Another "Is this bird right for me" Question.

[likeaarbear]

Sorry in advance.

As the title suggests, I am looking into getting a Caique in about three months. I have been reading about the cute moments (along with watching videos), along with the massive negatives. I have read the famous "the good, the bad, and the ugly" as well! I have been reading just about every night about this bird for the last 5 weeks now.

I did own a Cockatiel (who was very independent), and a gold cap conure. The conure really nipped me, nothing super hard, but it was an on-the-spot buy (regretfully), and I did not know how to train a bird then. I am vowing I will not do that again, hence why I am waiting a few months before I pull the trigger. So, in a sense, this Caique will be my truly first bird.

More about me; This bird will be living with a family of four, including me. Our apartment permit birds, so I checked that out. I am a recent college graduate as well, so I do not need to return to school.

I currently work 5 days a week (rarely 6), anywhere from 5 to 8 hours. So I feel confident I can give the Caique the attention it needs (I think), but please correct me if I am wrong. In about a month, I am hoping to get a promotion at one of my jobs and only work 4 8s, so that will give me more free time!

My girlfriend will be over to see him as well since it will be our bird.

I guess what I am seeking here is to know if they will fit in my work schedule. There is a Caique (who is already adopted sadly) who is super quiet and nice. He gives delicate bites, loves to be handled, flipped over and wrestled with, which is why I fell in love with the species. Granted, it is a baby. I know when the hormones kicks in, it will be different.

I currently own a dog, who is about to turn 7. I have had her since she was 9 weeks old.

But I have read so many negatives. And it's a huge commitment. I do not want to rehome one.

Cheers.

 

[MagpieDragon]

Honestly, I don't know much about caiques, but it sounds like you're in the right mind-frame!
I hope someone can give you a better answer

And welcome to the forum!

 

[sunnysmom]

I think your work schedule is fine. My guess is the majority of us here juggle work and birds, and our birds do okay. And welcome to the forum!

 

[likeaarbear]

Thanks for the response and the welcome.

Do you own a Caique? Are they as hormonal and crazy as I am reading?

 

[rockybird]

I have a male caique. Your work schedule should be fine, but you will need to take him out a lot. My bird sleeps in a night cage near the bedroom, comes out and has coffee with me in the AM, plays on the bathroom counter while I shower and get ready for work, goes into his 4 foot wide day cage while I’m at work. He comes out when I get home. He plays on the bathroom counter while I shower again. We eat dinner together. I snuggle him before bed. He goes back into his night cage. He also has a stroller for walks.

When he hit maturity, he became very aggressive. The bites were horrendous. He would not release and I would literally splatter the walls with blood. One bite on the lip was very bad and I went to the ER who advised me to see an ENT because of the risk of scar formation. He also screams extremely loudly if he knows I am home and he is not out of the cage. He loves to wander the floor, which could be a concern because of your dog. He is a real challenge to keep. Things have finally calmed down, and the bites are rare (although he got me recently on my forehead) but he is now 16 years old. Here is the damage from a recent bite, which is not as bad as they were when he was younger!

 

[Dona]

Yeah I can relate to the biting. I wrote a post in the good, bad and ugly section. My female caique became extremely aggressive sometime around age 5. My male was a sweet bird always.

 

[likeaarbear]

Oh boy, I didnt know how bad the blood could be.

I figured though having a Caique would require me to have them out with me all day when I am home.

If I were to get one, would a 24x22 be okay?

I was looking at this one: Double Playtop Small Bird Cages 24x22 - by BirdsComfort.com

 

[rockybird]

24x22 inches is much too small. Something along these lines would be better. Remember, it's a flighted animal that evolved to fly free, not be cooped up in a cage. He deserves the largest cage you can find. Also, consider a smaller cage for him to sleep in.

4530 parrot cage, aviary, cockatiels, conures, ringnecks, caiques | Natural Inspirations Parrot cages

 

[likeaarbear]

Holy snap, that is a super expensive cage. I thought that the cage I had selected was fine. Beginning to question the bird store, they initially said an 18x18 was perfect too.

