Caique

[Holly21]

Hello I am the mother of two tiels and my mother wants to get me a new bird for my birthday I do not want another tiel because I want to take baby steps to my dream bird. I have been thinking that the next bird I want to get is a caique... Any thoughts on if this is too big of a step?

 

[saroj12]

it will be the end of the peaceful life of your cockatiels. Caiques can be aggressive to other species. Mine is to my african grey.

 

[Holly21]

My sister owns 2 cockatiels, 1 Quaker, and 1 Love bird. I have had a lot of experience raising her Quaker and my female cockatiel is so bonded to me that she attacks the Quaker when she is near me, that is another reason I am concerned is because I don’t want my tiel to attack a caique, if I get one, and when the caique is defending its self it hurts my tiel. My female tiel absolutely hates any other bird and loves me and only me. So that is my fear of a caique hurting my tiel that has been put through a lot of stress from her previous owner.

 

[saroj12]

well, my non aggressive female caique was attacked twice by my quaker. One time she fractured his foot. The next time she crushed bis beak. He now has a scissor beak. Each time she was defending herself and I wasn't being supervisory enough.

 

[Holly21]

I am a creepy bird mom I never leave my bird alone out of the cage if she is out with my other tiel or my sister’s love bird I am watching them like a hawk... I am very sensitive when it comes to people touching my tiels and other birds with my tiels

 

[Holly21]

But still is it a big step up from a cockatiel?

 

[Sj25]

I think it is... My cockatiel doesnt need much, my caique needs everything; attention, fruit and veggies every day, huge cage that he tries to escape, new toys every week, play time out of cage (cant leave him alone for a second cause throwing things on the floor is favorite. Or touching stuff that is probably not healty like sunscreen or plants). The caique does not sit still when out of the cage. It is NOT like a cockatiel. But if you realise that is OK with you I dont see why not. I wasnt that experienced when i got a caique.

 

[DoubleTake]

I wouldn't consider a caique a baby step the require at lot if attention and bird proofing. . Everyone at the bird store always sees how cute the baby caiques are, all i see is a little terrorist in the making. But there are a lot of pros to having one, just not the bird for me. It can managable and somebody already mention that they are bird aggressive towards other birds and that may prevent your from having your "dream bird", whatever that is. Is it not possible for you to own your dream bird now? Would you be comfortable owning 4 birds at one time?

 

[Mizzely]

Birds aren't really stepping stones. While cockatiels are some of the easier birds because they are so laid back, anything beyond that is really similar territory. What is your dream bird? What type of experience do you hope to get from the caique?

 

[finchly]

I think it is... My cockatiel doesnt need much, my caique needs everything; attention, fruit and veggies every day, huge cage that he tries to escape, new toys every week, play time out of cage (cant leave him alone for a second cause throwing things on the floor is favorite. Or touching stuff that is probably not healty like sunscreen or plants). The caique does not sit still when out of the cage. It is NOT like a cockatiel. But if you realise that is OK with you I dont see why not. I wasnt that experienced when i got a caique.

Excellent description. Non stop energy.

I have 2 tiels and 2 caiques. The tiels live in the bird room and caiques in another part of the house! They’re aggressive to the tiels so they can’t be together.

Every species is different so unless your dream bird is a caique I don’t recommend you getting one. Would you keep him for the next 40 years even if he wasn’t your dream bird?

 

[Holly21]

My dream bird is a Umbrella Cockatoo. I would also like a Indian Ring Neck as well... I do have a lot of time and space in my house for a caique and a cockatoo, the main concern for me is if I get one would it become aggressive toward me because I raised it incorrectly. I am okay with raising 4 birds because like I said I have a lot of time on my hands. I hope to gain experience on raising a baby bird on my own because my two tiels are rescues, although I love them with all my heart I want to raise my own baby just this once to know how much fun I had raising my own baby. I would keep him/ her for the rest of their life unless they have a behavioral situation that puts one of my family members or one of my tiels in danger, If that is the situation then I will have to further examine the situation to see if I can find a simple solution... Rehoming the bird would be my absolute last option.

