Bird Lighting
- Thread starter Mommycass
- Start date
Hello, yes it is essential to provide birds with UVA and UVB light, the light that they usually get in nature, especially if you are in an area where they cannot get natural sunlight, or like in my case, in the Midwest when winter hits it is a must have. You place them near your bird's cage not too far away and it helps to produce vitamins and hormones and overall just better health for the bird. It mimics the natural sunlight they were intended to get.
Here are some helpful articles about them...
One and two
I'm not sure what others use, but the Arcadia bird lamp is what I would recommend. It's made for birds specifically with a specific percentage of UVA and UVB. Their 20 watt Compact Bird Lamp would probably work for your bird.
Here are some helpful articles about them...
One and two
I'm not sure what others use, but the Arcadia bird lamp is what I would recommend. It's made for birds specifically with a specific percentage of UVA and UVB. Their 20 watt Compact Bird Lamp would probably work for your bird.
Save the money for your bird! No need to buy an expensive special Avian light and fixture - not worth the money for what they claim to do!
The room that you plan to keep your bird in, change all the light bulbs in that room with LED, Daylight bulbs. Buy the maximum hour bulbs and the standard 60 watt bulb should be perfect. Do not place them close to your bird as there is no need for the bulb to be close and if the bulb is to close it could blind your bird. The Test: Place your face close to the bulb with your eyes open, turn on the bulb, turn off the bulb. The spots are cause by over exposure.
The standard LED, Daylight bulb will reduce your operating costs for years to come and the Daylight color spectrum will make you feel that you are doing something good for your bird.
FYI: As evening comes, reduce the number of lights on in the room (if more than one is used) at least an hour or more before sleep time for your bird.
Consider adjusting your birds day to match the natural day in your area.
The Avian Lights are Serious Over Kill with no real world 'repeatable' studies on their effectiveness!
Enjoy!
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brianlinkles
New member
- Aug 17, 2011
- 740
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- Parrots
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i am the mom of three parrots:
Dorothy- African grey (cag)
Bowie- blue and gold macaw
Nellie- hyacinth macaw
Reggie- hyacinth macaw
Marnie- white bellied caique
May I ask where you got this information? You are very mis-informed, it upsets me when people say information like this that is so incorrect. Birds do not absorb much if any calcium without full spectrum lighting. The glass in our windows remove about 95 percent of the full spectrum while screens remove about 35 percent. Without the full spectrum of light birds are not getting sufficient amounts of calcium. Birds depend on calcium for their bodies to function. The light also helps the glandular systems in birds. The lights should be placed between 12" & 15" from a perch in the cage. The time under the bulb is dependent upon the type of bird.
Flboy
Well-known member
- Dec 28, 2014
- 12,599
- 4,105
- Parrots
- JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
Sorry, but SailBoat is right on! (Not that he needs defending!)
Avian lamps are a ripoff and do more harm than good! The uva/uvb life of the bulb is ridiculously short. A good diet will supply the D3 requirements for calcium absorption!
I use full spectrum (daylight) bulbs for one reason. My JoJo sees in that spectrum and I want him to have a colorful world! My JoJo gets plenty of outside time!
We're olllllllllllld schooooool here at the Rickeybird Manor.
I keep him on a natural light schedule... up with dawn, down with dusk, year around... THEN he's only a little monster rooster from July to September). He has his own room, so I can do that easily.
Plus... we have ancient windows... no sun-blocking stuff... so he gets a few hours of sun every afternoon... through glass in winter and with windows open in summer.
I keep him on a natural light schedule... up with dawn, down with dusk, year around... THEN he's only a little monster rooster from July to September). He has his own room, so I can do that easily.
Plus... we have ancient windows... no sun-blocking stuff... so he gets a few hours of sun every afternoon... through glass in winter and with windows open in summer.
brianlinkles
New member
- Aug 17, 2011
- 740
- 1
- Parrots
-
i am the mom of three parrots:
Dorothy- African grey (cag)
Bowie- blue and gold macaw
Nellie- hyacinth macaw
Reggie- hyacinth macaw
Marnie- white bellied caique
With all do respect, you are incorrect.
