Average costs

[Atomiklan]

Hello again everyone! Starting to get a lot more serious about Caique ownership (Still have not decided on one or two yet) and so I am starting to put together a list of expenses. I wanted to see if everyone here could (particularly Caique or similar sized bird owners) help me build out this list based on your experience with your own bird (This would be a per bird expense sheet). Some examples I am looking for are average yearly vet bills, average single visit vet bill, monthly pellet cost, monthly fresh veggies cost, monthly toys cost, etc. I promise I am doing outside research too. Not looking to be spoon fed here. Just wanted to get experiences from actual owners. Thanks ahead of time!

PS. Also still looking to get additional book recommendations for excellent books to read or what books NOT to read? These are the two I have currently. They were both good, but I still don't have much yet to compare against in terms of what to do and what not to do. There do seem to be a lot of different opinions on training methods and other topics, so I am trying to consume as much as I can to find some patterns so I can filter out the bad suggestions. Thanks!

 

[BeeBop]

Bump..Sorry I don't know how much money it costs since I never owned a caique!
But it usually takes all of it

 

[Tyrion]

It really depends on where you live ...where I live a vet visit is 85.00 to walk in the door plus 350.00 for general blood work ...nail/beak trim are 42.00 each ..DNA is 70.00 ...so that would be for your first visit plus or minus the beak/nails /DNA ...Food since I dont do pellets is about 125-165.00 a month for tea ..seed/nuts ..fresh fruit and veggies ..and chop ...toys because I make my own mostly cost 30-40 monthly ...I use newspaper for the bottoms of cages and butcher paper rolls so I dont pay for those right now ..but running out of butchers paper so I will have to buy another roll not to sure how much that will cost but lasts for ever ...This is for 3 bigger birds so its a lil costly month wise some months are better some worse like when you run out of everything all in one month ...the main cost a month is the fruit and veggies I feed in the morning that is bought weekly the other stuff is bought in like 2-6 month intervals ...Hope this helps

 

[janicedyh]

Vet cost seem to vary according to where you are. My well bird check for a large bird was $90 which including a fecal check, nail and beak. Bloodwork was $350 and DNA was $36. The cost of food also varies according to what you are going to do. The cost of pellets would be reduced if you are doing a lot of chop. I found its cheaper to do a lot and freeze it in baggies. You can make a lot of your own toys to cut down on the cost of that.

 

[sunnysmom]

I think toys depend a lot of the bird. My cockatiel didn't play a lot with toys and the ones he did play with the most were the cheap finger-trap like toys or wicker balls. Bigger toys would last him a really long time. So I spent little to nothing on toys for him a month. My foster too- I just ordered $70 worth of toys for him and am hoping they will last a month......

 

[Perriewinkle]

@saroj12 @Laurie

 

[iamwhoiam]

@rockybird

 

[rocky'smom]

@Tim

 

[rocky'smom]

@Irishj9

 

[Pipsqueak]

Vet check for my cockatiel is $350 includes bloodwork, I have to do every two years per my vet. Vegetables I cannot even price out since birds eat so little (I have three) but we buy the vegetables anyway for our family. The highest cost in maintenance for us is now vet checks and boarding when we travel. And I spend a lot on toys and play features (not all of it necessary ) . Pellets are not expensive at all , the last me a long time. The start was expensive, cost of the bird or adoption fee, cage, water bottle and dishes, toys, perches and first check up.

 

[Atomiklan]

I feel stupid asking this, but what are all the "@example" posted above? Were these automatically generated or are you all trying to show/tell me something?

 

[Irishj9]

Its hard to get specific on costs because they vary so much by country, and my expenses happen in South Africa. So Ill give you an example from the USA.

One of Obama's advisers, when asked to approve the budget of a new project, would automatically add a zero at the end. Think of a reasonable number, and multiply it by ten.

The unknown factor is the vet's bills, they can be large if anything goes wrong.

Plus the bird can often learn how to escape its cage and need a new (substantially more secure ) one. And if you cannot supply it with branches, you can think about repairing holes in the furniture and missing wallpaper strips. Caiques are VERY active. Think of a two year old running round your house with a power drill.

A caiques favourite game is pushing things off ledges to hear the crash, and see the humans horrified reactions when they fall. Grandma's best china wasnt THAT important to you, was it?

Fashion is not often cheap, and all your best clothes will soon have birdie beak holes in them. And of course your jewellery is always at risk. If you wear piercings anywhere on your person, these will be helpfully removed, in a surprisingly fast and painful way, Caiques are helpful like that. Same with small skin imperfections and moles. Keep the band-aid handy.

