Canaries are well-liked household birds, and many people have the option to buy an indoor cage for them to live in.
However, if you have a lot of birds or wish to keep your pets outside, you have a lot of factors to take into consideration.
One of the first things people ask is whether canaries can live safely outdoors.
The good news is that canaries will do very well in an outdoor aviary given certain circumstances, room to fly about, a safe environment, and nothing that will pose as a danger.
In this guide – We will be providing you with everything you need to know in order to keep your canaries outside.
Will Canaries Get Too Cold When Kept Outdoors?
First and foremost, you need to ensure the temperature conditions for your canaries are just right.
You certainly don’t want your birds to be uncomfortable and, even worse, become sick.
While canaries can survive in temperatures as low as 17ºf, when living freely in the wild, this is not recommended for domesticated birds.
Overall – the best temperature for these types of birds is somewhere between 60ºf and 70ºf which could be done by using an aviary heater in an outdoor aviary.
This is particularly important in winter so make sure the temperature is monitored closely.
Mind The Draft!
Along with ensuring that your canaries are not in extremely cold temperatures, it is also wise to ensure that the aviary is out of the way of constant drafts.
Constant drafts can be very dangerous to your birds, and it is something that they will not survive very long against.
If there is a very minor draft, you may be able to remediate this issue by getting blankets or towels and using them to cover the area that the draft is coming from.
However, this should not be your primary solution, and putting your aviary in a location that doesn’t have a draft would help you and your birds in the end.
You can easily tell if there is a draft in your aviary by using the lighter test.
Simply light a lighter—or a match, if you prefer—and hold it in every corner of the aviary, one corner at a time. If you see the flame flicker or move at all, that indicates there is a draft in that area.
Protecting Your Canaries From The Cold
In winter, depending where you live, it can get very cold.
Even the most honest bird owners can get it wrong and as a result their birds may get sick or even die from exposure to cold.
While the use of an aviary heater is a very good option, there are things you can do to keep them warmer:
- First and foremost, even using a heater you have to ensure airflow in the aviary is adequate. You should also try to maintain low humidity levels in the canary enclosure.
- Occasionally, in really cold weather, it is beneficial to create a little tent or hide for canaries in their aviary. This gives birds a little area to snuggle down in and stay warm. Along with other options, there are aviary covers which are great for keeping birds warm at night when temperature could go down even lower.
It’s something that many owners inadvertently don’t take into consideration when getting aviaries set up for winter and that’s the water that we put out for them.
Thermal mass, water, will cool down quickly, so it’s important to watch the temperature before changing it out.
And lastly, making sure your canaries take in a healthy and balance of food will assist them in boosting their immune systems so they can handle cooler conditions and get through winter better.
Canaries And Sunlight
Like other animals, canaries require a certain amount of sunlight in order to acquire vitamin D.
Nonetheless, you should take care their exposure to direct sunlight is not excessive since it may cause them to get sick.
This is because canaries can easily overheat, so find a good position for the aviary that either has partial shade, or more importantly, does not get full sun exposure for extended periods of time.
You will notice they are overheating if they are sitting with their mouths open or sometimes their wings will protrude away from their bodies.
Also, canaries will quickly start to molt if they are overheated.
Finding the right balance for shading in the aviary is very important. If the location is exposed to full sun, you should install shade.
You also want to try not to completely prevent [them fun out of exposure to] direct sunlight since this is good for their health (hormones and bone mass density).
Works Well – If they are not receiving any direct sunlight at all, consider attaching a full spectrum light as well.
Protecting The Canaries From Wildlife and Pets
For canary owners with birds outdoors, the vulnerability of birds to other animals is one of the greatest fears they face.
It doesn’t matter if the threat is from local wildlife or your own pets, such as dogs or cats; you need to make sure that your aviary is secure to protect against other animals.
All sides and the roof of your enclosure need to be secure and not easily tampered with by other animals. It is important to do your research on local wildlife so you know who is a threat and for what you have to prepare.
Lastly: You can fortify the bottom of the aviary to limit exposure to rodents and other animals digging into your shelter.
Conclusion
If you have canaries but don’t have the room for them inside, then building an aviary outside is a good possibility.
Canaries generally will thrive outdoors and they’ll be safe there as long there is proper conditions.