I use the sun so I don't really have an actual schedule. Right now, when I come downstairs in the morning at 5 am, the birds are already awake because there is already enough light to see very clearly and the only cage that is covered (and only halfway, just so the cats don't bother the birds by staring at them while licking their chops

) is the cardinals' - all the other cages are exposed to natural light (no shades, no blinds, no nothing).