Questions on food

[Danielwilu2525]

Hopefully this year, I'm gonna be a parront! So I have a couple questions about food. How much should I be giving to a caique? Also, what size? I'm planning on feeding the zupreem natural cockatiel size. As treats, I'll feed the nutri berries to him/her. Also, I'm going to have like 6 foraging toys. So im gonna be putting nutri berries and veggies in the toys for him to explore. So this is the feeding schedule I have planned. When I wake up, (which is 5:00 AM weekdays and 9:30 AM weekends) I'll give him his pellets to start the day. So, I don't get home till 5:00 PM. However my sister gets there earlier. So I'm thinking of using her to give him food once she gets home. For lunch, I'll give him his mix of veggies and fruit. Mostly veggies. I have a lot of veggies/fruits to choose from. So I guess feeding will be a breeze. For dinner I'm assuming more pellets? Or just 3 nutri berries? Thanks! I'm trying to ask a bunch of questions before I take the plunge.

 

[Greycloud]

@saroj12

 

[Grace]

What kind of bird are you thinking of getting? You may know this but five is a little early to wake your bird up. They need 12 hours of darkness so then you would need to cover and put them to bed at five in the afternoon if you wake them that early.

Feeding will depend on type of bird to some extent but what I do is leave a dish of seed and a dish of pellets in the cage all the time. In the morning about thirty minutes before I leave for work I clip dark leafy greens to the side of the cage. The greens are usually an organic spring mix. I remove the uneaten portion before I leave for work. When I first get home about five, I clip more greens in the cage. When we humans eat supper, I serve the fids a dish of chopped veggies, cooked grains, cooked beans or some variation. I pulse up large amounts of veggies in a food processor and freeze in snack size baggies so I always have a variety on hand. Then I add bits of whatever fresh fruit or veggie I have on hand.

I hand feed a couple af Nutriberries or Pelletberries while they are out of the cage.

I have two parrotlets and two budgies.

 

[iamwhoiam]

@rockybird
@Tim

 

[Danielwilu2525]

I'm thinking of getting a caique. I chose 5 AM because of my school schedule. 7:30 AM i have to be at the bus stop. Especially since I'm going to be in high school next year. I have to be at school at 7:00 AM. Unless I have someone else in the house wake him up? What do you recommend?

 

[rockybird]

If you get a caique, what will you do with it when you leave home in a few years? Will your parents take it? How big a cage are you planning to buy? Caiques are extremely active and require very large cages. Will your sister take it out of the cage when she gets home? Will your parents play with it, take it out, feed it, give it attention? Is it going to sit alone in your room all day, or will it be out with the rest of the family? Will your parents be willing to drive it to the vet if it becomes ill and finance vet bills, which could reach into the thousands? (I just spent almost $1600 on vet bills for my caique.)

Having a parrot, especially a caique, is like having a two year old child. They are extremely social animals and highly intelligent. They cannot be left alone in a cage for long periods of time. In the wild, they live with their mates, families, and buddies. A caique will require a very large cage. It will need food available 24/7 and fresh water always. You will also need to be prepared for aggression when it reaches maturity, which is not uncommon in caiques. I have suffered extremely bloody bites from my caique. Caiques live to be 35+ years. At your age, are you ready to take on such a long commitment? If so, you will need your parents support and a plan in place to ensure your parrot will live an enriched, healthy life. If you buy this bird, you or your parents should intend to keep it for the length of its life. This is a huge commitment that I dont think you can take on unless your parents also are excited about owning a parrot.

 

[Danielwilu2525]

Once I move out of my parents house, I'll take my pets with me. The cage size I'm getting is a 24x20x60. I haven't spoken to my sister about it, but knowing her she'd do it since I do the same for her dog. I live with my mom and my sister so mostly my mom is going to play with him when I'm not home. However if I do ever have to go out, I'll take him with me by putting a harness on him. I'm locating his cage in the busiest part of the house, the living room. I'll encourage my mom and my sister to take him out if I'm not home. My mom is excited for a parrot, but she doesn't realize the care they need. She's used to just putting them in a small cage and feeding them seed. I'm probably just going to start out with a GCC. I was hoping for a caique, but I'm probably not ready for it. I know any bird is a huge responsibility, but GCCs seem more comfortable to me. I don't want to take in something that I won't be able to take care for later on. I'm still in the "choosing" phase. So yeah, hopefully I'll end up with the right bird for me. Maybe a GCC, maybe a Quaker.

 

[rockybird]

It's good that your investigating and acting questions and that your family is on board. 24x20" will definitely be too small of a cage for a caique. It would be cruel to keep on in that size cage. I would not put a gcc or Quaker in that size cage either. For a gcc or Quaker, you should look at the flight cages (32x21). For a caique, I would go with even bigger. My caique is in a 4' x 2.5' size cage (48"x30"). Also, if you go to college, what will happen to your caique? You would not be able to bring him into a dorm. You are at a point in your life where things are going to change rapidly over the next 10 yrs - your interests, where you live, etc. Your mother really needs to be on board with this. Also, discuss with her the potential vet bills and her willingness to pay them. Also, make sure she will be able to drive the bird to the vet asap if it is ill. We have had at least one teenager post on here who she parents refused to take the bird to the vet, and it ultimately suffered terribly and died.