You would not want to live for up to 60 years on a bland diet of pellets or seed. Most parrots dont. They have a HUGELY varied diet in the wild. So they NEED loads of variety in fruit and vegetables, and are designed to drop most of it down from the treetops to other animals. That means down from the cage/playstand on your floor. Maybe the landlord wont notice the carpet has been 'modified'.

All your air fresheners, room deoderants, insect management sprays etc are probably lethal to the bird. Throw them out and buy the often more expensive 'natural' versions. Likewise with most of your cookware, if the bird is allowed to smell the kitchen fumes of an overheating pot on the stove it may suddenly die.

Caiques love computers, the shiny parts, the flashing screen, the chewy power cable ( EEEK!) the easily destructible plastic keypad letters. You wanted a new Apple anyway.

Punishment does not work with a caique. They simply dont understand it, and they are MUCH more determined than you or I. So factor in loads of your time to learn birdie body language and birdie motivations instead.

 

[Mizzely]

Average vet: $100 - $350 a visit for mine

Average food costs: $10/ month for veggies, $8/month Harrison's bird bread, pellets I buy in bulk so it's $50-$100 a year depending on brand. Seeds I feed very little: 1/2 tsp or 1 nutriberry a day, so I only go through a few pounds a year, so maybe $20 a year?

Toys: it varies so much. Bobber can chew through a lb of wood in about 2 weeks, so I tend to make all his toys if possible to keep it economical. Jingo barely destroys toys. If an average toy will cost $10, I'd say I would go through $30-$40 a month

I buy uhaul packing papers for the cage bottoms, 200 sheets for $10, and that lasts me about 3 months (2 cages, daily paper change), and F10 and AviClean to clean with. So add maybe another $5/month for cleaning supplies

 

[janicedyh]

I feel stupid asking this, but what are all the "@example" posted above? Were these automatically generated or are you all trying to show/tell me something?

The poster was tagging people who might be able to give you good estimates

 

[JLcribber]

The truth be told Andrew. If you need to know such specific costs of things means you don't have many resources ($). Parrots are an expensive thing to own with many unknown costs. You need real disposable income up and above what it costs you look after yourself and your family. It's not as much as having a child but it's right up there.

 

[Chopper]

The truth be told Andrew. If you need to know such specific costs of things means you don't have many resources ($).

In my case this isn't really true. Recently I was trying (TRYING) to make a budget. I know the figure that I would put in for parrots but everyone is different. I am known to spoil my parrots, cat and dog but I could cut back on my "budget" if I needed to.

Andrew - I have macaws - so I'm not going to even start sharing my budget with you. However, a very close friend of mine has a Caique. Her boyfriend makes the toys for them. He is home all day and disabled. So he makes bird toys. She takes he Caique to the vet about every three months for nail trim and beak trim. If the bird sneezes she is at the vet with it. The thing I will tell you though is...she wishes she had gotten two Caiques when she got the one. He entertains her boyfriend and her and we know that two is more fun. (We've seen them at the stores.)

Enjoy the journey to ownership. I'm glad to see that you are asking questions instead of just buying and then wanting to know.

 

[Milo]

For general supplies you should take a trip to stores around you or figure out where you'd like to purchase things online. We can give you numbers but they could vary significantly depending on what you have available around you. The same goes for toys. I prefer to use vendors like the ones here on AA so I pay a little more for shipping and having the toys already made because I dont' have the time to make them myself. I tend to wait for sales and then buy a bunch. If your bird is super destructive you could be looking at multiple hundreds of dollars per year depending on if you make your own toys or buy them pre-made.

For an annual vet visit plan on anywhere from 150-300 depending on your area. If you haven't looked for a bird savvy vet in your area now is the time to do that. If there are a few that's great! You can call around and ask what their annual visits consist of and an estimate to give you an idea. I'm not going to tell you to go to the cheapest or the most expensive (although generally I advise against the cheapest...) but it will give you an idea for what you're in for in terms of cost.

