Trained Parrot BlogParrot Wizard Online Parrot Toy StoreThe Parrot Forum

New member to the forum

New to the parrot forum? Introduce yourself and your flock to us.

Re: New member to the forum

Postby Pajarita » Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:35 pm

Whether it's sunny or cloudy makes no real difference because, if one has the right FS light bulb in the ceiling fixture of the room where the bird is kept, it's always sunny and bright in there (so much so that every morning I sing a song to the birds that I made up and it says: Good morning, good morning, the sun is out, the sky is blue etc etc because, to them and with the help of the full spectrum bulbs, it's always sunny in there regardless of how dreary and gray it's outside). The problem with the Northern countries that are near the North Pole is that there are no real seasons so the bird owner needs to set up a fake temperate climate schedule so all four seasons are represented by different lengths of daylight. If I lived in a place like that, I would sit down in front of a computer and looking up all the sunrises and sunset times of a temperate climate city, I would then write them down in a predetermined order - for example, I would put down something like this:

January 1 to 15 - turn on red lights (these are the ones that most resemble twilight) at 6:30 am, turn on FS lights and turn off red lights at 8:30 am - turn off FS and turn on red lights at 3:00 pm and turn off red lights at 4:30 pm.

Then go on to Jan 15 to 31 moving the times by 10 minutes earlier in the morning and 10 minutes later in the pm - and so on and so forth. This way, there are different lengths of daylight every two weeks (which is the rough equivalent of 20 minutes of change in daylight in nature - this is because we know, through studies, that birds register a 20 minute difference a day of longer or shorter daytime). If it's done through timers and one is consistent in changing the timers every two weeks, it should work out.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: New member to the forum

Postby stevesjk » Sun Feb 12, 2017 1:51 pm

Do these light bulbs provide vitamin d to the bird too?
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: New member to the forum

Postby Pajarita » Sun Feb 12, 2017 2:12 pm

They do BUT it's such a small amount compared to what they are supposed to get from the direct exposure to sunshine that it's not really any good for their needs (I can't find the study now but there was one that showed that 8 hours of artificial light was the equivalent of something like 2 minutes of sunshine). One should always supplement it in the form of avian liquid calcium (like Calcivet or Calciboost) BUT one should never supplement it daily (that's another beef I have with pellets). Too much calcium is as bad as too little.
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Re: New member to the forum

Postby stevesjk » Sun Feb 12, 2017 3:12 pm

Ive got cuttlefish readily available for my bird, whats your thoughts on that
stevesjk
Conure
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is male
Posts: 220
Number of Birds Owned: 2
Types of Birds Owned: Senegal parrot budgie
Flight: Yes

Re: New member to the forum

Postby Pajarita » Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:47 am

I give all my birds cuttlebone, too. This, plus the vit D3 they get in their multivitamin/mineral supplement they get once or twice a week is what keeps them supplied with calcium. I also have liquid avian calcium always at hand because I give them a couple of dosages of it twice a year (more if it's a hen that is laying). I normally do three days in a row of daily dosage of liquid calcium twice a year, once at the beginning of the breeding season (when I switch the diet to higher protein -which will happen Mar/1) and again when I switch the diet to lower protein (when they are all completely done with molt late in the summer - usually Sep/1). I do it on these dates because it easier for me to remember as I do a number of things at the same time: switch the diet, give them the calcium, trim nails if necessary, thorough cleaning of the cages, replacement of perches, new FS bulbs in the appliances, new filter in the air purifier, etc).
Pajarita
Norwegian Blue
 
Gender: This parrot forum member is female
Posts: 18697
Location: NW Pa
Number of Birds Owned: 30
Types of Birds Owned: RoseBreasted too, CAG, DoubleYellowHead Amazon, BlueFront Amazon, YellowNape Amazon, Senegal, African Redbelly, Quaker, Sun Conure, Nanday, BlackCap Caique, WhiteBelly Caique, PeachFace lovebird, budgies,
Flight: Yes

Previous

Return to Introductions

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests

Parrot ForumArticles IndexTraining Step UpParrot Training BlogPoicephalus Parrot InformationParrot Wizard Store