There are exotic birds whose DNA comes from ancestors originating deep from within the rainforests. There are also species of birds’ whose DNA originates from arid forests where there is less rainfall. At any rate we must remember that most parrots spend much of their time in the mid-canopy no matter which forest they would live indigenously wild and free. 

Temperature and humidity, as well as "light and dark hours" for circadian rhythm are just as important in the captive lives of our companion birds. 

Machelle Pacion – Avian Nutrition Specialist

Ambient Temperature & Humidity-

Just like us, our birds seem to prefer a temperature of about 75 to 80 degrees F. In fact, they seem to thrive at these temperatures, up to about 90 degrees F. 

It's also important to understand and remember that on an overall average, exotic birds require more ambient humidity in their environment that humans do. Although, humidity isn't an enemy to us either! Personally, I have found that our birds do well at about 55% to 75% humidity. If the air is too dry a bird’s skin, feathers, joints, bones, cartilage, and respiratory system dries out. 75% is a little high for my liking, but I can tolerate 60 to 65% well for a short period of time if the temperature is 75 degrees F. 

Light VS Dark: Hours of Sleep-

When it comes to hours of light versus dark, I find the less amount of light is best for our birds, but that doesn't have anything to do with the length, or total hours of nightly sleep. In fact, the more sleep they get the more hormonal they are. 

Think about it, the forest is dense with trees and most birds live in the mid-canopy where they are protected from most predators. It's shady there and they receive indirect sunlight at best and mostly shade. This allows birds to take frequent naps during the day and rarely do they sleep for long periods of time, even throughout the night. They are always on some amount of alert for predators. If they were to go into deep sleep on a frequent basis their testosterone would go through the roof. It has been proven by medical science that more sleep a living creature gets the more testosterone is produced. The less sleep, the more estrogen is produced. I can attest to this myself. I suffer from insomnia and have since I gave birth to my first child. Not long after I started having children I began suffering high estrogen which led to endometriosis which is usually caused by too much-circulating estrogen. There you have it; proof of the findings of medical science! (I apologize for “too-much-information” for those of you who didn’t need it)

I have found that keeping our bird rooms slightly on the dark side during the day keeps our birds calm, but active. Then when we put the birds down for the night we make sure their rooms are totally dark, no lights whatsoever, not even any lights from any air filters or sonic humidifiers showing - we cover any lights on any electrical equipment with black electrical tape. We do allow the "white noise" from the air filters for the calming effect it seems to have on the birds' rest. 

To Cover or Not to Cover-

We don’t cover all of our birds at night. Those we do cover, if they are next to a wall, we make sure that we don’t cover the side of the sleeping cage that is next to the wall. This ensures there is some kind of ventilation and air flow through the night. Some birds prefer to be able to see what is going on during the sleep hours of their night. Others feel more protected when they are covered. Learn to “listen” to the needs of your bird by astute observation of their behavior. They have ways of letting us know what they prefer.

Real Life in the Wild-

All of this said, wild birds that spend time in the mid-canopy would receive a lot less sunlight in their lives than most of us think, therefore a lot less production of Vitamin D than we are normally told, depending on more magnesium for the absorption of calcium. In fact, "like" compliments "like" in most cases. Therefore, "mineral" complements "mineral" in this case. Nature always ensures the care of Its own. Just like "fat" in the body ensures the uptake of "fat-soluble" vitamins, so do minerals help ensure the uptake of minerals. 

But that really isn't the crux of this post. 

I simply want to help you understand the basic environmental needs of your parrot. 

Employing the above techniques along with the great diets we feed ensuring they receive the proper Omega 3s to Omega 6s in their daily diets our birds have great dispositions considering almost all of them came as rescue birds and are permanently disabled and will be with us as permanent residents in our Providence Exotic Bird Sanctuary living out the remainder of their lives! Similar to lack of humidity, if a parrot doesn’t have the proper ratio of Omega 3s to Omega 6s in their daily diet their skin, feathers, beaks, talons, joints, bones, cartilage, and respiratory system will become too dry.

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Do you want to find the indigenous climate your bird would be living in if it actually lived in its original homeland?

Here is a great source!

It may help you gain a better understanding of the temperature and humidity level your bird should have in your home on a regular basis.

http://www.climatemps.com

AND

http://weatherspark.com/averages/stations

Do you want to know when the sun rises and sets at certain times of the year for your particular species in its indigenous region?

Here is a great source:

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/@6151135

This may help you understand how many hours of sleep your bird really needs.

©6/29/2018 10:25:10 AM  - Passion Tree House LLC – All Rights Reserved