are at the beginning of this learning curve and everything at this time is a problem that you cannot decide about. Yes that is too hot and your pigeons will suffer so bring them into the house once again and go to work as your usual and figure out the problem. You need to build a "fly Pen" so that you can leave that door open or get a screen door attached inside so that you can leave the door open. If you have s small regular fan just to move air out the windows and keep the air circulating in the loft things will be cooler. Air conditioners will not work for they will be clogged up in a matter of days and overheat and break down. Those stand up fans about 17 inches will move the air around and circulate it but it is too confining for the birds to be healthy. You need a aviary or fly pen built around the door with a door to the fly pen then you can leave the door open and leave the pigeons fly free in the loft and fly pen with a bathing area so they can get cool if they want too. For now bring the pigeons back into your house until you fix this problem because this kind of heat will kill your birds so bring them in and build a fly pen with hard wire and also it could be a safety double entrance to the loft with a door you can lock. Your solar fan might not be getting enough of sun to make it move and this is just a idea here about its workings. If the walls in the loft are insulated with no cover then go to arc stores and buy flat sheets and nail those up until you get the panels to the walls put up. Also if that lady brings the pigeon over your house for you to get then get it but have someone else there with you for you know not who these people are so have another person with you if possible. Look what I discovered awhile back about three weeks ago in my loft---a half of a egg shell on the floor and here is the result...I am having eye surgeries and my computer is overheating and problems like that but I wanted to share this picture with you..


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

OOps! LOL. But they are adorable. Thank you for posting the picture. 

I like the idea of the fly pen being attached to the door. Safer when you enter the loft, as no one can get out. But if not do-able, then even make another window on the other side and connect it to that. At least it would be open in the hot weather.
Nice to see you back, by the way.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Jay3 said:


> I know I already suggested this, but if you made it a loft, then you could add an aviary with a bath for the hot days. I have a fan pulling out the hot air, and bringing in fresh air, but when it's hot, it's hot. Mine go out into the aviary and get wet in the bath. Can you guys add an inside screen door on the shed somehow? That way you could open the heavy door and air would go in. On my loft, the door is a storm door with windows, and you can push one up and leave just screen , which also helps.


We can't figure out how to add a screen door because one door opens out and the outer door is barn sized. We bought an air conditioner tonight and pans to,put water inside the cages. But we had no power for a while today because I paid the bill today and they wanted it yesterday.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

One of us will have to call in sick tomorrow. Would love to move the birds inside but I have pigeon breeders lung. Our neighbor is a very nasty person who would love to use a pellet gun on them. Will put water pans and the air conditioner until it breaks down and ponder how to make a safe fly pen. On the roof? But our psycho neighbor could still hit them with a pellet gun. Maybe we should move, I don't know. BTW a famous racer who,just won a lot of races also just offered me a hen!


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

c.hert said:


> There is a learning curve with having pigeons and with this learning adventure one loses pigeons and gets frantic in the meanwhile. You are at the beginning of this learning curve and everything at this time is a problem that you cannot decide about. Yes that is too hot and your pigeons will suffer so bring them into the house once again and go to work as your usual and figure out the problem. You need to build a "fly Pen" so that you can leave that door open or get a screen door attached inside so that you can leave the door open. If you have s small regular fan just to move air out the windows and keep the air circulating in the loft things will be cooler. Air conditioners will not work for they will be clogged up in a matter of days and overheat and break down. Those stand up fans about 17 inches will move the air around and circulate it but it is too confining for the birds to be healthy. You need a aviary or fly pen built around the door with a door to the fly pen then you can leave the door open and leave the pigeons fly free in the loft and fly pen with a bathing area so they can get cool if they want too. For now bring the pigeons back into your house until you fix this problem because this kind of heat will kill your birds so bring them in and build a fly pen with hard wire and also it could be a safety double entrance to the loft with a door you can lock. Your solar fan might not be getting enough of sun to make it move and this is just a idea here about its workings. If the walls in the loft are insulated with no cover then go to arc stores and buy flat sheets and nail those up until you get the panels to the walls put up. Also if that lady brings the pigeon over your house for you to get then get it but have someone else there with you for you know not who these people are so have another person with you if possible. Look what I discovered awhile back about three weeks ago in my loft---a half of a egg shell on the floor and here is the result...I am having eye surgeries and my computer is overheating and problems like that but I wanted to share this picture with you..


