New caique, new parrot owner, and a few questions!

[pntbll248]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi! I picked up my little buddy Colby a week ago, and another member of this forum (Jazzysmama) recommended I check out avianavenue after we met at the avian vet! Colby's my first bird I've ever cared for, got him from a well reputed bird shop in Ohio and he's absolutely adorable. We're getting along well, he loves showers in the morning and we've gone on plenty of adventures throughout the house. He's a bit headstrong, but hey, so am I! Just me and him in the house, most of my immediate family has passed away and the rest have gone their separate ways in the world, but we seem to be keeping each other entertained well enough this past week. I work as a grad student in limnology right now which means my hours are pretty irregular, but I'm trying hard to establish a routine, even if it has me getting up at strange hours (For me: I'm used to going to bed at 3AM, waking up at 10AM ). He got a clean bill of health on Monday from the avian vet and even after his extreme displeasure with all the poking, prodding, and blood drawing, he bounced back surprisingly quickly and was happily chortling away on the ride home.

I won't lie though, I'm a bit worried after reading over this forum. I told the breeder that, above all else, I was looking for a small to medium sized bird with an easy-going disposition that could do well with meeting new people and potentially sharing the house with another bird. I was steered away from a pionus (which is what I went in looking for) and towards a Caique. I do wish I had been told about the hormonal issues at maturity, I probably wouldn't have gotten a Caique had I known that they are known to be so aggressive after maturity. But that's a moot point, Colby's here, he's my bird, and I'll do everything I can to ensure he has a happy, fulfilling life. So anyways, does anyone have any tips you'd recommend for raising a young caique? I picked up Mary Gorman's Caiques and Dr. John McMichael's Caiques: Their Care, Breeding, and Some Natural History, but I wanted to know if anyone had any supplemental advice? Are flightsuits/Aviator Harnesses an okay solution to taking him outside without a carrier? Also, would Colby do better with another Caique as a companion?


Colby after his morning shower, sitting in the blow dryer (Teflon-free, low heat of course!). He's a bit scruffy at the moment, his vet said he looks like he broke a few feathers from all his running around and playful antics!

 

[Jazzysmama]

I am soooo glad to see you posting!!! Welcome aboard! I got to personally meet Colby and fell in love with him. A caique is my dream bird so it wasn't hard to fall for him. I tried to get him to let me take Colby home but it just didn't work. He has a VERY caring dad(parront). They are an extremely active bird that needs to be kept very busy. I believe Merlie is the perfect person to answer your questions. She has a pair of cakes, one friendly and the other one? Well, I'll let her tell that story. She can tell you the hormone issues she has with one of hers. All birds can change when they hit that adult point and the hormonal issues can come in all birds, especially Too's. You never know what you're going to experience, each bird can be different. A pionus would have been a more laid back bird for you. I would also suggest that Colby gets 12 hours sleep nightly. A cranky,sleepy bird is also a moody bird. He is such a happy little guy too. You don't need to use a blow dryer, they will preen and fix their feathers as they dry. Blow drying may dry his skin out a bit too much. I really do understand about having family pass away and others going their seperate ways. I live with the same situation. Colby will be great company for you, he will make you laugh with all of his funny antics. And most of all, he will be your best friend! He will crawl into your heart and hold a very special place there. I hope the other cake owners can better guide you and give you lots of info. It was great getting to meet you and sweet Colby.

 

[GlassOnion]

Welcome!! Caiques are indeed aggressive at maturity, and often try to KILL other birds or even people in the house... I'd be careful about adding another bird in the future unless you plan to keep them in separate living spaces.

"Easy going", "able to live with other birds" are pretty much the exact opposite of what Caiques are.... What a shame the breeder didn't give you correct info However, Caiques always seem so FUN!

 

[Merlie]

My advice to any new Caique owner is be ready set boundaries very early on. They are stubborn and headstrong, and if you let them get away with undesirable behavior early, they are really tough to correct later on down the road.

Yes, Caiques can be tough as they mature. I know, given the type of bird you described that you wanted, I would not have recommended a Caique. They are not really what I would call "easy going". They're more like an ADD/OCD Toddler on a major sugar rush <not always, but .. lol .. a lot of the time>. They need to be engaged, kept busy, foraging for food, lots of toys, things to climb on and explore. They are VERY HIGH ENERGY.

