Lighting for finches

[mondo]

I'll get to the point:
what kind of lighting is best for finches? especially when they're kept indoors...
I read to use full spectrum light, which means the color temperature must be at least 5500K...
I used ones that is higher than that: 6500K and 7000K, so does that mean my birds get the artificial sunlight they require?
The lamp I used are fluorescent light by the way, the kind that has long tube, and each were aboout 40W...

Why I asked this is because I tried growing a bamboo under the lamp, it died after a few months... either because the light isn't close enough to sunlight property; or my canaries have done too much damage that the bamboo cannot regenerate fast enough (the aviary is no longer inhabited by them though). SO that made me worried, is the light I used mimicking sunlight? at least can the birds benefit from it?

[debbie276]

I wouldn't count on the light supplying the Vitamin D that they need, do that by feeding hard boiled eggs or a supplement.
Here are two great articles to help explain the importance of light and help you pick the proper bulb.

https://mickaboo.org/confluence/downloa ... ummary.pdf
Birds need proper light to find and analyze food; to identify flock mates; to detect predators and other dangers; to regulate daily cycles (sleep, feeding); and to regulate seasonal cycles (migration, reproduction).
Birds have two glands: the harderian gland and the pineal gland, which respond to light and are, thereby, thought to control things like migration/molting, reproduction, and sleep cycles. Our companion birds do best under the color temperature of the sun (as experienced on earth), which is 5000 K in the tropical latitudes. Color temperatures lower than this (more red) can lead to breeding behavior, while higher color temperatures (more blue) have been shown to produce more stress and feather destruction. For tropical birds, look for a light that has a temperature of at least 5000 K and not more than 5700 K.

http://www.naturallighting.com/cart/sto ... sc_page=56

[Finnie]

Those are good articles about lighting. There are also several threads where bird room lighting is discussed, if those are helpful to you.

But I was thinking that as far as your bamboo plant is concerned, it must have been the birds that killed it. Bamboo can grow just about anywhere. We had one for years, and it didn't have any special lighting on it. I even have one growing underwater in my fish tank, and I knowthat the lighting in there is not what it should be for plants.

[mondo]

Those are good articles about lighting. There are also several threads where bird room lighting is discussed, if those are helpful to you.

But I was thinking that as far as your bamboo plant is concerned, it must have been the birds that killed it. Bamboo can grow just about anywhere. We had one for years, and it didn't have any special lighting on it. I even have one growing underwater in my fish tank, and I knowthat the lighting in there is not what it should be for plants.

I think the bamboo you were referring were lucky bamboo, which is not a bamboo at all, but a member of dracaena family (which is a hardy indoor plant family)... the plant I was referring to were yellow bamboo

[mondo]

I wouldn't count on the light supplying the Vitamin D that they need, do that by feeding hard boiled eggs or a supplement.
look for a light that has a temperature of at least 5000 K and not more than 5700 K.

oh yes, I added boiled eggs and ferti-oil to their diet...

so apparently I don't need to get a very bright white light like mine...
I do also have a 5500K fluorescent installed... would that work? it emits yellow light though (at least to my human eyes)

[Finnie]

I think the bamboo you were referring were lucky bamboo, which is not a bamboo at all, but a member of dracaena family (which is a hardy indoor plant family)... the plant I was referring to were yellow bamboo

Oh, I see. Yes, it was lucky bamboo.