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Grace_F

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
10/1/20
Messages
17
My Green Cheek Conure’s room doesn’t get as much light as I would like. I’m thinking about adding some kind of supplemental Lighting, because I feel that it would improve his mood and appetite/general wellbeing. Avian specific lights might be good? I’m thinking of angling it so it kind of hovers around his food bowl. I‘m not interested in the uvb aspect for the purpose of calcium absorption…. But since birds can see into the UV spectrum and are very visually oriented I’m thinking it might be beneficial? I want to know what other people think about this. Perhaps a regular fluorescent hanging high up over his cage to brighten up the whole area? Of course that might not provide the full spectrum of color that I would like. What do you guys think?
 

Zara

♥❀Livin´ in Lovebird Land❀☼
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Winn

Jogging around the block
Joined
4/21/22
Messages
602
I recently read a report on a study that was either done by the makers of Hagens feeds- or maybe just reported by them- regarding avian lights. The study indicated lighting didn't affect nutrition (vitamin D3 production/absorption specifically). It didn't mention benefits to visual perception so I don't know if the study looked at that aspect of the equation.
Some people claim that LED and florescent lights both flicker and birds are more sensitive to the flicker than humans are. They recommend incandescent lighting for that reason.
Others still swear by full spectrum avian lightning which is usually fluorescent.

I have both, a fluorescent avian light and an incandescent light for my aviary. I figure it won't hurt, but I don't know how much it helps.

I realize my "answer" is more of a "non-answer". Apparently there is still some disagreement even among avian scientists regarding the matter.

The one solid thing I've come across is to NEVER substitute UVA/UVB reptile bulbs for an avian bulb. They can injure your birds.
 

Grace_F

Sitting on the front steps
Joined
10/1/20
Messages
17
I recently read a report on a study that was either done by the makers of Hagens feeds- or maybe just reported by them- regarding avian lights. The study indicated lighting didn't affect nutrition (vitamin D3 production/absorption specifically). It didn't mention benefits to visual perception so I don't know if the study looked at that aspect of the equation.
Some people claim that LED and florescent lights both flicker and birds are more sensitive to the flicker than humans are. They recommend incandescent lighting for that reason.
Others still swear by full spectrum avian lightning which is usually fluorescent.

I have both, a fluorescent avian light and an incandescent light for my aviary. I figure it won't hurt, but I don't know how much it helps.

I realize my "answer" is more of a "non-answer". Apparently there is still some disagreement even among avian scientists regarding the matter.

The one solid thing I've come across is to NEVER substitute UVA/UVB reptile bulbs for an avian bulb. They can injure your birds.
Thanks for the reply! The nutrition aspect of lighting is something people cant really seem to agree on, unfortunately I don’t really see people talking about the visual aspect. I feel that the Visual aspect is really important. I always notice when finn is by a window or outside in the summer that his activity levels go way up, and he shows more interest in his food, and toys. He also shows more foraging behavior. I can’t just put him by a window while I’m gone during the day (he could overheat), but while I’m gone is when he would most benefit from good lighting. This is definitely something I want to improve about his environment.

Flicker rate is another big concern with lighting. It’s hard to find lights that truly won’t flicker, because they are marketed based on human vision. You can find lights that are marketed as “no flicker” at around 50+hz but in order to be invisible to birds it needs to be around 140+hz! I’ll have to look into the differences between fluorescent and incandescent lights.

Don‘t worry about it being a non-answer. I know there isn’t really a concrete answer to this, like most aspects of animal care.

Of course, Reptile lights are in NO way safe for birds.
Even Avian specific uvb lights can be dangerous if not used correctly. That’s another concern of mine, but if it helps with color vision more than a non-uv light, an avian light is worth considering
 
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