Full spectrum lighting (The importance of Vitamin D3 in your bird's diet)

The correct level of Vitamin D3 can be very difficult to artificially regulate so adding full spectrum lighting to you birds habitat can help your bird to naturally regulate his/her calcium intake.

Calcium deficiency in pet birds (especially African Greys) were for many years thought to be caused by poor diet and lack of vitamin D3. Veterinarians used to recommend a diet higher in calcium as well as artificial D3 supplementation. Unfortunately, veterinarians then saw, in many cases, eventual signs of hypercalcemia in the same birds. Hypercalcemia is an abnormally large amount of calcium in the blood caused by a high intake of calcium and vitamins D3 and may result in excessive calcification of the bones and some tissues, such as the kidneys or heart.

Vitamin D3 is a hormone necessary in birds (as well as other animals & humans) in order for the digestive tract to be able to extract calcium from their diet. Without sufficient vitamin D3 even large amounts of calcium supplementation will not benefit our birds (animals or humans). On the other hand if there are excessive amounts of D3 in the diet too much calcium can be taken in, causing hypercalcemia.

Natural sunlight is the best source of vitamin D3 so it is a good idea to take your bird outside as long as you can keep him safe in a carrier or outdoor aviary while you are watching at all times. If you can't let your bird have natural sunlight safely, the next best thing would be to provide your bird with full spectrum lighting. 2 hours per day is the recommended duration of full spectrum light time for the smaller birds like Canaries, Parakeets, Lovebirds & Cockatiels. The duration of time may vary depending on the species, so it is a good idea to consult your avian veterinarian for specific recommendations for your bird. Full spectrum lighting can be bought at most home improvements stores for a lot less money than at bird specialty stores. When buying full spectrum lighting you need to make sure that you buy light bulbs that has both UV A and UV B light. The light should be placed within two feet of the bird and you have to make sure that the bulb and electrical cords are always out of reach from your bird. The full spectrum lighting should ONLY be used with a timer and should be going on and off at the same time every day. Having the light on and off at just slightly different times everyday can cause, among other things, territorial aggression, compulsive egg laying, excessive release of sexual hormones.

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