 

[DoubleTake]

Others can say in, but my opinion is even if your bird is a complete sweetheart... it's still a 50/50 chance the bird will not like the new bird and the deck is already stacked against you sincencaiques are known to be bird aggressive towards other species. I feel like caiques can be a little bi-polar as they can flip a switch and just bite. Your tiels have a better chance of not being attacked since they were their first and the new caique hasn't claimed anything yet. But the new cockatoo might cause territorial issues. Again this is just my 2 cents as I have never owned a caique, only handle them regularly at the bird store and talked to their owners.

 

[Mizzely]

Why wouldn't you go to an Indian Ringneck then instead of the Caique, if it's one of your dream birds?

The caique isn't going to give you practice for either of the other species you mentioned. It will give you experience on Caiques.

 

[Marvel_ous]

Yeah, from what I've heard, IRNs are great birds, and, like Mizzely said, a caique is a TOTALLY different experience from a too or ringneck. I would go with the IRN if I were you, probably would get along better with your tiels as well.

 

[hrafn]

Well, here's the thing: you have a lot of time on your hands now, but will you always? If your ma is buying you your bird, does that mean you live with her? Do you have a job? These guys live a looooong time.

Adopting birds of one species isn't a good way to build up experience for another species. A caique isn't like a cockatoo. You'll just get caique experience.

 

[painesgrey]

I have a caique and an IRN and they are completely different. Caiques are very hands-on, high strung, demanding birds that can be difficult to manage, even for those of us for whom they are "dream birds"

IRNs, on the other hand, can be more flighty and aloof, but with consistent handling can be more than happy to hang out on your shoulder and watch whatever you're doing.

If you want an IRN, there's no reason to get a caique. They're far more common and usually cheaper than caiques, unless you want one of the uncommon mutations.

Edit to add:

My IRN is definitely not a fan of other birds. She will outright attack my caique if he invades her space, and intimidates and tries to beak wrestle my quaker. This is a bird that was weaned alongside tiels and conures, too. Don't bank on an IRN being more tolerant of your tiels than a caique would.

 

[Holly21]

Well the main reason I do not want to get a Ringneck now is because they like to squak and my parents do not like loud birds but I do not mind them. Yes I do live with my parents but once my sister moved out I turned her room into my bird room, I will always have a lot of time on my hands because I don’t have a job or drive so all I have is high school which ends at 2:00pm... My parents and grandparents give me money based on my grades and I’m a straight A student so I get a great amount of money from all 3. Money is not an issue I buy toys and cages and my parents split the food bill with me. The reason I got another tiel is because Holly’s best friend was a parakeet I owned and she passed away so I did not want her to start plucking again so I had to find her a new friend and there were no caiques in my area just a cockatiel so I bought Waldo.

 

[Mizzely]

I think what people are asking is - are you always going to have time in 30 years?

Because I had more time 6 years with a full time job out of the house than I do now!

 

[Holly21]

I will have time because I am a sophomore in high school. I am going to college for four years and I will have a part time job while I’m in college but I would only have class until 3:00pm

 

[Mizzely]

It's really hard to explain just how little time you have to do things when you're older... until you live it, it seems impossible. I currently work from home with my own business, with hours I set, have 1 kid, and sleep 5 hours a day and I definitely don't have time for 4 birds.

I never only got out of class at 3 during college. Somedays I left my dorm at 8am and didn't get back until 6pm. I then worked parttime at the dorm for 20 hours a week, usually overnights. I would not have had time for one bird.


My professors told me that for a 3 credit course, to count on at least 2 hours of homework or studying for every hour of class I had. For 15 credits that could translate to 30 hours of classtime and 30 to 60 hours of homework a week.

Then what about after college? You get a fulltime job, 40 hours a week minimum, add in sleeping, grocery shopping, house cleaning, any social activities...

it all dwindles very quickly.

Of course it is not impossible. But "a lot of time now" is not a good indicator for how much time you will have later.