New homeowner unearths a silly HVAC mod inherited from the previous inhabitant after investigating the frozen tundra of the upstairs guest room: ‘That used to be their bird room. They kept like 8 parrots in there’

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Dec 20, 2025 1:00 PM EST

The previous inhabitant of this new homeowner's house got the crazy idea to tinker with the home's HVAC system, resulting in a hilariously petty outcome to a battle with their 8 noisy parrots.

Bird people love their birds, but committing to a creature's lifelong care when it lives nearly as long as our human lifetime is quite the commitment. When you have a bird, especially a large parrot-type bird, your long-standing relationship with the bird-brained squawker is important. Sometimes, though, bird lovers can find themselves on the wrong side of their bird's good graces, getting stuck in a battle of wits with the feathered beast. If only we humans could outsmart the things… I suppose that's where this conflict begins. 

We are smarter than our pets! So this person decided to screw shut the little vent that brings hot air into the bird room, because the chill in the air was the only thing that placated their loud behavior. However, they neglected to tell the new homeowner after selling the house, which turned their future guest room into a wintery wonderland with mysterious origins. 

Was it a ghost? Was it faulty HVAC ducting? Was it bad insulation? No, it was simply the result of a bitter feud between the previous inhabitants and 8 cunningly clever birds.

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  • Woman with cold hands in the wintery chill.
    via FatCamera

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I found out why my upstairs bedroom was freezing... and the solution made me laugh
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • My upstairs guest room has always been weirdly cold. Like 10-12 degrees colder than the rest of the house. I thought it was the insulation, or maybe the vent was blocked, or maybe ghosts (preferred explanation).
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • Spare upstairs bedroom with a window and a view.
    via PC Photography
  • I finally crawled into the attic over that room to take a look.
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • There is insulation. Walls look fine. But the duct leading to that room? It was connected... but the flap inside had been screwed shut with a tiny wood screw.
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • Someone deliberately set the vent to "permanently off." Why? Why sabotage one room?
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • Later that night my neighbor (who knew the old owners) explained it: "That used to be their bird room. They kept like eight parrots in there. The heat made them noisy so they kept the vent closed."
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • Three parrots sitting on a branch in the jungle.
    via nattan726
  • The parrots won. I inherited the consequence. Removed the screw, heat works perfectly, and now the room no longer feels like northern Canada.
    via Crazy-Arugula-1432
  • Upbeat-Armadill... Never underestimate the dumb stuff your previous owners may have done
    via Upbeat-Armadill
  • YoureARebelNow Previous owner needed to leave you an owners manual.
    via YoureARebelNow
  • Many_Application31... As a parrot owner, this totally makes sense. Often, you bring in special heaters, air purifiers, and humidifiers to keep a room at a comfortable temperature and humidity.
    via Many_Application31
  • If they had a heater to keep the room at 80 degrees, they couldn't get any more heat into that room. If I had to guess, they had a heater in that room for their birds.
    via Many_Application31
  • home_improvement... This is amazing. Of all the possible causes, insulation, ducts, ghosts, and parrots were not on the bingo card.
    via home_improvement
  • Gotta respect the commitment though: "screw the vent shut for the birds" is next-level problem solving. Glad the fix was simple, and the room's finally livable again. Old houses always come with the weirdest inherited decisions.
    via home_improvement
  • Poutiest_Penguin I use one of our spare bedrooms as a home office. It's above the garage, and it's drastically colder than the rest of the house. I have to keep the door to the office closed
    via Poutiest_Penguin
  • to keep the cats out, and this morning I went in and it was 52°. I bought a full height cat gate to put in the doorway, because I clearly need to keep it open for heat circulation. My tropical plants are going to freeze.
    via Poutiest_Penguin
  • I don't know how the previous homeowners ever used it as a bedroom. It's uninhabitable. It's colder than my basement.
    via Poutiest_Penguin
  • PuzzleheadedLeade... My brother and his girlfriend were always freezing in their apartment. Turns out the windows were open. In the main living area. And had been since they moved in. No idea how they didn't get wet when it rained ...
    via PuzzleheadedLeade

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wholesome neighbors parrots house new homeowners silly DIY funny
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