 

[EkkieLuv]

It really depends on where you live ...where I live a vet visit is 85.00 to walk in the door plus 350.00 for general blood work ...nail/beak trim are 42.00 each ..DNA is 70.00 ...so that would be for your first visit plus or minus the beak/nails /DNA ...Food since I dont do pellets is about 125-165.00 a month for tea ..seed/nuts ..fresh fruit and veggies ..and chop ...toys because I make my own mostly cost 30-40 monthly ...I use newspaper for the bottoms of cages and butcher paper rolls so I dont pay for those right now ..but running out of butchers paper so I will have to buy another roll not to sure how much that will cost but lasts for ever ...This is for 3 bigger birds so its a lil costly month wise some months are better some worse like when you run out of everything all in one month ...the main cost a month is the fruit and veggies I feed in the morning that is bought weekly the other stuff is bought in like 2-6 month intervals ...Hope this helps

$125-165/month for food?! Whoa! I don't do pellets, either, but feel like I don't spend anywhere near that. A batch of chop that lasts a few months for 2 ekkies and 2 BCC's here is maybe $40-50 at the grocery store (Houston, TX) and I buy organic when I can. I supplement that with a soak/serve mix. Mornings they all get fresh greens, veggies and a little fruit, a little dry mix. But still - nowhere near your costs. Now - I'm a bargain shopper when possible and buy stuff in bulk if it's cheaper, keep stock in the freezer... where do you live?? My vet costs are similar here and we use an avian certified vet.

@Atomiklan I had a WBC for awhile. We adopted her. Well as it went, for whatever reason, she HATED me. Screamed, would bite and be out for blood and revenge when she felt like it, and was just generally not happy. We loved her still and gave her all the time and patience in the world, plenty of toys, huge cage, time out, etc. In her best interest - and through heart wrenching tears, I took her to a friend in rescue... she ended up with a new mom who she loves!! All is well that ends well even though I still feel like we failed her. I don't say that to turn you off of caiques... they're not all piranhas with wings. LOL Caiques I've known are hilarious little clowns - very fun! Just take the time to know it's the right fit.

As for costs you can expect - you can always check with the vet you plan to use. They should be able to give you a general fee schedule. We've always had VPI insurance for our guys and that really helps offset some costs if you have illness or injury visits. Not so much for routine stuff so we skipped the well check rider that was extra. I believe caiques do fine on pellets for part of their diet and even good pellets don't have to be expensive. Shop smart. The one we had ate what our ekkies eat mostly and we offered some pellets but she tended to ignore them for the fresh foods. Chop (if you're unfamiliar) is just chopped veg basically. I add some cooked beans and grains to mine as well and make in huge batches then portion out and freeze. Toys - in my opinion - tend to be where the money goes! Of course buying parts and making your own is cheaper. And again, I shop sales. Also get creative. I little paper bag stuffed with paper, beads, goodies of all sorts is just as good as a $30 fancy toy. Don't buy up a bunch of stuff before you know what YOUR fid tends to like, though. I have plenty around here collecting dust. LOL

A cage will be your other big expense so shop around! Plan to spend at least $300 I would say for a quality and sizable one. You kinda get what you pay for there but dig around on craigslist and local shops that may have used cages on commission, etc. I've been lucky a few times! Hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[rocky'smom]

ok, I don't own Caique, but I want to add something here; if you garden, your costs for veggies goes down greatly. also going to the farmer's market reduces your costs. my vet costs are low but that is because my cousin is my vet and I get a family discount. plus my cousin and I have worked out barter deal, that I make toys for the birds at the clinic, clean the clinic and the cages . food costs depend where you live and whom you are buying from whether online or from a store. a good cage for any bird is expensive. but if you watch online sales carefully, you can get reasonable price once in a while.
I kind of have to agree with John here, if you are trying to budget all your costs for a bird, maybe you should think about whether a bird is good fit for you.

 

[Tyrion]

$125-165/month for food?! Whoa! I don't do pellets, either, but feel like I don't spend anywhere near that. A batch of chop that lasts a few months for 2 ekkies and 2 BCC's here is maybe $40-50 at the grocery store (Houston, TX) and I buy organic when I can. I supplement that with a soak/serve mix. Mornings they all get fresh greens, veggies and a little fruit, a little dry mix. But still - nowhere near your costs. Now - I'm a bargain shopper when possible and buy stuff in bulk if it's cheaper, keep stock in the freezer... where do you live?? My vet costs are similar here and we use an avian certified vet.

Good luck!

Thats going to the store and blowing about 25.00 per week on fruits and veggies ..and the rest I estimated per month taking like 90.00 for nuts at the bulk store and dividing it up over 4 months ...so yeah it can be lower but most of the time its around that per month ..this month I have spent so far 130 for tea which will last 6 months and 120 for toy parts which will last about 4-5 months and Ill go this weekend and buy 30-40.00 worth of fruit and veggies ...and buy the end of the month Ill need nuts 90.00 which will last for about 3-4 months ...but if you average it out over a month to month basis thats is what Im looking at ...I live in Canada so if I buy US there is the exchange rate to deal with so I try to buy Canadian when ever I can ...but birds are expensive ...