 

[rockybird]

Oh my gosh 18x18 is way too small. You are right to doubt them. I would never put a bird a caique’s size, let alone a very active species like the caique, in that size cage. I think at least one person has bought two flight cages and removed the front and back of each to make one big cage. I’ll look tomorrow for the thread.

 

[finchly]

Oh my gosh 18x18 is way too small. You are right to doubt them. I would never put a bird a caique’s size, let alone a very active species like the caique, in that size cage. I think at least one person has bought two flight cages and removed the front and back of each to make one big cage. I’ll look tomorrow for the thread.

I think it’s @Laurie who did that.

I bought 2 Prevue Hendryx F050 (XL) cages and removed center walls and tied together for the finches...hubby wants to switch and put caiques in there. It’s 7 feet long and maybe 4.5 feet tall. They aren’t ready to live together yet, this is ‘someday’. One is in a flight cage and I feel that is too small. They need LOTS of room. When out, they play all over the whole living room floor so I have to crate the dog.

It is my belief that stores tell you to buy the really small cages so that they can make a quick buck, and then you will come back and buy a bigger cage. Therefore they make even more $$.

I have 2 caiques. They are young and we haven’t done hormones yet. I can tell you that one of mine is only 1 year old and has too much energy for us to handle. I take her out for a minimum of 3 hours a day, she has 2 play areas but prefers to climb all over me, she doesn’t listen and is impossible to train. The 2nd one I got as a companion for her but he’s a baby and she is too rough with him so they can’t be together unsupervised right now. He is ill so we are doing the whole vet bills thing right now too. He is quiet and cuddly BUT he’s 3 months old and also sick. Now I am thinking illness is why he seems so quiet/docile.

 

[Laurie]

I would recommend a cage which is at least 30" in one direction. Nothing smaller, no matter what anyone tells you. Carriers can be smaller but they are only for transport not living.

I keep my caiques in pairs and they are in 64x22x30 cages. When I had four young caiques I put two of those cages together and kept all four together but at about 18 months they started getting interested in pairing up and could no longer be kept together peacefully.

 

[rockybird]

Here is how the two flight cages were adjoined-back to back - to give a 30”x42” cage.

 

[Caique-Walk]

I like the idea of the two cages being combined. Unfortunately I got sucked in to buying a cage at the place I bought my little boy. It’s a tall domed cage and because of its height, the space is not used very well. I am definitely thinking now that the wider the cage the better, height is not too much of a concern.

Be wary of the dog and bird if out at the same time. My hormonal boy is jealous of my new puppy so much so that he will literally throw himself off my shoulder at the pup while giving a maniacal laugh (literally)
Jokes aside, it could end badly if the dog thinks that it’s play time or dinner time. It’s something I have to be crazy vigilant about.

 

[Caique-Walk]

I should also add, that hormones are a lot more manageable than some stories let on.

When my boy is hormonal I find that a quick training session even if for a couple of minutes will calm him enough to handled and played with.

 

[painesgrey]

My caique is relatively young (turning 3 next week) compared to other users', but I'll chime in:

Initially he was housed in a 24"x22"x60" dome-top cage. It was cramped with all of his toys, so after a year and a half his cage was upgraded to 32"x32"x70" - more than enough space for him to hop, fly, and swing around.

My caique isn't a sedentary bird. He hops from on side of the cage to another, swings on toys, and generally flails around. The extra space is important to not only spend some of his energy in his movements, but also to keep him from beating the crap out of his feathers while he's doing it. If you're going to be working, giving him a cage in which he can act out his high-energy impulses is going to be key to keeping him happy.

