lighting

[Herc]

I found some bulbs at Rona (like home depot) that are "full spectrum" and give off 6400K... they are about $15 and fit into a regular light socket. They also sell "full spectrum" fluorescent tubes that go for about $8 I believe. I just bought the one that fits into my regular light socket yesterday and leave it on for most of the day - it's good for me, too, since it gets really dark and drab here on the west coast...

[Estee]

I use full spectrum bulbs in several of my light fixtures (ones that are on during the day because no natural light falls there). The flourescents are great. And the color of everything in the room has a much friendlier hue than with soft white bulbs. :)

[beckyg]

:confused: Is there some advantage to using special bulbs in the lovies room? I have read about this a couple of times and am not quite sure if it is something that I should be doing for Luna or is it just a preference???

[graushill]

Using full spectrum light bulbs is more than a preference, but just how useful/necessary it is depends on where you live. Now I realize I should have checked your location before starting to write my reply >o , but the gist of it is, birds need enough natural sunlight for health and behavioural reasons. If you live in a country with plenty of sunlight throughout the year then full spectrum is not that important, provided of course your birdies have access to natural, unfiltered sunlight (that is to say, not filtered through a window). If you live in a country with long and dark winters, then it is more important to provide full spectrum lighting, even if some of the health problems lack of sunlight causes can be prevented with a healthy and varied diet.

There are some factors to consider when providing full spectrum, for example the light devices have to be placed not too close (since they can cause cataracts) but not too far either or they won't be as beneficial, and if they are on for too long they can also disrupt your birds natural rhythm. If you're interested I think there are some other threads in the forum with very good information :).

Hope this helps a little!

Gloria

[beckyg]

Thanks Gloria, that did help alot, but I just have one more question, my birdie is indoors and I place her in front of the window with the curtain cracked open so that she can see out from a certain perch, but if it gets too bright then she can move to another spot and cool off. Anyways, the question is are you saying that the light she is provided from the sun through that window isn't or may not be sufficient?

[Janie]

Becky, if Luna is getting natural sunlight during the day, even if it's only half the day, that should be fine. I did add the compact florescent lights to the light fixture in my bird room for a couple of reasons. They last much longer and cost less to use. My bird room has four large windows and gets morning sun so I don't usually turn the ceiling lights on till late in the afternoon or on a dark, gloomy day.

[graushill]

Like Janie said, enough hours of natural sunlight, even when filtered through a window, will probably be good enough, especially to prevent whatever behavioural and natural rhythm issues may arise due to short days, but for health reasons it's actually not enough, as I understand it. The following are quotes from an article in Holistic bird org. com:


Many people think their birds get enough "light" by placing them near a window or under a skylight. Unfortunately, window glass filters out the very portion of the UVB spectrum that is needed for D3 production, and sunlight through windows is almost totally useless.


birds manufacture the vitamin D3, which aids the absorption of minerals (primarily calcium). Without the appropriate range of UVB light, D3 is not manufactured and most of the calcium - a very essential mineral especially for egg-laying birds - the bird gets goes to waste.

However, a good diet goes a long way in preventing some of the health issues that may arise from lack of natural sunlight. This another quote;

One thing this article also said, which I'm actually not sure about is the following:


Even sunlight filtered through screens and glass is missing the near (UVA) range of ultraviolet light. This wavelength has nothing to do with vitamin metabolism, which should not be a concern in a bird which receives proper nutrition. UVA is part of a bird's visual range. Depriving them of it is very similar to color blindness in humans.

Anyway, I live in Sweden, where the winters are very long and very dark, so full spectrum lighting is a necessity for us, primarily because of my plucker, Nemo, since this was one of the things ore vet ordained as part of his treatment, so as you probably can see by now this subject interests me a lot, so I will stop now :).

Gloria

[beckyg]

Janie and Gloria,

Thank you for the info. I am definitely going to look into this lighting because we really don't have great lighting in our house and we have gloomy days every once in a while. I would hate for Luna to not get enough lighting. I will have to do some research as some people say that it can hurt the bird to use them and others say it can hurt the bird not to use them. Obviously like anybody else on this board I want to make the right decision for Luna. :) If it is going to do more harm then good, I think I will pass, as it may not be a necessity like it would be in Sweden or Alaska, or anywhere in the world that they don't see the sun year 'round.

Thanks!

[Janie]

Gloria, thank you for that info! Glad I checked back in. :)