Winter is Coming - Help/Advice needed!

[davuhsaurusx]

Hello y'all!

I am a new parront living in Fairbanks, Alaska. I am new to Alaska, and especially to caring for a parrot in Alaska! I have a 2(ish) year old GCC named Mochi. I adopted her 3 weeks ago from a family in Anchorage that was moving to Florida and could not keep her. We just had her first avian vet appointment on Thursday and opted DNA sexing so I should find out this week whether or not she is *actually* a she.

Anyway, the vet did recommend "full spectrum" lighting with a timer, but she could not think of any specific brands off the top of her head. I am posting here to see if anyone else lives at relatively high latitude and has to supplement sunlight for their babies. I didn't ask the vet anything about light placement, strength, or things to watch out for. I have done some searching here and elsewhere on the internet and it seems like there are some conflicting opinions about what to do and what not to do. Some people even recommend not using artificial light at all, but I feel like I should since the avian vet recommended it. The thing here is, winter means only a couple hours of daylight. So even humans need artificial UV lights to keep our spirits up! Also, sub-zero temperatures mean I cannot take her outside at all even for those few precious minutes of solar bliss. So, if you have a set up that has worked well for you in the winter please, please, please, give me some tips! I'd like to get her set up within the week because it is getting dark here QUICK.

I also plan on implementing a humidifier/air purifier/ heater combo for her in the living room to make things more comfortable. Teflon-free parts of course. Anything else I should look out for there?

Thanks so much for anything y'all can offer! Mochi and I really appreciate it!!

Cheers!

 

[KawaiiTori]

So, unfortunately I do not know of any uv light that is appropriate for birds, however just making sure Mochi gets the appropriate number of hours of light would probably be a big help. Also, having lived in the far north, I know that most people up there tend to keep their homes in the low 60’s during the winter unlike those of us in the lower 48 who tend towards the low 70’s. You might consider a supplemental heat source for Mochi. I know she comes from Anchorage but there is still a significant temperature difference compared to Fairbanks. Also, beware of drafts from the door when entering or leaving your home. Best of luck to you!

P.S.- If you are new to Fairbanks you ABSOLUTELY MUST try a restaurant called Wolf Run. I’m pretty sure it’s still there and it’s right near the university!

 

[davuhsaurusx]

So, unfortunately I do not know of any uv light that is appropriate for birds, however just making sure Mochi gets the appropriate number of hours of light would probably be a big help. Also, having lived in the far north, I know that most people up there tend to keep their homes in the low 60’s during the winter unlike those of us in the lower 48 who tend towards the low 70’s. You might consider a supplemental heat source for Mochi. I know she comes from Anchorage but there is still a significant temperature difference compared to Fairbanks. Also, beware of drafts from the door when entering or leaving your home. Best of luck to you!

P.S.- If you are new to Fairbanks you ABSOLUTELY MUST try a restaurant called Wolf Run. I’m pretty sure it’s still there and it’s right near the university!

Thanks so much for the heads up! My partner and I keep talking about going there, it's right down the street! We just moved up here from Port Angeles, by the way, so you and I were Peninsula neighbors! We went to Central Market all the time.
So, do you think just the lights in the house are sufficient for keeping her happy? I usually turn on lower lights when I first wake her up and make her chop, then while she's eating I gradually turn on the other lights in the apartment. I just want to make sure winter is as easy for her as possible.

 

[bug_n_flock]

Oh wow this is so cool! I'd love to hear about how you go about manageing a parrot in the far north! How very interesting!


Something to keep in mind about UV: exposed skin(around the eyes, say) can get sunburnt.

 

[davuhsaurusx]

Oh wow this is so cool! I'd love to hear about how you go about manageing a parrot in the far north! How very interesting!


Something to keep in mind about UV: exposed skin(around the eyes, say) can get sunburnt.

Thanks for that! UV "Happy Lights" are for us lowly humans, not for the fid specifically. The vet just recommended "full spectrum" lights. I will give updates about how things go with Mochi up here!

Interesting side note, as a scientist, "full spectrum" to me means everything on the electromagnetic spectrum from radio waves to microwaves to infrared to visible light to UV to X-rays to gramma rays. I'm certain the vet wouldn't prescribe that for a bird I'm guessing she meant full visible spectrum, but trying to figure out what is best is proving difficult.

