Lighting-How bright?

[canary3000]

I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I'm not sure how bright i should make my bird cages. I understand the use of 6500k.
Is one CFL 6500k and 3800 lumens bright enough or could I go with t5 tube lights producing anywhere from 10,000 lumen and up.
I don't want to blind my birds and cause issue, but I don't like a dim light either.
T5 lights are more spread out then one CFL.
What about ez breeder lights?

[jimenezl]

I did a lot of research a few years back and set one of each on my 30" cage, but plan to go to LED's in future flight and breeding cages.

Exo Terra Repti-Glo 2.0 Compact Fluorescent Full Spectrum Terrarium Lamp (Natural Light)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010 ... UTF8&psc=1


Exo Terra Repti-Glo 5.0 Compact Fluorescent Tropical Terrarium Lamp
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Y ... UTF8&psc=1

Regards,

Luis

[Dave]

I've seen articles about European finch breeders. Some of the set-ups were not bright at all, especially the lower cages. In my own bird room, I use one or two watts of LED (actual watts) per square foot of cage. That is plenty bright enough for me to see the birds well. I put the light on one end of the cage so the birds can either be in the light or out of it.

[canary3000]

I find this topic very interesting. You ask a hundred people and get a hundred different opinions on lighting. I've decided to get an LED corn cob light, which brightens the whole room, not just the cages. I do agree that birds don't need a very bright light. Birds in the woods have shaded lighting. That's where most of our wild birds hang out. If you can post a picture of your lighted cage I'd like to see it. Close and at a distance. And what lighting source and amount of lumens you are using. Thanks