John, when I say inexpensive sunlight bulbs, I mean the ones I get at Lowe's, think they are made by GE, and are labeled sunshine, not sunlight. T8 4' fluorescent tubes are about $7-8. I will have one 4' shoplight fixture with one bulb covering two 34x18x18 cages. They provide a nice light for the cages. I agree that unless your cages are very dark, lights aren't always necessary when not breeding, but the lights are also for my enjoyment--I can see the birds better with some light on each cage.jdc wrote: May I ask what you mean by 'inexpensive sunlight' bulbs?
BTW, one finch raising source i found on the net said that unless you are breeding, lights are not necessary at all--assuming of course, your birds aren't in the dark!
Some people also say that you should not have the lights so close to the birds, more like 2 feet away. With my setup, I have lights on every cage, and most of the lights lay right on top of the cages. I have not had a problem doing this. All my lights are on timers, and I do have a red 'party' light, I think it is 25w spiral type, which is screwed into the ceiling fan and provides night light.
