Lighting

During the winter months I use energy saving light bulbs in the aviaries to increase the short days.  These are on a timer and come on a couple of hours before sunrise and switch off a few hours after dawn. I find that the birds will get up in the morning to feed with the light, however they will still roost at dusk despite the light.  I therefore no longer bother with the lights in an evening.  A big problem with my aviaries, indeed my whole garden, is that they get very little sunlight during winter.  Birds need the sun for the UV rays which in turn provide vitamin B, which is required for the absorption of calcium to maintain healthy bone and feather growth.  For this reason I am now intend to use full spectrum light bulbs which you can now get reasonably cheap as energy saving bulbs.