Young Caique (Need advice)

[Ryan10]

Hey. I'm no stranger to this forum, but being a new owner, I figured it was time to sign up and join the conversation. There were a couple things I was hoping for advice on. I just took in a WB caique. He's close to 3 months old and has been weaned. However, I quickly noticed that the man who gave him to me had severely clipped his wings and his tail feathers were sparse and in poor condition. Because of this, he seemed to have trouble with perching and coordination, after a couple slips and falls I moved him back into his travel cage. We wanted to try to do recall training for a week or so, and ensure that he was physically able and coordinated enough to move to his larger cage. But given his distrust with me I'm worried this will take quite a while, and obviously I don't want him to be cooped up in a tiny cage for weeks on end. The travel cage is open for 3-4 hours a day and he's free to walk around, explore and stretch his wings, but I'm concerned about keeping him in such a small cage. I just want him to be safe. Any advice? Am I doing the right thing?

 

[Ira]

Can’t you just set the perches real low in his regular cage?

 

[budgieluv3]

Maybe put a lot of platform perches in his bigger cage. They are much harder to fall off of. https://www.amazon.com/Keersi-Platf...604327913&sprefix=platform+per,aps,178&sr=8-6

Amazon.com : Bird Perches Cage Toys Bird Wooden Play Gyms Stands with Climbing Ladder, Parrot Play Stand and Bird Swing Conure for Green Cheeks, Baby Lovebird, Chinchilla, Hamster, Bird Cage Chewing Toys Sets : Pet Supplies

Amazon.com : Bird Perches Cage Toys Bird Wooden Play Gyms Stands with Climbing Ladder, Parrot Play Stand and Bird Swing Conure for Green Cheeks, Baby Lovebird, Chinchilla, Hamster, Bird Cage Chewing Toys Sets : Pet Supplies

www.amazon.com

 

[Hankmacaw]

@Laurie

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. I would try lowering the perches. And what kind of perches are you using?

 

[dollfish]

Yes, low perches in the regular cage should do. Also correct me if I'm wrong guys but if you keep the toys on the sides and keep the middle somewhat empty, then falls will be direct to the bottom without hitting anything so in a medium sized cage this shouldn't be too bad. And birds are light so a fall does not have much impact from such heights.

 

[Laurie]

In addition to what the others have said caiques are excellent climbers so if you have a tall cage they will likely climb all over it anyways. You can pad the bottom with a towel or fleece just watch that there are no threads or anything for them to get tangled on.

In addition, three months is quite young so please keep an eye on behavior and if you can weigh the bird each day (in grams) to make sure he is not losing weight and is getting enough to eat.

If you have any questions please be sure to ask.

Congrats on your new caique.

 

[Ryan10]

Thank you for the advice. He's doing much better already and I think I'll move him to the large cage and keep a close eye on him. In terms of food, he never seems to stop eating. All I've read are concerns over losing weight, now I'm worried he's eating too much. I've done research on Caique care for well over a year before I committed to one, and yet somehow I still feel very overwhelmed. I'll keep everyone posted.

 

[Maggiebird]

Welcome to the avenue!!

 

[Ira]

Don’t worry about him eating too much at this age!

 

[Laurie]

Caiques are very active and he is still growing so let him eat all he wants. That is good.

 

[Ripshod]

 

[expressmailtome]

Welcome, and enjoy the site!

 

[Sparkles99]

 

[Birdbabe]

@Irishj9 ...

 

[Irishj9]

Hey. I'm no stranger to this forum, but being a new owner, I figured it was time to sign up and join the conversation. There were a couple things I was hoping for advice on. I just took in a WB caique. He's close to 3 months old and has been weaned. However, I quickly noticed that the man who gave him to me had severely clipped his wings and his tail feathers were sparse and in poor condition. Because of this, he seemed to have trouble with perching and coordination, after a couple slips and falls I moved him back into his travel cage. We wanted to try to do recall training for a week or so, and ensure that he was physically able and coordinated enough to move to his larger cage. But given his distrust with me I'm worried this will take quite a while, and obviously I don't want him to be cooped up in a tiny cage for weeks on end. The travel cage is open for 3-4 hours a day and he's free to walk around, explore and stretch his wings, but I'm concerned about keeping him in such a small cage. I just want him to be safe. Any advice? Am I doing the right thing?

If he can't fly (more ignorant wing butchery), then why are you worried about a cage?.

He needs darkness, peace, quiet and lots of food variety. Let him play near you and don't force him. Let his feathers grow out for God's sake