Lighting If your birds are being raised outdoors in the South, lighting is not much of an issue. Just provide the birds some shady and sunny areas and they will take care of their own needs. If you are raising birds indoors there are two main points to mention here. One is that glass windows filter out Ultra Violet light, an essential ingredient in the synthesis of Vitamin D. Vitamin D3 should be provided in the diet. Full spectrum fluorescent lighting is the best type of artificial light because it matches the ratio of colors in sunlight and is reported to provide Ultra Violet (although I have had a lengthy discussion with an electrical engineer for General Electric's lighting division and he says the amount is negligable). So, what do I do? I provide full spectrum fluorescent lighting (purchased at Home Depot for about $4.50 per tube) and I don't forget to give calcium and vitamins to my birds. I know several canary breeders that have used Cool White lighting for many years with success but full spectrum still makes my Gouldians colors look normal. My 16 foot by 6 foot room has eight 4 foot tubes on the ceiling but since my cages are stacked lighting level varies from top to bottom. I breed my birds seasonally and keep them on 12-14 hour days when they are not breeding and slowly increase this to 16-17 hours when breeding. For more information see the "Lighting" section of "How I Raise My Birds"
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