 

[KawaiiTori]

So unfortunately, “full spectrum” does not mean anything specific as far as lighting goes. Most are aiming for “simulates light from the sun in the VISIBLE spectrum” so no UVA or UVB. Again unfortunately, UV lights are rather hit or miss as far as whether they actually emit a useful amount or the proper kind of UV. Also, UV drops off rapidly with distance so most UV lights are not rated for more than 12” from the animal.

 

[Laurasea]

Oops posted on wrong thread lol
This is a great radiant heat panal best thing ever
http://go.skimresources.com/?id=162...tz=240&xuuid=27af0aaedfdf5c8054471cff5658ef86

 

[bill_e]

When it was time to change out my CFL bulbs I went to Daylight spectrum LED bulbs

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BD4CRG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Laurasea]

BTW beautiful GCC!! Congratulations! And what did previous owners do about light?
It is a tricky subject and I hope someone posts answers... As I'm curious too

 

[Laurasea]

Don't know if these are good or not but here is a link
https://www.featherbrite.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIr_jbpNy95QIVr4VaBR3UYASWEAAYASAAEgIfMPD_BwE
Also perhaps you can contact the Alaska bird club and see what others do in your situation?
http://www.alaskabirdclub.org/index.shtml

 

[PickleMeDickles]

I live where night temps rarely ever get below 35 degrees, but I used to live in the mountains and my birds have always had these:

I continue to use them year round now. July-Oct our nights are warm and I noticed the birds actively gravitated away from the warmth at night, well they seek it out the other months. So during the truly warm months I place it at the bottom of their cage. I figure this way, if they ever fall ill they will have a backup heat source. I have had to rig up a cover for the cord (on the outside of the cage) with a pvc elbow and a short pipe.

As far as UVB (full spectrum) lighting, it would seem some type of setup would be almost mandatory. I agree with the suggestion to talk to your bird club. Also, talk to reputable breeders in your area, surely they must be experts if they are able to induce breeding behaviors. Also check local bird stores or “farms” as we call them, the stores that only do birds. Right now on Craigslist there are 2 setups available with UVB lighting for under 100. I’m sure you could disinfect them if you could find something similar in your area.

And lastly, check out these resources:

Alaska Bird Club: The Alaska Bird Club (TABC)
Alaska Bird Club Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/alaskabirdclub/
Brief discussion of lighting needs and recommend products: https://www.herebird.com/avian-lighting/#uvb-lights

 

[Kiwibird]

When we moved from Arizona to Oregon some years ago, we started using 5500K bulbs for our amazon in the rainy months (can be bought at any hardware store or online). He is usually much perkier when it’s on. I turn on the light fixture above his cage for a few hours a day. We also have a huge SAD lamp in our office, which we use because of it’s brightness (like opening the window on a sunny day bright) and he spends a fair amount of time in there with us with that light source too. We don’t use that lamp “as recommended” sitting directly in front of it for short periods. We leave it on for hours at a time while working but have it sitting up on a high shelf illuminating the whole room instead of right in front of our face. While it’s nice not to work in a dimly lit cave, I also never did care for sitting extremely close to an extremely bright light. No one (bird or human) has seemed to ever be affected by the gloomy winters here and I suspect part of the reason is we’ve been using sunlight replacements for all the time we’ve lived here. Links below for the SAD lamp we use:

https://www.amazon.com/Day-Light-Cl...A31REQESKAX&psc=1&refRID=EJ3YCZ4TFA31REQESKAX

 

[SandieV]

I purchased an Avian light/bulb to use in Arizona during the colder months. I purchased the Avian Adjustable Floor Lamp for Bird & Zoo Med AvianSun 5.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Bulb off of Amazon.

The light is on during the day, from the time I uncover Rin to the time we put him to bed. Though he is not in his cage all day long, its on.

When his new perch gets here today, I will likely move the light to over his perch, so he can spend more time outside of his cage.

I have seen noticeable changes to his feathers since we started to use the light. Good Luck. I love Alaska and was stationed on Adak in the mid-80's!!