question about water used to bath birds

[Wolf]

If you are going to use bottled water, it would be better for the environment to purchase as large a bottle as possible to reduce the amount of plastics being used or get the water through a service that supplies you with a cooler and picks up the empty bottles for recycling. I don't know if it would work out any cheaper or not.

[Pajarita]

Indeed, cold water is best for them and, in reality, they actually it prefer it this way. The only thing you need to take into consideration is that the baths need to be in the morning or very early afternoon (when they 'get up' from their noon rest but only when the days are long) because you don't want them to go to bed damp. And, please, be VERY careful about 'bird' lamps placed too close to them. Although the manufacturers tell you they are avian lights, in reality, they are not. The light industry is not regulated and the manufacturer can claim anything that is not true without this been illegal and this 'avian' lights on lamps that clamp on top of the cages have blinded birds (burns their corneas). I always recommend a good full spectrum light (CRI 94+, Ktemp 5000-5500, UVA and B output) in the ceiling fixture. Perfectly adequate as a source of light and safe for their eyes.

I am thinking about getting a new bird lamp (our last one disappeared in our last move and we havnt used one since), possibly this:
http://www.northernparrots.com/arcadia- ... -prod8298/

Like you, I worry about the distance from the cage and my plan would be to use this in the ceiling fitting (its the correct type for our fixture, we dont have light tube fixtures here, they are about to be banned due to environmental concerns).

What do you reckon, is it better to put it in the ceiling fitting or should I position it above their cage, as high above it as possible?
Also, if in the ceiling fitting, should it be "exposed" or should you use a lamp to cover some of the light (I reckon this would block out the beneficial light to quite some extent, but I worry about their eyes...).

I always use the ceiling fixtures (I use what we here call 'flush mounted shop lights' which is a very basic fixture for the long fluorescent tubes that is screwed directly to the ceiling - like this one: http://www.homedepot.com/s/shop+light+fixture?NCNI-5). I don't like to use anything with electricity that hangs down or has a 'neck'. 'arm' or wires exposed because the birds would fly up and hang on from whatever is there and chew on it. When I had the skylights in the previous birdroom, I had to put a wire net covering the opening in the ceiling because the lovebirds and the cockatiels would fly up and, hanging upside down from the edges (tabs, lids or lips or whatever the thingies that seal it onto the ceiling are called) of the skylight, would chew them up. I am even going to use steel cable to hold the platforms up in the new birdrooms.

The only problem I see with this light is that they don't give you a single specification (they talk about how good UVA and B are for the birds and what they consider full spectrum but it's all blah blah blah because they don't really give you any concrete information - maybe you can email them and ask for them).

[cml]

EDITED POST (first post was on the smartphone, this is just more info ):

There's actually quite a lot of info on their website (Arcadia), if not on the supplier I use's webshop.

Info regarding the lightbulb:
UV-b 2,4%
UV-a 12%
5800k
CRI: I couldnt find an exact value.
Product info here:
http://www.arcadia-bird.com/compact-lamps/

Also, regarding the placement of the light, they recommend 50cm above the cage, right above it.
See: http://www.arcadia-bird.com/uv-lighting/
They discuss the bad idea of using reptile lamps as they have a higher UV-A output and also the risk of cataracts etc.
They also say that the light shouldnt be further than 1m above the cage, and only straight above it (as their eyes are protected from above but not the sides).

The ceiling fixture I have is centered in the parrot room, about ~2,5feet or roughly 75cm above the top of the parrot cage (their cage is 180cm or 6 feet high) and roughly the same distance from the outer long edge of the cage. This means the light would come in at an angle, but still from above. Would that work?

Alternatively, I can just add an other fixture above the parrot cage (I've already placed 2 ordinary light fixture above the cage to get better lighting in it). A third of the "roof" of their cage has always been covered to give them the choice of being in the light or shade, so I've already got that done. This light would then be about 2,5feet or 75cm above their cage, centered right above it. Would this be better?

Also, dont worry about electrical cords etc, I always make sure they are inaccessible to the birds, I've done lots of parrot proofing in the rest of the house, and this wouldnt be an issue, nor would hanging in the lamps, as I've closed off that area above the cage, right up to the ceiling.

[Pajarita]

l couldn't even find the Ktemp there, much less the CRI. As to its UV output, it sounds too high to me... Mind you, even saying that I am no expert on light is an overstatement, I know so little about it! I've read and read and read about the subject but it's such a complex one that I haven't been able to 'get' that much out of it. But I do know that, at ground level and at noon (it changes with altitude and time of the day as well as season and geographical location so this is an average), total UV output of sunlight is only 3% (44% is visible light and the other 53 is infrared) and that UV decreases under a tree canopy (there is a study called "Estimation of Pedestrian Level UV Exposure Under Trees ") which is where parrots spend most of their time so I would think that a little direct UV goes a long way with them. And I do NOT trust manufacturers or stores statements as to what is good and what is not -especially when it comes to birds which needs are so little understood and which products have become such a fad that have hugely proliferated and way too fast - so I always go with the safest option and, when it comes to light, it means on the ceiling.

[cml]

l couldn't even find the Ktemp there, much less the CRI.

Ktemp is 5800K, the CRI isnt availible as far as I can tell.

I always go with the safest option and, when it comes to light, it means on the ceiling.

Oh, I would be placing it on the ceiling anyway, its just a question of where, either right over their cage or in the middle of the room. Distance from the highest perch to the ceiling is about 1meter.
Placing it over their cage, the light would be coming from straight above, placing it in the ceiling fixture it will be coming in at an angle, depending on where they are in the cage, of roughly 45deg.

I am thinking that right above the cage would be better no?

As to its UV output, it sounds too high to me...

But I do know that, at ground level and at noon (it changes with altitude and time of the day as well as season and geographical location so this is an average), total UV output of sunlight is only 3% (44% is visible light and the other 53 is infrared) and that UV decreases under a tree canopy (there is a study called "Estimation of Pedestrian Level UV Exposure Under Trees ") which is where parrots spend most of their time so I would think that a little direct UV goes a long way with them.

Aye, so do I. I would think that at tree level above the canopy the UV is a lot more than 3% though.
According to the manufacturer, UV light deteriorates with distance, and placing it more than 1meter away would mean little benefit from the light and that at that distance, little or none at all UV light would reach the parrots. Sounds a bit strange to me, but well...I am fine with that and rather play it safe. It will be mounted in the ceiling so roughly 1m from the lamp to the perch.

Out of curiosity, which light tubes do you use and what's the specs on them?