Caiques are a lot of fun, so don't let everything you've read bring you down at all. Each bird is unique. I have two .. one who's sweet and easy going, the other .. well, he's been a bit of a demon this past year, but, we're working thru it.

Caiques do have a reputation for not getting along with other birds. Again, each bird is unique .. my two can't be near other birds, esp. the ones same size or smaller, they will go in for the kill .. and I'm serious. However, there are several other Cake owners here who have no problem with their Cake<s> and other birds. Saroj, who is a member here, has two dream Caiques .. JoJo and Chickie, who share space with several other birds and do quite well.

If you are planning on another bird, your best bet would be another Cake, but there is no guarantee. Be prepared, no matter what species you get, to possibly need to house them in completely different rooms.

If you want to bring your bird outside, start training him now to get used to a flight suit/harness. Either that, or a carrier that you can bring outside. The older they get, the more challenging harness training can be.

You don't need to blow dry .. they'll dry naturally.

Make sure you stock up on all different kinds of toys .. wood, shredding, foraging ... Caiques like to play, and need as much enrichment as you can give. A decent playgym, with some boings or an Atom to hang are favorites with Cakes. They love to climb, swing, hang upside down, so setting up a play area with ample room for them to burn off steam is essential.

If you have any questions/concerns, don't be shy, ask away!!

 

[rockybird]

Your little guy is adorable! My boy Zeek hit maturity and went from an easy going sweet bird to a little demon, doing some serious damage with his bites, at about age 3-4. Since he matured, he has been an absolute challenge to keep. He wants what he wants when he wants it. Today, I got home from work, took him for a walk, took him in the shower with me, played with him, and put him back in the cage briefly so I could get some work done. For the next 30 mins, he screamed nonstop. It stopped when I took him out. I cannot work with him around, as he will not sit still, constantly whines, and gets angry and bites if he thinks I am not paying attn. to him.

He will not sit still. He is 10 yrs. old now and it has gotten worse with age. He must be on the floor exploring, and once he has run out of things to explore, he will stand at my feet whining because he wants me to walk around the house showing him every nook and cranny that he cant reach. If I ignore him, he will become angry and bite.

He has tried to get to every new bird that has come through this house. When I have a new bird (foster or one I have gotten off cl to give to a rescue), he will do everything in his power to get to it. He is obssessed 24/7 with attacking the bird, no matter how much bigger it is than him. He becomes very difficult to manage.

He will not attack my gcc, which was here when he arrived as a baby. He also did not attack a gcc that I birdsat for a friend. Since he was partially raised with one, I think he accepts gcc's as part of the flock. In fact, he thought this new gcc was his best buddy and was almost submissive with it.

I had a sun conure who was very ill (not contagious) from the bird rescue. She was in another part of the house (big house). I had only had her in the house for about an hour. Zeek had only been out of the cage for a few minutes. She had not made a sound. I dont know how he knew she was there. He hopped off the kitchen counter (he has never done this before), marched in the dark down the hallway to another room past the big boxes he is scared of (remodeling), found his way to this cage he has never seen before, crawled up the cage legs, unhooked the carabiner, opened the door and was trying to kill her when I got there. She was on her back helpless and he was like a pit bull. I got there just in time. No one was hurt. Even the little parakeet, he wanted to kill. This went on for months. He obssessed with getting to his cage.


Despite these traits, he is an affectionate bird. He loves to be snuggled under my chin. I love him to death. It took a long while to understand his behavior and avoid getting bit (it still happens though). If you are to get a second bird, I would do it now, while your caique is still a baby. Otherwise, it will be difficult and potentially unsafe to add one later. My gcc who was the first bird, was very jealous of Zeek. After awhile, he learned to be scared of him. He is now petrified of Zeek, even though Zeek has never tried to harm him. I feel bad for my gcc. He went from top bird in the house to second bird. I dont like to see him scared.

You have your baby now. Make a committment to stay with him, no matter how bad it gets (and it may never get bad). Remember that he is really a wild animal. And honestly, my caique can be such a sweetheart and so much fun, that I cant imagine my life without him.

