Right now it is extremely hot outdoors in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, temperatures are reaching record highs in many areas. It is so hot that the electric power grid is in danger of crashing because of the need for climate control indoors.

So many people are running their air conditioners on the highest cooling setting in order to keep their homes tolerably cool - even in areas where air conditioning is seldom required. This condition is expected to continue during this summer.

Those who live in the Southern Hemisphere are predicted to experience these same conditions once spring and summer arrive.

Climate control units in homes fail and must be repaired. Often, the repair company can be very busy and be unable to repair the problem for a day or two - or longer. Electricity may go out for any of a number of reasons, making air conditioning in the home become unavailable.

Even in extremely hot weather, there are times we need to transport our parrot in the car to see a vet or when relocating their residence. Even if a person is bringing a new parrot from a breeder or qualified, reliable source, the bird must be safely transported. At times, the air conditioning in a car may fail or be unable to cool a vehicle enough to safely transport a parrot.

Extreme heat can cause a parrot to suddenly die if exposed to this heat for even a short time. So, what can be done to save a beloved companion parrot when climate control becomes unavailable for any reason? Unfortunately, you cannot control every situation where a parrot is exposed to extremely high temperatures.

Signs of heat stress in parrots include holding the wings away from the body. Opening the beak and breathing with is also a signal of heat stress. If you are perspiring difficulty (sweating) heavily in the heat, yet not doing work to cause the perspiration (sweat), due to the heat, you can be certain your parrot is also too hot.

Parrots cannot perspire to control their body temperature. Once they begin experiencing heat stress, death can occur within minutes. Action must be taken right away. Here are the tested and personally-proven steps you must take in an extreme heat situation in order to keep your parrot from over-heating and possibly dying due to heat stress:

Step 1: Spray Bottle Bath

During hot weather, always have a clean plastic spray bottle available. Place water in the bottle which is tepid. Tepid means the water should not be very cold but should also not be hot. Usually you can turn on the cool knob of any of your home faucets and the water will be tepid.

Lightly spray your parrot with the water. If your parrot enjoys the spray, you can simply continue spraying, but make certain he is not in a draft when drying off. If it is outdoors or inside the home, even with windows open, it should be fine, but don’t place it where a fan is blowing directly on it.

Step 2: Cover with Damp Towel

If you are transporting your parrot or the bird hates being sprayed, you can wet a nice thick bath towel. If you have the super-sized bath sheets, this would work best. Cover the top of the cage with the towel. This method is great to use in the car if the air conditioning should break down during a trip. Combine with the spray bottle if needed until you can get the house or car cool again.

Step 3: Chill the Water

When a parrot is hot but not yet suffering from extreme heat stress, such as traveling in a vehicle that is warm but not extremely hot, it will drink more water than on an average day.

Place some ice chips in the water dish so that the water the bird drinks is cooler than usual. Just as humans crave a drink of ice cold water when hot, the ice in the water will make the water cold and help cool the parrot because its body temperature will actually drop a slight amount when drinking the water, helping prevent any serious heat stress.

If you follow these simple steps you can transport your parrot in extreme heat safely. You can use these tips
indoors temporarily should your air conditioning fail.

Just remember, if the parrot has its wings extended away from its body, but not spread out as if mantling, and its beak is open and it seems to have difficulty breathing, the bird MUST be cooled in order to prevent heat stress and possibly even death.It can happen within minutes if you allow the parrot to become badly overheated.

Warmest Regards,

Nora Caterino
EliteParrotsClub.com

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About the Author: Nora Caterino, known as the Mississippi Bird Lady, has trained, raised, and lived with birds for over 30 years. If you want to receive unlimited one-on-one coaching from her for ONE full year… and while you learn how to teach your parrot to talk and stop annoying bird behaviours like parrot biting, screaming and feather plucking, via the audios, articles and videos published inside the Elite Parrots Club, then visit this page now:

==>http://www.eliteparrotsclub.com/talking.php