Sunlight

I have tried googling, but have found different answers.. but how much sunlight should a bird get?
I have read 5 minutes each day is enough to be healthy?

I know through a glass window doesnt provide anything, but i assume through a fly screen would be fine, as it has holes that allows natural sun in?

Fargo sits at the window each morning, as my room gets the morning sun, so i am guessing he is getting enough light?

Just wanted to double check to see if through a screen is okay, i did get one of the special lights when i first got Fargo, but we changed into the sunny room so i havnt hung it back up






I did talk to dad about getting an aviary for outside, but decided against that because we have outside cats that wouldnt mind jumping on a cage trying to eat him, not to mention snakes and feral cats around here!

He is getting better with his harness, so will be able to go outside again soon!

Just wanted to make sure!

Thanks!

From what I understand 5 min is good, but preferrably 20 minutes to half hour. And screens are fine.

Tab, there is no published scientific data about how much sun is required by any of the over 350 species of parrots.....a hundred and fifty years ago, scientists did research to find out an answer...today scientists do research and companies sponsor research for the revenue it might generate, so it will probably be several years, at least, before any definitive data on this subject, but his sitting in the window like that will get him at least 50% of the sun benefit hitting the outside of the screen.....though you might not think so, but regular screening does filter up to 30% & privacy screening over twice that.....

If you ever consider buying an aviary again, consider doing double wire wherever there *IS* wire... maybe an inch or so apart (might make hanging things difficult, unless you put enough room between the wire and the cage to move through?), then wrap one of those in fine wire mesh?


And I agree with SandyBee.

weco said:

Tab, there is no published scientific data about how much sun is required by any of the over 350 species of parrots.....a hundred and fifty years ago, scientists did research to find out an answer...today scientists do research and companies sponsor research for the revenue it might generate, so it will probably be several years, at least, before any definitive data on this subject, but his sitting in the window like that will get him at least 50% of the sun benefit hitting the outside of the screen.....though you might not think so, but regular screening does filter up to 30% & privacy screening over twice that.....

Click to expand...

Oh wow! Thanks for that

So aslong as he sits at the screen in the mornings, the percentage which does get through wwill give him enough sunlight that he needs

Thats a great idea monica! Will look into that in the future

and thanks Sandy, he probably gets an hour of sunlight through the screen in the mornings!

I believe 5-10 minutes is good enough. Here's my theory, a parrot's bone is not as dense a human bones have and it should need lesser amount of sunlight exposure, enough for feathers to look more colorful, enough to have strong bones, but not too much for a parrot to get weak (the more exposure a parrot have to sunlight, the weaker he gets since it can cause mild to severe dehydration). If a person should need to be expose to sunlight for 30-45 minutes early mornings to activate the vitamin D in his body which he have gotten from calcium, then 5 or 10 minutes a day for a parrot is better. Just make sure that a parrot should drink lots of water after sun exposure to avoid dehydration , and be reminded that you should do it early in the morning when the sun comes out since doing it late can cause ultraviolet exposure and is not good for your bird's health. And you, also can use this time to bond with your feathered friend, so do it along with him. :') screen is good as well. Have his whole body be of equal distribution of sunlight from the time being

I agree with 5-10 at least. Rosie doesn't get sunlight everyday, but I take her out on walks so when she does get it she gets 1-2 hours worth of sun.

A lack of sunlight has caused some indian ringnecks heads to turn black...

Wild parrots get several hours of sunlight... both direct as well as indirect...


The more sunlight, the better! Within reason.... i.e. access to food, shade, water, etc if need be!

when i say "lesser" to my phrase above, i'm trying to emphasize that the parrot's exposure to sunlight should be lesser than the humans should have since their bones are not denser than ours. :') thanks anyway monica..

quoted: "Wild parrots get 'several hours' of sunlight..."

is that per day?

crosue said:

quoted: "Wild parrots get 'several hours' of sunlight..."

is that per day?

Click to expand...

Yes per day, they come from central and south America, Australia and Africa generally speaking.
Even here in north america when the sun is out you will see the birds basking in it.

Just make sure that they always have access to shade and water when enjoying the sunshine and all will be fine.

Also screens may filter a small amount, but rule of thumb is if you can get a suntan then enough sun is coming through.

Another good thing to remember, if it's too hot for us it's too hot for our parrots! And even on moderate days vigorous exercise like flying can still cause a companion parrot to overheat. No matter how hard we try a pet parrot just isn't as fit as a wild parrot, free flight would be needed for that.

Tab, that's how all my birds get their daily dose, sitting in the window with it open. We have very good windows and with them closed it doesn't benefit them. For the colder times I do have UV lightbulbs in place as well. We are actually considering putting a perch by the window we put them in to let them sleep on so they'll be with us at night (just the GW's)

Wild parrots do spend hours foraging for food, searching for nests, feeding their mate(s), displaying, fighting, eating rocks/sand/dirt/clay, flying, etc.

Even if a parrot is in the shade of a tree within the branches, they are still receiving indirect sunlight as the rays bounce off of various items around the bird. Might be something to research more into.

Great topic. I love sunlight discussions. Like the OP I also read that 5 minutes sunlight a day is enough for birds (someone in this forum even said 5 minutes a week?!).

After reading weco's thread on full spectrum bulbs AND doing my own Internet research on the subject, I've come to distrust full spectrum bulbs. But thats a whole other topic. Anyhow I only rely on natural sunlight for Boomer's vitamin D needs.

He gets afternoon sun about an hour a day because of his cage placement. In the winter season, he gets less but I give him good 30 minute to 1 hour dose of morning sub on weekends.

Something new I learned from this thread:

I didn't realize morning sunlight was better than afternoon sunlight. Why is this?