Do I have enough full spectrum light

[Stevie]

Hello

I am wondering about lighting in my small aviary, really about whether I have enough lights. Like many of you, budget is an issue.

My aviary is under construction and I have never kept birds before.

I have fitted a Reptile UVB 100 - ExoTerra 13 bulb, the 5 compact, recommend on the Finch Information Centre website.

My aviary is 2.8 m x 0.53 m x 1.43 m tall. As I understand it the birds will go to the light to warm up when they want to, so plan to put a perch close by. I read the manufacturers instructions which say the bulb has a 40 cm range, which gives me a good indication of where to put a perch near the bulb. Think that' the best way to do it?

I have two questions I'd like to ask.

1 My concerns is, can I get away with one light?

2 Do I need another bulb lower down in the aviary for the button quail so they get their vitamin D?

[dutch]

If you need vitamin d....and all else fails....use this great product...
Soluvite d breeder

[MiaCarter]

Stevie - That's a great question!

I'm assuming this is a totally indoor aviary, correct?

I'd definitely go with at least two or three more.

It really depends upon how many perches you put in there (and where). They're not going to be spending lots of time in "dead space" where there are no perches, so it's not as important to light those areas.

The general rule that I've always followed for full spectrum lighting is to arrange the lights so the birds are within therapeutic range -- in your case, 40 cm (for the Americans, that's around 15 inches. I'm cm stupid so I had to look it up. LOL) --- for about 90-95% of the day.
So if you position the lights so that the most popular congregating areas of the aviary are within therapeutic range, you should be golden.

Remember that you don't need to spend a ton on the actual light fixture. The bulbs are what you need. Lots of times, those full-spectrum lighting kits come with a ballast or fixture and it's way over-priced. There's nothing special about the fixtures, just the light bulbs. So you can buy simple fixtures and save some $ that way.
Also remember to switch out the lights regularly. It depends on the brand, but they lose effectiveness before the light burns out. It should tell you on the packaging.

And as Dutch mentioned, you can supplement.
The Soluvite D is less expensive than the Soluvite D Breeder supplement. But if you have a large flock, the Soluvite D Breeder is the better buy.

[debbie276]

I would never count on lights to supply Vitamin D, there are too many factors that would prevent it like old lights, too far away and not the right strength. Good old hard boiled eggs will supply your birds with the needed Vitamin D and be sure to supplement their diet with multiple calcium sources.
Keep in mind, while more lights may seem better, picture yourself in a small room surrounded by spot lights. Most times when you look outside the birds they are tucked away in the shade of trees.
good luck

[Stevie]

If you need vitamin d....and all else fails....use this great product...
Soluvite d breeder

Definitely will look into this, thank you.

[Sally]

Stevie Since you are in the UK, you might want to look into this supplement. It was recommended by another member from the UK.

JFYI,
There is an alternative to Soluvite D which I've used for the first time, starting 2 month's ago, with noticeable results. It's called Ferti-vit and its made by Oropharma (Versele Laga) from Belgium, meaning can be faster acquired by European guys, at least.

Bellow you can find the analysis per/kg:

Vitamin A 3.000.000 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 220.000 IU/kg
Vitamin E 45.000 mg/kg
Vitamin C 13.000 mg/kg
Vitamin K3 650 mg/kg
D-pantothenate calcium 2.400 mg/kg
Vitamin B1 900 mg/kg
Vitamin B2 3.500 mg/kg
Vitamin B6 1.300 mg/kg
Vitamin B12 6 mg/kg
Niacin 17.500 mg/kg
Biotin 33 mg/kg
Folic acid 330 mg/kg
L-lysine 20.000 mg/kg
DL-methionine 30.000 mg/kg
E1 - Iron (iron sulphate monohydrate) 2.500 mg/kg
E2 - Iodine (calcium iodate, anhydrous) 100 mg/kg
E4 - Copper (copper (II) sulphate pentahydrate) 500 mg/kg
E5 - Manganese (manganese sulphate monohydrate) 5.000 mg/kg
E6 - Zinc (zinc sulphate monohydrate) 4.500 mg/kg

For Soluvite D I've found the following composition:

Guaranteed Analysis (per kg):
Vitamins A 1,000,000 IU
D3 - 250.000 IU
E - 2,500 IU
K - 2000 mg
Niacin - 5,000 mg
Pantothenic Acid - 1,242 mg
Riboflavin - 1,200 mg
Thiamine - 470 mg
Pyridoxine - 400mg
Cyanocobalamin(B12) - 5 mg
Folic Acid - 225 mg
Choline Bitartrate - 40 mg
Biotin - 10 mg
Iodine - 200 mg

Web sources:
-Ferti-vit (http://www.oropharma.com/NUTRI/Nutritio ... &pro=18929)
-Soluvite D (https://www.birdsupplynh.com/catalog/pr ... ts_id=2113)




Daniel

Most manufacturers realize the importance of D3 and have increased the amount of D3 in their product. Since D3 is needed to utilize calcium, the manufacturers are also now adding D3 to their calcium products. You can also provide D3 through diet.

[Stevie]

'm assuming this is a totally indoor aviary, correct?

I'd definitely go with at least two or three more.

It really depends upon how many perches you put in there (and where). They're not going to be spending lots of time in "dead space" where there are no perches, so it's not as important to light those areas.