Agree with Jay3, your new little ones are adorable! Hope you are on the mend soon from your eye surgeries and that your computer is fixed soon too. It's always something!!


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## c.hert (Jan 15, 2010)

You will figure all of this out and get carpenter advice about that door because it can be done. Maybe build a fencing or something along your neighbors sight of the pigeons so that he will not see them. Don't really know what to suggest at this time because suggestions seem to lead to other problems. With that air conditioner do not let it get tooooo cold for that could be bad. It will clog up with dust but do the best that you can for this moment in time. The pigeons really need exercise of flying to be happy with a area for a bath so I think that Fly Pen is most important and it can give privacy from the neighbor as well if you used those lattice type of wood over the hard wire in some areas as well and this looks pretty and supports it more and gives shade too. Good Luck to you and be sure to pay your next electric bill on time.. lol lol...


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

c.hert, thanks!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

If you put the screen door on the inside where the small door is, you could open the smaller outside heavy door, then there would be a screen door there. Open the window on the opposite side of the shed, and that would be some cross draft. That would have to be the door that you leave open, not the larger one. 

Why would you put the aviary on the roof? Can it be put on the back or the other side where you have the one window? Then you can just open the window to let them out. Hard to tell as don't have a picture that shows how much room you have around the shed. Maybe another picture would help.

Funny how you were offered another bird, but don't complicate it. Blue is a pretty bird, and you decided on her. You will drive yourself crazy with too many choices. We had a neighbor like that too, but she died. Oh well!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, they do fine, but not in a closed up shed.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Actually they do fine in cold weather. The heat can wreak havoc with them, especially in a closed up shed. It isn't the heat alone that she is worried about. It is the heat in a closed shed. Hence the reason for her worry. At the moment, no air, no ventilation. They will bake. So not sure why you are advising for her not to worry. Since at the moment she doesn't have the ventilation, and is trying to figure out the best way to do that.


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## John_D (Jan 24, 2002)

Do we need to go round in circles here? It's already been said: 



> ... But they do need circulation and ventilation and shade.


The issue to address is how cwebster can achieve this.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

John_D said:


> Do we need to go round in circles here? It's already been said:
> 
> 
> 
> The issue to address is how cwebster can achieve this.


John, that is what we're trying to do. The solar fan died, she has to go to work, and can't leave her shed door open when she is not there, as she worries about predators and her next door neighbors bothering with the birds. trying to come up with ways to fix it. Can you think of anything? Would just a fan blowing air out of one window and let it come it the other windows be enough? Especially with temps at 100 to 110 in the sun.


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## Whytpigeon (Sep 14, 2015)

cwebster said:


> Today is the first really hot day we have had with our girls in an outdoor shed. I have been off work and leaving the shed doors and windows open. Today, the solar powered fan has failed to work, defective. With the doors closed for 20 minutes it was over 90 in the shed and 110 outside in the sun. How hot is too hot? What temp is comfortable for pigeons and how do people achieve it? They are in flight cages in an insulated shed. Do I need to call in sick on hot days, buy an air conditioner, move them in small cages into the house when I am not home, or ? Put pans of water? Thanks!


Pigeons come from Arab countries that are the hottest on the planet. So I would not worry too much. They actually do better in hot than they do in wet cold. But they do need circulation and ventilation and shade.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Just stayed home because the brand new air conditioner won't set the temperature! May just buy fans and take the air con back. Is only supposed to be 99 today and 104 tomorrow. With the shed doors open it is quite pleasant but I don't want our psycho neighbor or animals to get into the shed.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Would your neighbor actually do something? That is really ridiculous.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

He caught a stray tame cat he thought was ours and knocked on our door and taunted us, "I have your cat" and disappeared it. We never let our cats outside. After we bought the house, before we moved in, he threatened to "kill" my significant other because we asked him to please not keep parking in his Rv in our driveway. He and his son shoot things with their bow and arrows and their dog chases things. He has threatened us about where the property lines are, and is always encroaching and pushing the limits...Parking in our yard, walking around in our backyard. Unfortunately we do not have a fence. There is always one guy like this in every neighborhood in CA.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

What a jerk. We used to have the tenants from next door parking past their property line and blocking half of our tenants driveway. My tenants at the time couldn't get in their driveway when they came home. We were always going over to ask people to get their cars out of our driveway. I finally ran a fence down between the driveways. Don't you love living near people? I wish we lived out in the woods, or at least further from people. I hear stories like yours all the time. I could care less what my neighbors do as long as it isn't hurting me.
We should have a thread on here about neighbors. Just to give people a place to vent. I'll bet it would be interesting.

