I know that our family will be accepting a new member, an Ekkie, but what type of limits should I set? Any outside time? Time out of the cage?

Thanks

Additional info will be appreciated!!!!!!!!

I would play it by ear and have no set times. We like to have our birds out of their cages as much as possible when we are home.

You should allow your bird out of cage time for a minimum of 2-3 hours per day. Obviously, as much as possible is what you want to shoot for. Ollie is out about 6-7 hours on weekdays and usually more on weekends. She has 5 play gyms and me to choose from when she's out, so she's always busy. Her cage door is open when she's out and she's fully flighted so she can always choose where she wants to be.

As for outside time... Ollie doesn't go out very often. Once a week I'll wheel her cage out on the patio and sit with her for an hour or so. Once it gets cold she won't go out at all except in her travel cage to and from the car. Lighting is very important, and you should have full spectrum lighting set up over your birds cage. Here is a link explaining what it is, why it's necessary, and where you can find what you need. If you do a search here on PC for "full spectrum lighting" you will get a good number of hits.

Full Spectrum Lighting

Remember to only let him/her out as much as you really can on a regular basis. These birds are VERY routein oriented and like for everything to be just so.