Proper husbandry of any species is the key to ensuring healthy, well-adjusted pets. The closer we come to recreating the conditions of the species in the wild combined with the benefits of modern science, the more likely the animals are to not merely survive, but also thrive. While there have been enormous strides in avian nutrition over the past 40 years with the advent of formulated diets, little attention has been paid to the role that sunlight plays in metabolism and behaviour. Many of our pet birds are hatched and live their entire lives indoors with no exposure to UVB lighting or the sun. But there are solutions.