Do we need full-spectrum lighting?

[nikidust]

I keep hearing about how beneficial full-spectrum lighting is for companion birds, but I'm wondering if it is needed in my house. The birds are in the living room, where the kids and I spend all of our time, and we very rarely use artificial lighting during the day in here because we get a good deal of natural light from some large windows. It's not direct sunlight most of the time, but it's bright enough that we don't have to turn on any lights until dusk. Is that enough or do birds need direct sunlight?
Thanks!
niki

[Pepper's Pa]

Most newer windows don't allow the full-spectrum of light from the sun to pass through them. If the windows the light is passing through are formed from multiple panes of glass forming a "sandwich", with an inert gas between them, and a heat repellent film inside, they stop many of the beneficial light spectrums from reaching your birds. Depending on the exact design of the window will depend on how much it reduces the full-spectrum of light passing through them.
If these are the type of windows you have in your home, your birds would benefit from supplemental full-spectrum lighting.

[jimpierce7]

F.S. lighting is very benificial to our birds who spend all their time indoors.

[ROYJOY]

do it, i put them in when i started breeding finchs. it did wonders for me, i usually get depresion in fall and winter, but thats not the case this year. my plants are doing better too. birds need it to metabalize calcium.

[nikidust]

thanks for the info, everyone. I really just wasn't sure if the sunlight was enough. I want my birdies happy.

[Sally]

I can only speak for my little girl Parrotlet, Chipper. She loves to get near the light and seems to be very happy. I leave it on for about three hours a day.

[Pepper's Pa]

I see you use a FeatherBrite lamp and light. That's what I use and have found that Pepper loves to perch directly below the lamp, just as your Chipper does.

[tielmama]

My U2 and Sennie each have their own full spectrum solutions floor lamp. They are on about 7 hours a day. Whiteboy the U2 must really like his, because he goes out to sit on the top of his cage directly under the light. I have shop lights in the birdroom for my cockatiels and finches and canary. I put full spectrum bulbs in those. They are all free to fly around, but they all plant themselves near or under a light some time during the day.

[Joel]

Originally Posted by tielmama

"..... I have shop lights in the birdroom for my cockatiels and finches and canary. I put full spectrum bulbs in those......"

Please make sure those shop lights have electronic ballasts and not magnetic ones - as the flicker rate of the magnetic ones irritates the birds (for those that may not know).

[Joel]

Originally Posted by nikidust

I keep hearing about how beneficial full-spectrum lighting is for companion birds, but I'm wondering if it is needed in my house. The birds are in the living room, where the kids and I spend all of our time, and we very rarely use artificial lighting during the day in here because we get a good deal of natural light from some large windows. It's not direct sunlight most of the time, but it's bright enough that we don't have to turn on any lights until dusk. Is that enough or do birds need direct sunlight?
Thanks!
niki

I suggest you and others do a search here (by using the search feature) and read closely all we have discussed over the years on this subject. Try typing in Full Spectrum Lighting or F.S. Lighting etc....