 

[Rmott001]

Colby is Sooo cute and tiny!!!
Well, don't let all of these horror stories scare you, just take them as a warning so that you are prepared for whatever might happen! Pierre my BHC is about four years old. I adopted him when he was two and my boyfriend was with me when I brought him home. At first he liked most people but as time went on he started to attack anyone beside me and my boyfriend, I'm assuming because he was there when I brought him home, I don't know!
I would definitely go ahead and try to start training him to wear the harness!! Pierre was a little bit older when I got him and I can NOT get him in a harness! I just wish that he would realize how fun it is to go outside and not be in a cage! Lol
Also, I have a pretty irregular schedule too being in nursing school, what I do is when I leave, I open the curtains and turn off all the lights so that when the sun goes down, if I'm not there, he knows it's bedtime. Usually when I come home after dark he is already asleep. This just helps him get all the sleep he needs!
Besides him not liking other people, we havnt had too many hormonal issues. He is usually good with me and my boyfriend. Of course he will bite if you take something or do something he doesn't like, but his bites don't do too much damage I think cause he's not really trying to hurt, just warning!
Also, I don't know if you've experienced it yet, but it's VERY easy to tell when they need to be left alone! Their eyes will pin, they will get all fluffy, and usually do some kind of swaying or head bobbing! So if that happens, beware!!
Anyways, you seem to be doing great with him! Enjoy your new buddy! He's adorable!!

 

[65sunnyday]

Welcome to both of you! (You're going to like it here!)

 

[wonderb]

Welcome Ryan! Yes, a caique and a pionus are about as opposite as you can possibly get. It is too bad that they would try to pressure you to get one over the other. Well regardless, you will love him and the lovely cake owners here can help you out when you need it!

 

[sweetpeaches]

Bailey is my only bird. (wbc) He will be 5 in June. Thus far no aggressive hormonal behaviors. He loves people, always has.
Never has attacked anyone. I'm not sure why some caiques are more aggressive than others?

The two pieces of advice that were given here I would say are on the top 10 list of owning a caique:

My advice to any new Caique owner is be ready set boundaries very early on. They are stubborn and headstrong, and if you let them get away with undesirable behavior early, they are really tough to correct later on down the road.

I would also suggest that Colby gets 12 hours sleep nightly. A cranky,sleepy bird is also a moody bird.

Hope you and Colby have a wonderful life together.

 

[pntbll248]

Wow, reading through all this was very helpful, I'm so glad that there's a group of knowledgeable caique owners out there to help a fellow out! Really, I appreciated each reply! To clear a few things up, I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want Colby or that I'm upset to have him. I'm a bit peeved at the breeder for leaving out some important information, but Colby's my little guy, I wouldn't give him up for the world! If things do get bad down the road, then we'll have to find a way to work through that, but I'm with him all the way. I don't let him get completely dry when I blow dry him, he just seems to love it, so it's mostly for him to play for a few more minutes after bath time. But I don't want to make his skin dry or anything like that, especially when he's already missing a few feathers. We'll start with the flightsuit this weekend, hopefully he can get used to either that or the Aviator Harness (we have both) so we can go on adventures outside! I do try to make sure he gets the 12 hours of sleep, his vet was very adamant about that part! I put up black-out blinds on the window in his room and he goes to bed at around sundown and wakes up the same time in the AM!

Crazy little guy was bouncing off the walls today. First he decided that I needed to get up the moment he woke up, and later he decided that my cell phone did not, in fact, need its back cover. Then he decided that atop my head was not hair, but rather a parrot play gym. Luckily I was able to get him to his actual parrot play gym, which is a much more suitable place to romp and play. Watching him reminds me of those little dinosaurs from Jurassic Park (The little green Compsognathus) with all his noises, hopping about, wrestling and whatnot. In all seriousness though, it does sound like it's time to start setting some boundaries, as Merlie and others suggested. Wouldn't want to reinforce any bad habits!

Should I let him perch on my shoulder? I've read a few places that this encourages dominant behavior, what with perching at or above eye level. He simple adores hair surfing, but I don't want to spoil him down the road.

Thanks again everyone for your advice and input!

