[nanay]

My bird vet suggested that I take the birds outside a few minutes daily whenever possible to get some sunshine. I am enjoying this. It gives me an excuse to sit outside in the early morning.

We brought home the cage we had at school for when we would take the little guys in for a visit. It is about 18" square, slightly smaller in one direction. I only stay out between 30 and 60 minutes daily. Daisy, the maximillian, and the three little birds all get along well together in there for that amount of time. It has a food cup and a water cup, two perches and a boing, none of which are really the right size for Daisy, so I might put a fatter perch in there. (In typing this I remembered I already have one in the drawer, anyway. :doh There are probably not many 200 gram birds that could be trusted with three 40 gram birds, but, if anything, they bully her, although for that period of time I'm not worried about it.

Then there is Roni, the senegal, who must be by herself. So far I am taking her in the travel cage, but it is very small. I'm estimating something akin to 12" X 6" x 6". I have a little crock I can put in there for water, and I can give her some veggies. My question is whether or not this is too small? I do use it for her for trips in the car, and they are that long, but not done on a daily basis.

The cage I put everyone else in is unhandy to move in and out and store, so I wouldn't want to go any larger than that, and even smaller would be better, but is the travel cage too small. Additionally, I don't want to spend much money on this if possible.

 

[skthurley]

it\s only for an hour max. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Sharon]

I wheel my indoor cages out. We made a ramp for the doorstep area...

Mine often spend all day on the patio in the sun.

I have been reading that it's pointless to feed a Calcium enriched diet, if the birds have no access to sun or proper lighting??? I have no special lighting. I need to research, as I have to have complete protection from UVA/UVB rays as I've had Malignant Melanoma. Wondering if lighting of that type won't be good for me. Also, many suggest that having birds in front of a window for sun( I do that in the winter) is ineffective...which I really don't understand. Glass doesn't filter out UVA/UVB rays...why is that type of sun exposure not effective?

Sorry to go off track, Nanay...your post brought up a lot of questions I've been meaning to research...

 

[nanay]

Sharon,

I'm glad you asked all these questions, because I have the same questions myself. I feed TOPS, which I really want to continue to feed, but at one point someone, I think it was Shandi, said that I have to be really careful to make sure they get enough sun when feeding TOPS.

I asked the vet about full-spectrum lights, and she said if I got them I only had to shine them on the birds about ten minutes a day? Or maybe I misunderstood her. She said to be careful with them because they could easily be overexposed to them.

Anyway, I'd like any information I can get about any of this - sunlight, full-spectrum lighting, windows - all of that.

 

[Sharon]

It's all rather confusing...Full spectrum lighting for only ten minutes? Sounds like it would be something that I wouldn't want here, because of my history with Melanoma. Birds in the wild don't get sun protection, unless they're smart enough to do it for themselves? So many questions...

 

[nanay]

I would expect birds from various environments get various amounts of sun. The bourkes live in the grasslands, I think. My daughter has to research that soon for a 4-H project, so I should know, lol. I believe linnies live in the middle layer of the rain forest. That sounds strange, and I don't know the name of that layer. I also need to look that up, but that wouldn't be a place that would get much full sunlight.

I need to do a lot of research.

 

[Sharon]

I will be doing some research as well, when I get some free time....I estimate that may be 2012. I don't understand how retirement can be so busy!

 

[Abby]

I also go outside with my birds! When I was homeschooled earlier this year and at the end of last year, it would be very warm outside, so I'd take my laptop and my birds (in their cages) outside and do my schoolwork.

Now that it's winter, I sadly cannot do that, and nor do I want to! :tongue:

My cages are transportable enough that I can just bring them outside. I remove a bit of the excess toys and perches for a while and set them near me while I sit. I wouldn't be too concerned about having the perfect cage for your bird, if it is only a short hour outside. If you do have excess money (LOL) go ahead to a store and pick out a new cage! Otherwise, I think your birds will be fine.

 

[catalinadee]

Our birds love it outside :lol:

 

[nanay]

I did simply finish out the good weather with the cages I had. The birds were fine. However, now I have two more birds, so when this winter ends I will need at least one more travel cage or they won't all be able to go out at the same time. They don't all have to go out at the same time, but it is quicker for me if they can.

 

[Abby]

Good to hear the cage problem worked out!