Heat lamps for my aviary

[Gbrittan]

I am building a new aviary for my finches so they can all be together. I have 2 pair of Gouldians, a pair of Owl finches, and a pair of parrot finches (the male is redhead and the female seafoam with an orange head).
My question is about using a heat lamp. I see ads for 60 to 150 watts but it doesn't say how warm that will make the cage. My aviary is 72" long, 32" deep, and 48" high. If I place heat lamps on top will it keep the floor of the cage warm. Any advice is welcome I feel very confused about this.
Thanks, Gail

[Flight Feathers]

Sorry I’m not too sure. lovezebs or someone else on here may be able to help you tho! Best of luck with building your aviary!

[wildbird]

If you're talking about the ceramic bulbs, I think they are mostly for cages. I used a 60 watt bulb for a 30 X 18 X 18 cage, and it will keep a bird warm if it is perched near it and part of the cage is covered. The bulb emits heat so that only what is near it receives the heat. I don't think this would work as far as heating an aviary. I have not tried the 150 watt bulbs. If you need a large area heated, maybe check into the lamps used to keep baby chickens warm that you see in the spring in hardware and farm stores. There are forum members who have aviaries and use heat lamps, so they may have better advise.

[Sojourner]

Any heat lamp that will heat from the top of the cage all the way to the bottom will be TOO HOT. If it "keeps the floor warm" 4' away, it'll be too hot everywhere else.

The point of a heat source for a bird cage is to give them a warm spot in which to roost. They should always be able to move away from it if it gets too hot. The whole cage doesn't have to be kept warm even if it is outdoors as long as they are protected from the wind and rain (and potential predators such as rodents, cats, other birds, and snakes) and they can get under or out from under a heat source at will. It sort of depends on how severe the winter is where you live (if its outdoors). Some people keep finches in unheated outdoor aviaries even in what *I* would consider "severe" cold for a bird from tropical regions, as long as they can stay dry and out of the wind they can often keep warm enough anyway. I think they nearly always provide completely enclosed "bird houses" inside the aviary to get that to work though.

Is your cage indoors? Because you really shouldn't need a heat lamp indoors (assuming the space is heated for people). I do have a work lamp with a compact fluorescent in it mounted about 4" from the top of the finch cage, but mostly for light since flurorescents don't produce NEARLY the amount of heat as incandescents. I keep my house at about 67F in the winter. They're plenty warm enough. (Similarly, I have a floor lamp with a CFL in it pointed at my budgie cage, for light since they're not all that near a window).

LEDs produce even less heat than CFLs. But its usually DRAFTS you need to worry more about. As long as you can keep them out of drafts they should (within reason) be OK. If the inside of your house is drafty or the cage has to sit in an area where it can be drafty, covering the cage on 3 sides with a sheet to block drafts would be helpful - assuming the open side isn't facing the draft.

[Gbrittan]

Thanks to everybody for the information. My aviary is full of birds and plants. I have LED full spectrum lights and have decided that I probably won't need heat lamps. The aviary is in my living room, I do worry about drafts so I'm going to cover the end closest to the front door when it starts getting cold outside. I live in Wisconsin so our winters get pretty cold.