The general rule that I've always followed for full spectrum lighting is to arrange the lights so the birds are within therapeutic range -- in your case, 40 cm (for the Americans, that's around 15 inches. I'm cm stupid so I had to look it up. LOL) --- for about 90-95% of the day.
So if you position the lights so that the most popular congregating areas of the aviary are within therapeutic range, you should be golden.

All sounds good. Must remember the inches thing. I was brought up with both so can quote both

Do you know of any other bulbs that have a bigger range. Saves me wiring in more lights

[Stevie]

I would never count on lights to supply Vitamin D, there are too many factors that would prevent it like old lights, too far away and not the right strength. Good old hard boiled eggs will supply your birds with the needed Vitamin D and be sure to supplement their diet with multiple calcium sources.
Keep in mind, while more lights may seem better, picture yourself in a small room surrounded by spot lights. Most times when you look outside the birds they are tucked away in the shade of trees.

Thanks Debbie, must make sure I create some shady perches so they can choose.

I have some Xtra Vital Premium Food by beaphar. Which says it has egg in it so that should be good.

Please no laughing!!!

Is it natural/safe to give birds egg? I not sure if you heard over there about Mad Cows Disease? Caused by famers feeding cows their own body parts, namely ground up bones.

Would birds eat eggs in the wild?

[Stevie]

Most manufacturers realize the importance of D3 and have increased the amount of D3 in their product. Since D3 is needed to utilize calcium, the manufacturers are also now adding D3 to their calcium products. You can also provide D3 through diet.

Ah! Okay so lighting and diet would be a good way to go, belt and braces then.

I was also looking at which food stuffs have vitamins D in for adding to the fresh stuff I will give now and again. Is it specifically D3 I am looking for?

I found this link, more aimed at humans Top ten foods Highest in Vitamin D

I was wondering if mushrooms, which are on the list, are safe for birds, they are not technically a vegetable. As I expect you know they are in a different genus (is that the word?) from Animals and plants. Of course was thinking of the shop bought ones not the 'death caps' from the local woodland

[MiaCarter]

Stevie -- I just checked my list and mushrooms are on the "do not feed" list. So no mushrooms.

And yes, eggs are WONDERFUL!
Lots of great nutrients like calcium, vitamin d and protein.
In the wild, they eat eggs raw. Obviously, that's a salmonella risk, so you can hard boil or scramble. If you scramble, no milk or cooking oil.
I recommend using the microwave; it's the easy way to cook it up without glomming up your pans!
You can also feed the shells. Pop them in the microwave for 30 sec. This causes the membrane to bubble up and peel away and it cooks up any remaining egg whites to avoid salmonella. Remove the membrane and then crush the eggshells and mix it in with the egg.

I think there are some lights with a slightly bigger therapeutic range, but not by much. Maybe a matter of a couple inches?

[Stevie]

No mushroom then

And I will stick with the light I have.

And yes, eggs are WONDERFUL!
Lots of great nutrients like calcium, vitamin d and protein.
In the wild, they eat eggs raw. Obviously, that's a salmonella risk, so you can hard boil or scramble. If you scramble, no milk or cooking oil.
I recommend using the microwave; it's the easy way to cook it up without glomming up your pans!
You can also feed the shells. Pop them in the microwave for 30 sec. This causes the membrane to bubble up and peel away and it cooks up any remaining egg whites to avoid salmonella. Remove the membrane and then crush the eggshells and mix it in with the egg.

Thank you had never thought of salmonella. Thanks for the tips on prep

[debbie276]

If your offering hard boiled eggs then the shell has already been cooked so no need to pop in the nuker. I find the shell isn't as brittle from hard boiling as it is microwaved for those worried about the sharpness of eggshells. I've never in 15+ years of feeding birds removed the membrane of an egg.

[MiaCarter]

debbie276 -- I remove as much of the membrane as possible from the eggshells as otherwise, it's difficult to crush it up into a fine consistency.

The shell may break into small pieces, but the pieces get held together by the membrane. I've found the only way to break it up effectively is by hand, which is time consuming. And leaving the little clusters is a waste as they get ignored by my picky crew! LOL

So by removing the membrane, you avoid that problem. And the microwave dries up any remaining membrane, so it breaks apart easy. Makes it much easier to get it into a gritty powder-like consistency (and when it's like a gritty powder, you don't need to worry about any big pieces causing damage and the act of grinding it up eliminates any sharp edges.)

But indeed, if you hard boil, they would already be cooked -- no leftover egg whites like in scrambled.

[debbie276]

MiaCarter

ahhhhh, I see. I leave the pieces of shell as large as possible. They love to toss them around and play with them, breaking off what they want.
I could see how it might be a problem if your crushing the shell to a fine powder.

[MiaCarter]

debbie276 -- I tried big chunks and even entire halves of chicken eggs, but my guys are a bunch of picky pants!

They got pooped on by everyone.

They got flipped over and stood upon by one. (like a dome)

They got sat-in by another. (like a cup)

They got ignored by others.

But they DIDN'T get eaten by anyone!

Nope. They make humum grind them up.
I break them up with a tenderizing hammer thingie, then pulverize with a mortar and pestle. This actually works better than the coffee bean grinder. (The latter is much faster, but they don't seem to like the consistency....that would be too easy, right?! LOL)