 

[sweetpeaches]

I'm not real sure about the "dominance" issue as I've heard arguments on both sides. However, I don't leave Bailey on my shoulder too often as he has a "thing" for my earlobes...and I am happy with the one piercing on each ear that I have and not looking for anymore

 

[Jazzysmama]

Wow, reading through all this was very helpful, I'm so glad that there's a group of knowledgeable caique owners out there to help a fellow out! Really, I appreciated each reply! To clear a few things up, I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want Colby or that I'm upset to have him. I'm a bit peeved at the breeder for leaving out some important information, but Colby's my little guy, I wouldn't give him up for the world! If things do get bad down the road, then we'll have to find a way to work through that, but I'm with him all the way. I don't let him get completely dry when I blow dry him, he just seems to love it, so it's mostly for him to play for a few more minutes after bath time. But I don't want to make his skin dry or anything like that, especially when he's already missing a few feathers. We'll start with the flightsuit this weekend, hopefully he can get used to either that or the Aviator Harness (we have both) so we can go on adventures outside! I do try to make sure he gets the 12 hours of sleep, his vet was very adamant about that part! I put up black-out blinds on the window in his room and he goes to bed at around sundown and wakes up the same time in the AM!

Crazy little guy was bouncing off the walls today. First he decided that I needed to get up the moment he woke up, and later he decided that my cell phone did not, in fact, need its back cover. Then he decided that atop my head was not hair, but rather a parrot play gym. Luckily I was able to get him to his actual parrot play gym, which is a much more suitable place to romp and play. Watching him reminds me of those little dinosaurs from Jurassic Park (The little green Compsognathus) with all his noises, hopping about, wrestling and whatnot. In all seriousness though, it does sound like it's time to start setting some boundaries, as Merlie and others suggested. Wouldn't want to reinforce any bad habits!

Should I let him perch on my shoulder? I've read a few places that this encourages dominant behavior, what with perching at or above eye level. He simple adores hair surfing, but I don't want to spoil him down the road.

Thanks again everyone for your advice and input!

I know you'll be there for him through it all, I could tell that when I met you. You are a very loving parront. I had to laugh while trying to picture him working on your phone. Birds love those things, especially the keys on a lap top. Birds are a lot of company and they are like little 2 yr. old children. The problem is, they never grow up. Most ppl prefer the aviator harness, I've never tried one though, jazzy is afraid of the outdoors. I am a big believer that sitting on your shoulder should be a privledge. I allow Jazzy and Jewel on my shoulder all the time, I know that I can trust them and they never inflict injury on me. Breeze is a different story. She loves to take a bite out of my ear and she is tiny compared to your cake. She does it because she gets excited I sometimes think. She doesn't if I sit there smothering her with kisses, as soon as I quit she nails me. The bigger the bird, the bigger the beak, the bigger the injury. If Breeze bites, she loses the privledge which she hates.

 

[Kathy N]

ohhhhhh!!! He's adorable!!! Welcome! Yes, you are most likely going to deal with hormones. We'll help you through it. You're also going to have an incredible companion for many years to come. You're in for an adventure. Caiques are never dull. They are incredible birds.

 

[Kathy N]

Regarding the shoulder perching question. Elwood used to be a devil bird. He would attack and lunge for the face and eyes. So NO he is not allowed on shoulders. Being on a shoulder on on top on my head stimulates him and he attacks and bites. And it's too close to my face to ward off a bite. Having to pry a Caique from your eyebrow is no fun. We have rules. As long as they are enforced, we have a peaceful relationship.

 

[Kathie]

You've received a ton of good advice here. I just wanted to pop in and say hi and welcome! I love caiques - awesome birds!

 

[Ming-Ming]

Hi and welcome!
Limnology sounds really cool! I have really bizarre hours too with school (very similar to your 3 AM and 10 AM!) and my birds seem to do fine with my lack of routine, and with the less than 12 hours of sleep (but they nap a lot when I'm not home!)

I added a second bird after I got Douglas, about a few months after, and they hate each other. I keep them in the same room, and I have them out together, but they get very jealous of each other, and if they are both around me will fight.
Caiques are very head strong, but they are such fun birds, you get over it quite quickly! But like Merlie said, it's important to set boundaries!

I let Douglas on my shoulder, as then I can do stuff with my hands. But I only let him there if I put him up there, not if he climbs up himself! If he is at all aggressive, i will literally swoop him off my shoulder, since I don't need a big bite in the face! I don't believe the height dominance eye level thing, I think that is BS.
I haven't had anything TOO bad in the way of hormones, Douglas is pretty angelic IMO

Good luck, it's great to see another Caique owner! He is BEYOND cute!

 

[Katster]

to the Avenue. I am glad that you joined. The place is rich with info

Enjoy the site!!