House duck people, what's your ventilation like?

[Fawkes]

We talk about ventilation in coops a lot, but what about in the house?

I'm in Northeast Florida, so we have a great central air conditioner but we don't run it much during the cool months of the year as it would be too cold in the house. We also don't have windows open if it's cool outside. We do run the central heater some.

I think as a result, my house ducks might've got a respiratory infection the last couple winters.

Last winter might've actually been due to having the window open (maybe a draft or drastic temp changes causing respiratory illness). But I don't think that's the case this winter.

The air seems comfortable to me but I know birds have very sensitive respiratory systems. Are air cleaners/purifiers enough, or does that only improve air quality, not ventilation? Would a dehumidifier help?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Is there water condensing on your windows? If not, I wouldn’t worry about too much humidity, in fact, low humidity due to cold temperatures outside would seem more likely to me. Drastic changes are never good either.
What are you using for bedding? If they are inhaling fine particles of saw dust or mold spores from old hay you could have issues from that.

 

[Fawkes]

Oh that's a good point - no we almost never get condensation on the windows anymore. We did years ago but not anymore except maybe on rare occasions if it's super cold outside.

I've actually wondered before why it doesnt happen anymore. I guess maybe we run the heater more than we used to due to having older parrots etc who might not tolerate cool temps well.

I use only materials for bedding e.g. washable puppy pads, bath mats, fleece throws.