Conure question, first time owner please help!

hi guys! so, the arrival of my GCC Conure who will be named Coda is getting closer and im SO excited! He'll be my first ever conure, thankfully i know what to expect(lots of research) but having owned budgies all my life, i was wondering, would this cage be big enough? I bought it from someone's moving sale for only $45 and believe it or not its actually brand new. Anyways its dimensions are:

47.5 inches high x 20 x 20

Would this be okay for a SINGLE conure who will get the rest of the day outside the cage? (the only time he will be in the cage is when im at school from 7AM-4PM. while im away, i'll have him in the basement with the TV on the kids channel to keep him occupied along with his cage toys.) once i get home i will be letting him out to play.

Since i come home at 4PM (and stay home) what time should i take him to sleep? I read that they need 10-12/14 hrs of sleep every night but wouldnt that mean i'll only get a little bit of time with him? If he sleeps at lets say, 8 for example, i would only get 4 hours with him. Isn't that too little? Obviously weekends would give me more time. I dont sleep until 10 every night but i get 8 hours of sleep(i wake at 6 but dont leave till 7.) Is 9 hours(if he wakes at 7) too little for a conure or is 10 the absolute minimum?
all the best!

If the bar spacing on the cage is not bigger than 5/8" and those are inside dimensions, it's probably fine. Scooter's cage is a little smaller than that and I think it is too small, but he's done fine. The more they are out, the less important a large cage is.

Birds tend to sleep more during the day anyway, although my GCC is the most active of the three. If you can spend a little time in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening, he'll probably be quite OK. You might be OK with a 9:00 bedtime, just see how he does.

CodaTheConure said:

Is 9 hours(if he wakes at 7) too little for a conure or is 10 the absolute minimum?

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Not all GCCs are as strict on sleep as people claim.
Birdy does what he wants. He went to sleep at 2am last night and woke up 7 hours later. He had every opportunity to sleep earlier or later then that, but that's what he has chosen today.
I'll just allow for Birdy to take a nap later on or have an early night tonight.

CodaTheConure said:

I'll have him in the basement with the TV on the kids channel to keep him occupied along with his cage toys.

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If possible, I would have the cage upstairs and close to a window instead. Just make sure it's not too hot and that he has the ability to get out of direct sunlight (even through the window).

Best of luck to you and Coda!

My birds have been getting 9-10 hours of sleep a night for a year and don't seem to be suffering. They nap during the day. I would like to give them more sleep, but the house is generally too light and noisy for them to go to bed earlier then 11 and we're in a small place. If I start getting moody birds they'll go to bed earlier. As far as 4 hours being enough for him to get out, this is probably where people could start to disagree. Me, I like being able to go out after work, or do an activity without 5 birds climbing and flying around me. So my birds are out 2-3 hours a day, sometimes 1 hour, and on rare days non at all. No one has behavior problems. They have toys, and we are usually in the same room with them even if they're not out. If you have a nice toy selection in the cage, they'll be ok. However, I've also accustomed my birds to that. Having Squirrel is still new, but even in the first week I didn't spend every moment I could with him. I knew in the long run that wasn't realistic for me, and I didn't want to get him used to being out of his cage every time I'm home or sitting nearby. Even if your bird will be out the entire time you're home, creating periods where he's in his cage but you are in the same room is good for him and you. If you have company over that isn't comfortable with him, or pots boiling on the stove, or any situation where he can't or shouldn't be out, you don't want a parrot screaming because you've taught him when you're home, he's out. Just a thought!

My bird has a HUGE cage, but they say 18x18x20-24 is acceptable for 1 conure. I try to not take my bird out every minute that Im home, because I will not always be able to do that, and I do not want him to get used to it happening every day. He will yell at me and his toys if Im in the room doing something and ignore him, but I dont like bird in my food. My Honey goes to bed at 12 midnight every night, and he wakes up at about 1 in the afternoon, I do cover his cage to muffle sound and light. If he starts to fuss earlier I uncover his cage, but hes usually still snuggled in his tp until I uncover him. You can also usually tell when they get tired, they act like a child that hasnt gotten enough sleep.