FINCHforum

I would be very interested in knowing what other finchos do in regards to lighting both in inside aviaries and cages and outdoor aviaries and cages. I am trialing a couple of different methods on mine but am really keen to see what your exoperiences have been.

inside breeding area from 5 am till 10.30 pm all year round , do say i have a big window in it ..... nightlight is just a 5W lightbulb after the others go out

aviary with winter/ sleep area all lighthours the same as above

I have a solar power led light for night just throws enough light if they get a fright which has stopped broken necks. I am think of installing 75watt light in each flight which will be connected to a dimmer for those dark cold nights in winter which will give them mire time to eat. I will install a heated Bay in each flight when this happens due to blue caps, melbas and a few others find my winters a bit harsh and would rather keep them warm instead of stiff.

I use t5 lighting and each cage has 40w bulb for heat if they want it. At night I use a 40w red light for each cage for heat and so they can see if they get frightened. My lights are 6am to 9pm but I am thinking of maybe setting them for 10pm instead.

kenny66 wrote:I would be very interested in knowing what other finchos do in regards to lighting both in inside aviaries and cages and outdoor aviaries and cages. I am trialing a couple of different methods on mine but am really keen to see what your exoperiences have been.

I have two lumichromes: http://mmlights.com/Lumichrome%201XC.html

and a small shade lamp. The first fluorescent goes on at 5:30, the second at 6 AM. The lights stay on till 7 and 730 pm, so gradual darkening. Nightlight goes on 10 mins before and after big lights. I also have a small window in the basement for some sunlight and a small heater when it is colder. I keep a large tub of water in the room for humidity as it gets dry in Edmonton.

Rour- Those are fabulous prices! thank you for posting that site! I have two banks of daylight fluorescents above both of my flights but I'm going to order the Lumichromes! I know it's better for the birds. I have two small windows in their room. The lights I have are on a timer- 14 hours a day- and a small night light is always on. I have a heater and a small mister going all the time. It's too wet and cold to have an outdoor aviary here. We have all kinds of preditors- coons, fox, feral cats, eagles, even coyotes. We have to have an electric fence around the fish pond already and they still get in.

I have a CFL (compact flourescent lamp) on each cage.
On 2 cages I also have a 35w tungsten lamp (for heat).
These are on a timer; ON at 7am, OFF at 8pm.
I have a string of blue Christmas tree LED lights over the cages. These go on about 10 minutes before the cage lights turn off. The 10 min buffers timer drift and gives the birds warning that the light will go off. But they still flutter about after the light turns off.

I have timers on the flight cages and manually turn off the over head lighting and heater, in winter. The lights are set for 6am to 9pm and the overhead are turned off at 10pm. I put on a heat lamp at night for lighting and those who really don't like anything below 78 degrees F. The light bulbs are a mixture of full spectrum daylight bulbs, UVA and UVB lighting, and regular florescent bulbs in the fan overhead. Plus, there is a six foot window in the middle wall, between both sides of the room (where the flights/cages) are located. The door to the finch room is a double french style door with window panes and light comes from the kitchen and family room area, which has many large windows to the outside.