I have a sun conure that's about a month old today. He was in a plastic box with nest shavings and is trying to escape. I don't want him escaping and getting hurt if I'm not there. When can I put him in a cage with a solid bottom? His legs sometimes spread when on flat surfaces. I think he would be able to escape the nest and this stage. How will I know? He is so different from cockatiel chicks. By his age they would already be starting to fly. Conures take longer to grow, right?

Nope. I just read that they leave the nest at 8 weeks. That's around the time it takes cockatiels to wean.

I've been looking around on the interweb, and this is the most helpfull site I could find up till now...

Maybe this is a good place to start: http://beautyofbirds.com/breeder.htm

Good luck!

Thanks. I already found it. They leave the nest at around 8 weeks and ween around 8-11 weeks. Looks like I'm going to be with this little guy for a while. It will give my pleanty of time to decide on who will live in the aviary.

In general, baby birds will be ready to leave the nest when they're fully feathered. The tail might not be full length yet but the pinfeathers will be gone or almost gone. This is the age when they would normally start perching on things in the wild, and that's usually the time to put them in a cage.

Do you have a deeper container that you can use? Most breeders use a fish tank as a brooder. It's nice and deep, has clear sides so you can see into it easily, you can put an appropriate cover on the top, and the solid sides help keep the warmth in.

Or you can use a large clear
plastic box/tub....a deep one so he cant get out...
Just make sure you have a secure top, a
grid etc...
A nice comfy fleece to put in during the night, will keep him warm...
B what's the bird called?

Tango is now a month and 7 days old. He is trying very hard to escape the tall box that he was put in 2 weeks ago. I feel like he would have already left the nest by now. He isn't fully feathered but he wants to perch (he perches on my finger) and he likes to jump from small heights on the bed. I think he will be ready to be moved to a cage but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to yet.

How can I be sure?

Here is a picture of him sleeping

He still doesn't look ready for that yet. I would definitely let him out to explore, but he still doesn't look old enough to move out of the nest to me.

You could try cutting a hole in the box low enough for him to look out but too high for him to climb out. Cockatiel chicks spend several days looking out the door of the nestbox before they fledge, and that might be what he's trying to do - find the entrance to the nest.