How does a solar schedule work?

[quakerboo]

Ok, so I understand it means the bird should wake at sun rise and sleep after the suns set. So does that mean he should be in a room with the blinds open so he can naturally fall asleep with the sun. Or does that mean that I should turn the lights off and cover him with a sheet when it's dark, and then take the sheet off and open the blinds at sunrise? I definitely want him to be on a solar schedule but I need the specifics please

[paper_lantern]

I was wondering this too, hopefully Pajarita can chime in.

Would putting Chubby on a solar schedule mean that I have to wake up at the break of dawn every day to uncover him, feed him, play with him, etc? I mean, I'd be willing to try it if it's for his benefit, but it would be a bit difficult to get used to.

[Wolf]

They need the exposure to the twilight times at dawn and dusk to set the biological clock. I am lucky to live far enough from town and traveled roads that I can leave my birds uncovered even though I am up before dawn. If I understand it all properly then the wavelengths at dusk turn the internal systems on and the wavelengths at dawn turn them off.

[Pajarita]

I don't think that either twilight actually turns them on or off, I think that their endocrine system 'measures' the number of hours that there is light and, when it gets to a certain number of hours, it sends the signals to start producing sexual hormones and, when it's down to another certain number, it sends the signal to turn them off. The point when they start producing them is called the point of refractoriness and we know that, for canaries, it's 13 hours and that they breed best at 14 hours of light but I've never found any studies on any species of parrots.

And yes, it is as Wolf explained, they need to be exposed to both dawn and dusk but you don't really need to get up and uncover them before dawn. I have friends that turn off the artificial lights and wait for night to fall and the birds to be asleep before they cover them but they uncover them before they go to bed (in the dark, of course) so, in the morning, they are exposed to dawn and they don't have to get up that early. But, in reality, this is only a problem during the summer when there is already a bit of light at 5 am because, in the winter, dawn is much later.

[Tman007]

Also to add. Once they wake up they are ready to eat. For me I take the food out at night so when they wake up they have no food in their cages. But also I make the comment to feed them when I get home from work at 7:30am and so that means that at 7:30am on my days off I am up feeding them and spending time with them. I have a cat that is on the same schedule as the parrots are. When I decided to get the parrots I knew that I would have to change a few things in my life. You have to be flexible when it comes to your parrots. But once you get into a routine stick to that routine they will be fine.

[paper_lantern]

So, Pajarita, I live in an area where it gets dark around 4:00pm during the winter. Would the solar schedule still be ok at this point?

[Pajarita]

Yes, it will. I live in Northern NJ and it's also dark at around 4:30 pm during the winter, what I do is just give them a bit more dinner and a bit later than usual so as to get them through the long night and make sure they have their breakfast ready and waiting for them before dawn (not hard because it's so late in the morning, anyway).

I know it's real hard keeping a parrot under a solar schedule. I no longer work but, when I did, it was a frigging Federal project what with the leaving all the food prepared the last night, cleaning and feeding in the dark, etc. but, unfortunately, we have no real choice in the matter... not if we want to keep them healthy and happy.