Evening lighting

[Louys]

Hello everyone! This is my first question/post. Looking forward to learning and sharing thoughts with you.
My Bird cages are in my dining/living room, which gets used very infrequently in the evenings, so they sleep and wake up with the sun. What should I do when occasionally I entertain and have to keep the lights on?
Thanks

[Hilary]

Welcome to the forum! I have one of my cages in my living room and am a major night owl with lights on until all hours, but have noticed that when the finches are ready they just go ahead and go to sleep regardless of lighting. Depending on noise and activity when you're entertaining yours may stay awake but that shouldn't cause any harm. Unless they're used to being covered at night (which is sounds like you do not do) covering would probably be more stressful then letting them just watch the festivities.

[Sally]

I agree completely with Hilary. I have several cages in my living room right now, and I am also a night owl, with tv blaring and lights on. The birds in those cages go to sleep, sometimes waking up to eat something, and then back to sleep. As long as your company doesn't poke at/bump into the cages, they should be fine.

Welcome to the forum! You might want to check out some of the articles at www.finchinfo.com, lots of good reading.

[debbie276]

Ditto to what the others have said.
My birds have always been in the most used areas of the house and they don't have a problem with nighttime activity as long as your not in their face.

[Dave]

Boy, I'm on the other side of this issue!

I think that since these birds evolved with changing day lengths, we should offer them the same. I know that with canaries, day length is critical to their health (and breeding!).

If your species is native to the equator, then 12 hours of light year around would be my choice. Or, you can Google to get day lengths for any other place on the planet.

We take a lot of care with nutrition, to try and give our birds everything they need. We do lots of other things, some of them perhaps insignificant, to make sure our birds are the best that they can be.

I think managing day length is not insignificant, and we should be trying to mimic nature on this.

Some timers will automatically increase or decrease the on / off time, based on the latitude you enter.

[Louys]

Thank you all for the replies. Just as I was going to relax about it, came Dave's reply Being a "compulsive care giver" I am inclined to give them their good night sleep, but don't want to become a hermit either and not have any visitors. What if I move their cages to another room those days....... wouldn’t that also be stressful for them?

[Sally]

I think moving the cages would be more stressful than the occasional late night. I think finches aren't quite as sensitive to day length as canaries. I have one cage which is in the dining room, but right next to the large opening which divides dining and living room. On the other side of that cage is the front door. My computer desk is also in the dining room, so I'm sitting not that far from the cage working away. I'm also not a very considerate parent, as if I need to turn on the light in the dining room late at night, I do so. My birds are used to my crazy schedule, they have to put up with the vacuum running or me mopping the floor, the dog barking--it is not a quiet refuge at my house.

On the other hand, the rest of the birds are in my second bedroom, with the door closed most of the time. Their lights are on a timer, once the lights go off it is nice and quiet in there all night. Those birds, being so protected from noise, are much more flighty and nervous than the birds that are exposed to all the normal comings and goings, lights, sounds, etc.

[debbie276]

When I had a birdroom in the basement I also found the birds to be more flighty and skiddish. They had a very controlled environment as far as noise and light and I was just about the only one that went into the room.
The birds upstairs in the main house were always calmer and used to the activity around them. With 3 boys and 2 dogs something was always going on.
Even the birds outside get a light turned on now and then when I let the dogs out or need to see something in the dark. Not to mention when cars pull into the driveway the headlights shine on the aviary for a second or two.
If you think about it some nights the moon is so bright and others not. There must be movement in the trees occasionally as well.

Moving cages around in my opinion will be much more stressful then just letting them get used to your way of living and the occasional late night.

What type of birds do you have?

[Louys]

Thank you so much for your input. This means much less stress for me
So I have one juvenile, most likely male canary and a lonely male Gouldian ...... He will have a mate but in the spring.They are in separate cages, but side by side.
Apparently I cannot attach their pictures here, unless they have a web address..... next time then:)

[Sally]

Louys Here is a topic about how to post photos.

http://www.finchforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=22448

[Louys]

Well, let's see if this worked. Here are my winged friends.......for now

[debbie276]

Gorgeous!!

[Louys]

Thanks......now I have to figure out how to post them straight

[slwatson]

Louys

Very bright and colorful! I love the orange of the canary. My bird cages are all in a family room. We frequently watch tv, and spend lots of time in that room. I make sure the noise never gets too loud, but the birds are now acclimated to the sounds and activity of that room. I typically turn the lights off around 8 or 9, and back on around 6:30 or 7:00. I've never had any issues with this schedule. I have some owls that I think require more privacy, so I do keep half of their cage covered with a towel to keep them calmer.