Aussie Finch Forum

Some months back my child was at a party and admired the Hosts Zebra finches, the Host said she could have them but we were not ready for more finches yet and we didn't want Zeb's as we had our list of finch species we wanted.
Chatting to my child recently she said the person told her they only needed seed and their cage only had to be cleaned every few months, so I started a conversation with the person and discovered they don't get wormed, etc despite always living outside, though off the ground.
Long story short I agreed to give them a home, these 5 little Zebs are now in quarantine in the Laundry, I have seperated the male to avoid babies (he is in my quarantine cage).
I treated immediately for mites and gave them spark, I attempted to scrub the cage they came with but the poo is like cement and no matter how hard I scrub it wont budge so I have organised a new cage for them (about to put them in when I head downstairs to do the washing).
I have placed a calcium perch in with the girls, have downloaded a 40 day finch quarantine protocol from the finch society to follow.
The Laundry gets no sun (normally I quarantine in the office but I didn't want to risk having them upstairs, though opposite ends of the house just in case) so I am thinking I will take them outside each day while I am doing the Laundry (I have a minimum 3 loads a day, sometimes 10 silly modern 7kg washers that if you put 7kg in take 3hrs but if you put 3kg in you can use the 30min cycle) I stay downstairs while doing the laundry as I have pelvic injuries and have to avoid excess stair trips.
My question is as my other birds get sunlight all day I am unsure of the minimum requirements (though I am sure it is on here somewhere I am having a brain frizzle at the moment lol), what is the minimum sunlight requirement for them to get adequate vitamin D?
Thankyou

20 to 30 minutes should be enough.

The following info might help to briefly explain the process.

Humans need the suns ultraviolet B (UVB) energy for around 20 minutes a day to allow for the body to synthesis/convert a form of cholesterol, 7-dehydrocholesterol, within the body. The liver followed by the kidneys convert this into Vitamin D (cholecalciferol).

Birds need the suns ultraviolet B (UVB) energy for around 20 / 30 minutes a day. Birds have a different method of creating their Vit D. Above the base of the tail birds have a uropygial (Preening) gland which secretes a oil. Birds spread this oil over their feathers. When exposed to UVB this oil is synthesis into a Vit D precursor. The birds actions of preening their feathers will ingest some of this Vit D oil mixture. Then, like humans, the vitamin D in the system will then be converted by the liver and kidneys to active vitamin D (cholecalciferol). Birds can also absorb vitamin D through the eyes via the Harderian gland, located within the birds eye, directly into the retina.

30-40 minutes/day for poultry.
This is not essential during quarantine unless you go beyond 4 weeks.

As for the quarantine medication protocol, I wouldn't go overboard if you are just going to keep these birds in their own cage. If they are to go into a dirt-floored aviary, that may be a different story!

Zebs are quite hardy. Apart from treating for external parasites and worming them, I wouldn't worry about coccidia or other parasites unless they start scouring.

If they look healthy, just keep them that way with good diet & husbandry.

Good luck & enjoy them!

Humans need the suns ultraviolet B (UVB) energy for around 20 minutes

This has been a controversial issue in medicine over recent years, there appears to be an increasing proportion of Australians that have low Vit D levels.

As Wagga has nicely explained, the mechanism by which birds obtain Vit D is totally different, so how much humans need is irrelevant.
When I looked this up some months back, the only data I could find was on chickens and parrots. In these 30 minutes daily seemed to be enough.

I have often wondered whether birds that evolved in "sunlight rich" environments might not require more light than birds evolving in "sunlight poor" environs. Couldn't find anything evidence either way.

Cheers
Brett

Note that the whole "20 minutes a day" guideline for humans is an old one based on absolute minimums for normal bone growth. This goes nowhere near the amount needed for good immune system function, something that's only really becoming widely understood over the past few years. So ideally the birds would get a lot more than this too.

Even for humans what most people are unaware of is that the sentence about the 'minimum 20 minutes a day' finishes with 'with 40% of the body exposed, during peak UVB hours'.

Be very careful with them outside in a cage though. I had a Magpie kill a Zebra that I was sunning in the 3 minutes it took me to nip to the bathroom and back. They are fast, sneaky and vicious.

Thankyou for the help.
They will eventually be going into a aviary with other birds. Our aviary build is on hold for a bit but hopefully within 10months it will be finished, starting with 4m x 2.7m flight space that can be divided down the middle, with a safety area at the back that is enclosed of 1m x 2.7m, will have food etc stored there.
Mixed aviary of single sex in each. Would like to add a third bay to it but will depend on how the hubby copes with his first attempt at aviary building.
Until the aviary build is complete they will go into my bird/animal room upstairs when quarantine is complete. I am strict with quarantine after suffering a loss due to only using a 30day quarantine and the new member looking fine until day 35.
They will not be left alone outside as yes we have a lot of crows around here.
Thankyou again for all your help.

Putting them in Sunlight is great...just be mindful no butcher birds or magpies are able to get to them...If you are putting them in your aviary they may be the only ones breeding eventually overrunning it...