Flboy
Well-known member
- Dec 28, 2014
- 12,599
- 4,105
- Parrots
- JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
Really, thank you for a very nice rebuttal! This is an area of much debate!
And the debate continues!
First, Thank-you, Good Friend!
Whether one believes in the 'Goodness' of 'light' provide by a manufactured bulb or not is at the end of the day, they're choice!
That said, sadly we are awash in Junk Science as with the the Junk News it supports, and being able to see it for what it is helps greatly in one's day-to-day life's activities.
Junk Science has been around for a very long time. When manufacturers found that by 'FUNDING' specific 'research' that with targeted end goals they could provide a 'documented' (mainly doctored) Summery that supported the use of their product, Junk Science became very active. In addition, it was found that by repeating the Summery in Articles and Reports, it would have a positive multiplying effect.
Understanding that the 'Original' Study on the positive effects on Humans exposed to their manufactured 'Day Light' coloured bulbs, which are tinted to blue /white side of the spectrum was 'FUNDED' by that manufacturer. The reason for the Study was that a specific Industry had requested the product and it was costing huge amounts of money to supply those specific bulbs. To increase volume and so they could reduce the cost to manufacture, they when looking for markets.
Every study to date has bases their Testing and Summery on that original work. In addition, the vast majority of those further works have been like Funded by that specific industry, whether though Direct Funding or Industrial Grant Programs.
Do Humans Feel Better when exposed to the simulation of 'Day Light' bulbs, Yup! But they also respond the same to like colors, which are off spec for the 'Day Light' spectrum.
As so well stated by my Good Friend: The uva/uvb life of the bulb is ridiculously short. A good diet will supply the D3 requirements for calcium absorption!
To that end, the process of manufacturing the Avian Light Bulbs are colour tinted to provide a specific spectrum. That colour tinting has a 'very short' life and what small (although near impossible to measure) amount of good is lost far before the colour tint fads beyond the Spectrum.
The combination of holding the light making arc in a very specific harmonic (wave) over an extended life and the use of colour tint to simulate the 'day light' spectrum is reason that for the very short period of time (If Any) that a specific Avian Light Bulb holds within light spectrum specification.
While visiting a Colour Matching Facility that uses an industrial version of that Avian Light Bulb, which is 4' in length and straight. They state that 40 % of the supplied bulbs do not match spectrum when they first arrive and that the useful life is not longer than 45 days before they no longer match spectrum. They swap-out out the bulbs at 30 days. FYI: That 40% is returned to the manufacturer and repackage for sale to the general public. That bulb supplied to that specific user is first of the run and has the highest spec matching likelihood of spectrum matching, and then have a 40% reject rate! Also, that 60 watt bulbs have a longer live in their ability to holding the harmonic (wave) required.
At present, that Facility is testing LED 'Day Light' bubs and are see less than 15% not hitting spectrum upon delivery and life is over 120 days for the majority of the groups being tested. Note: Everything is based on 60 watts!
It is important to say that they have seen no reportable improvement in the health and overall well-being of their staff in the Colour Match rooms than else where in their organization.
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Am I right to assume you use lamp shades with all these lights?
Yes, you are fully correct! Remember that Light is multi-directional and will bounce with little loss off a white ceiling.
FYI: I also use dimmers where ever possible (NOTE: you have to buy the dimable LED versions!) to allow the amount of light to be adjusted. Remember that 'Day Light' LED Bulbs are spectrum set to 'High Noon' and they are just brighter by watt then a like standard light bulbs!
The reason that 'could' be important is that (and there are no studies here at all) switching from 'Noon Light' to No Light could, maybe, some chance of, screwing with an individual's or Parrot's natural day clock, i.e. wake /sleep schedule. So, as a safe guard, I back the lighting down in all of the rooms we have LED 'Day Light' bulbs operating in as evening sets in.
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