I've never sustained a serious bite from Cake, though he does break my (relatively thin) skin if he gets a good shot on me. He, like many other caiques, is prone to mood swings and I have to be cautious in certain interactions with him. Interrupting surfing, eating, and handling him when he's in such a mood are a no-go - but he's great about warning me and will squeal/scream at me in warning before trying to bite. For this reason, I don't see his mood swings as anything terrible to deal with. If I get bitten, it's usually because I wasn't paying attention to what he was trying to tell me, and I should've just used a perch to move him instead.

He is definitely the most headstrong and incessant bird of my trio, though he is far from independent. He prefers to hang out with me, or incessantly beg Pippin for preening. He's shy around new people at first, but doesn't hesitate to hop on people's heads and try to preen their eyebrows once he's known them for a day or two. Great for people who don't mind birds, awful for people who get terrified at a big beak near their eyeball. :I

I'd say my main complaint with Cake is his noise level. He can be incessant in his ear-piercing vocalizations, especially around this time of year. It sometimes gets so bad even Pippin will whine, "Caaaaaake!"

 

[rockybird]

@Caique-Walk How old is your bird? If he is less than 3-5, he likely hasn’t hit puberty yet. You could get him a larger cage, and convert the domed cage into a sleeping cage. Three of my four birds sleep in night cages. They are near the bedroom and there is no doubt they like being near me at night. They will call if I leave the room, or even if they hear the front door open. They will sometimes make little noises back and forth with me. Best of all, it keeps them quiet early in the AM.

@painesgrey AMAZING cage. Your caique must love it!

Here are some cages that are cheaper, and a pic of my boy’s cage that I posted in another thread. You might be able to find better deals on these. The first one seems like a great deal.

Large Elegant Style Flight Bird Cage 38x24 - by BirdsComfort.com

Playtop Medium Bird Cage 36x28 - by BirdsComfort.com

 

[Caique-Walk]

@Caique-Walk How old is your bird? If he is less than 3-5, he likely hasn’t hit puberty yet. You could get him a larger cage, and convert the domed cage into a sleeping cage. Three of my four birds sleep in night cages. They are near the bedroom and there is no doubt they like being near me at night. They will call if I leave the room, or even if they hear the front door open. They will sometimes make little noises back and forth with me. Best of all, it keeps them quiet early in the AM.

@painesgrey AMAZING cage. Your caique must love it!

Here are some cages that are cheaper, and a pic of my boy’s cage that I posted in another thread. You might be able to find better deals on these. The first one seems like a great deal.

Large Elegant Style Flight Bird Cage 38x24 - by BirdsComfort.com

Playtop Medium Bird Cage 36x28 - by BirdsComfort.com

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I seemed to have drawn the wrong numbers from the lottery because, my Caique is an (understatement) early bloomer. I recently had to get in a behaviouralist and AV to help because of his hormonal behaviour. I was told there is one positive to all this and that he could possibly finish his few tough years faster. It was helpful because they have given me the tools to manage it better.

A custom stainless steel flight cage is on the cards for a few years down the track. Currently he spends all his awake hours on his gym so it is only used for sleep.

 

[rockybird]

Oh goodness! He is already becoming feisty? Well, maybe he is just high spirited!

I dont think a custom ss cage is necessary. I was suggesting one of the ones in the links, but since your guy is out on the gym all the time, a bigger cage doesnt sound so urgent. My guys are in their cages while I am work, so I bought the bigger ss cages, partly out of guilt for keeping them cooped up so long.

 

[Caique-Walk]

Oh goodness! He is already becoming feisty? Well, maybe he is just high spirited!

I dont think a custom ss cage is necessary. I was suggesting one of the ones in the links, but since your guy is out on the gym all the time, a bigger cage doesnt sound so urgent. My guys are in their cages while I am work, so I bought the bigger ss cages, partly out of guilt for keeping them cooped up so long.

Feisty enough that he could probably make Hannibal Lecter blush lol

The ss cage is more of a want than anything else. I find many cages an eyesore so I wanted something nice and shiny, the added bonus of not having to worry about chipping is convenient.