I can see however, why you don't want to leave the shed open when you are not home. You need a good fence. Your neighbor is a bully, and has probably always been one. Live and let live.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Stayed home today to keep an eye on the pigeons. Gave them pans of water and ran the ac intermittently. Later when it cooled off opened all the windows and doors so they got fresh air. It was over 110 in the sun today but I tried to keep them between 85 and 90 max. They seemed fine. The neighbors huge living room windows point right at the shed. We are on 3/4 acre but the houses are very close unfortunately...too close.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They probably don't know the pigeons are in there. I would have at least set it up so that the back or side without the door faced their house. Does the big loft door face their house so that they can see inside the shed when the door is open?

I'm glad the birds were okay. Do they like bathing?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

cwebster said:


> He caught a stray tame cat he thought was ours and knocked on our door and taunted us, "I have your cat" and disappeared it. We never let our cats outside. After we bought the house, before we moved in, he threatened to "kill" my significant other because we asked him to please not keep parking in his Rv in our driveway. He and his son shoot things with their bow and arrows and their dog chases things. He has threatened us about where the property lines are, and is always encroaching and pushing the limits...Parking in our yard, walking around in our backyard. Unfortunately we do not have a fence. There is always one guy like this in every neighborhood in CA.


The barn type door faces the side of the house and the smaller regular type door faces their house. The birds seemed to like the bathing. Tracy hopped right in. Everybody seemed to bathe but Cheepie the suspicious scrub Jay, who uses his water dish instead. But Lucy and Tracy also poop,in the water so,I have to keep changing it. Between the sort of functional AC, pans of water, and later leaving the doors and windows open, it stayed decent in the shed. Just checked and it is around 78-80. Hope this heat wave is over soon. Tomorrow is supposed to be slightly hotter. Have put out pans of water for the poor wild birds, deer, stray cats, possums, raccoons too.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I would have put the shed in the back yard. It's been in the 70's here lately, which is perfect. Before that in the 80's. It's nice on those days to fill the bath pans out in the aviary. They run out like a bunch of kids going to the beach, then sunbathe on the shelves and perches outside in the sun. We love watching them. Can't imagine 110 degrees.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Just got home. Shed is 95 degrees with the air con on. 4 in afternoon. The thermometer out back shows 126 in the sun and 102 in the shade. Replaced the bath pans with cool water. Tracy and Lucy bathe together and splash each other and groom each other, very cute. All the plants out back that I watered yesterday are passed out. It is supposed to be 2 degrees warmer tomorrow.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

That's hot. It really would be nice if they could get outside and bathe. Then lay in the sunshine and catch every little breeze. Are you ever going to be able to ad an aviary, with those awful neighbors? Can the shed go in the back yard?
It was 87 here today, but it was nice. Now there is a cool little breeze coming in the window. Perfect!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

They were talking about your weather on t.v. today. Boy, it's really hot there right now. I'm really sorry for you and your birds. Hope all is well there.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Jay3, thank you for your kind words! Past two days have felt like Hades. Set a timer in the shed before I went to work so the AC would come on and came home early to make sure it was working. After it got cooler outside than in, opened all the doors and windows. Temp was 120 in the sun out back, and officially 106 then 102. Kept the shed at just below 90 and put pans of water for the birds. AC isn't very efficient. Will try to seal the shed better. It just isn't cooling like I had hoped. Is supposed to cool off again for a few days then get hot again. So far all the girls and the scrub jay are doing ok. If it gets any hotter will have to put everyone inside in smaller cages. My significant other will be home next few days which makes me feel better as he can monitor them. Am thinking about getting a mister for the shed. In the house it is hard keeping our 18 yr old plecostomus fish below 80 too. The good news though us that Blue pigeon who we adopted two weeks ago is circovirus negative per the vet. She is still isolated but will be able to meet Fiona soon. If they get along hopefully they will become best friends and Blue who is a great bird will be in a much larger flight cage with egg obsessed lonely Fiona.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Those are terrible temps. I worry for you and the birds. Don't see how you can use a mister in the shed. It needs to be kept dry. I know the shed is insulated, so wouldn't you think the AC would work better? 
I'm glad Blue is doing well. I think she's pretty. Somehow looked like a nice bird. Just introduce them slowly, from 2 different cages. Don't put her into Fiona's cage. Fiona will protect her territory and go after the other bird. That's what they do. Do you have pics of Blue?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Will try to post photos of Blue soon. Hope it gets cooler. Will try to introduce Fiona and Blue on neutral territory too but not until it cools more.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Yes, I would wait till it cooled a bit. Look forward to the pics.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Just got off work and found a phone msg in my car from PGE that the power was out. Apparently for hours. Raced home because it is very hot hoping to not find dead birds. Shed was over 90 but the power and AC were back on. Had left pans of water in each cage. Wish the heat would end. Hope PGE isn't going to start Enron like behaviors again.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Why? Do they shut the electric off for periods of time?
I'm glad everything was okay.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

As far as I can tell the power was off over three hours today with no warning.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Well sometimes we lose power too. Someone hits a pole or something happens. Maybe because so many are using electric to cool off. Glad the birds were okay.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Power goes off for short periods nearly every week. Yesterday was a longer outage. Too hot for the birds to be outside without a fan or ac. Was 113F a few miles north of here 2 days ago. Tired of the heat and worried about the wild birds and other living things too. Have refilled buckets for the deer twice daily. Am opening the shed for the pigeons at 4 am and after 9 or 10 pm while it is cool.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Good grief! I worry about my birds when it's like 90* out. Keeping them outside has kind of turned into a nightmare for you. Worrying all day while at work. And it's not even July yet.
Deer? Must be nice having them coming by. Do you get many?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Just opened the shed and turned off the AC because it has dropped to only 89 with a breeze.  yes, there are lots of deer with their cute spotted offspring. And raccoons, possums, occasional bobcats, foxes, feral cats and neighbors cats, and lots of wild birds and squirrels. So I just filled the buckets for the deer again...there is one older one with a limp and two babies who always come by in the evening. I think there are at least 14 regulars. Plus I feed everybody cat food and leave seeds and nuts for the birds and Peanut the squirrel and his mate. Just fed everybody in our zoo including the pigeons but still have to clean five rubbermaids of crickets. The work never stops but am glad everybody seems to be doing well despite the heat. The little orb weaver in the shed even looks happy tonight. And I hope the praying mantises I let loose a few days ago are doing well. Should have had kids, would have been less work. Will put Fiona and Blue in adjoining cages this weekend as the weather people are promising cooler temperatures.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Think you're right. Would have been less work. LOL.
I would love the deer coming. I love hearing the crickets during the warm months. Why do you keep them? The spider you can have, thank you.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

I have to keep all different sizes of crickets for the three kinds of frogs and also the lizards and scrub jay. The orb weavers are our friends...they eat bugs. I used to be afraid of spiders but after studying them and seeing Charlottes Web I love them.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Wonderful weather the next few days! Fifties to seventies! Fiona just laid a new egg...treated everybody with Panacox today and tomorrow was hoping to put Fiona and Blue in side by side cages. But Fiona already has a new egg. Blue still is biting and wing slapping me half heartedly but also bobs her head when I do.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Do you mean Pantacox? Why? Do they have Cocci?


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Yes, meant Pantacox. Vet thought treatment would be a good idea since Fiona keeps retesting as positive for cocci despite two amprolium treatments and so has Lucy so it would be a good idea to treat everybody. Lucy lives with Tracy and Blue eventually hopefully will live with Fiona if the side by side cages work and they like one another. Would also like to treat Screech the scrub Jay since poop tends to migrate all over and he is in the shed too but have not been able to gather enough of his fresh tiny poops for a valid cocci test. He will need a different smaller dose though of Pantacox. Hope to treat the second day today as it is going to be cooler again and won't need to put large water pans in their cages.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

I'm glad the weather has been nicer. Here too. Although will be going up to around 90 and I did hear high 90's, which I don't like. There will be lots of bathing going on in the aviary. I have 2 in the house that I am trying to introduce. Hope it works out. So they will be stuck inside for now. Hope the Pantacox works.


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