Hi! I have been looking into getting a white bellied caique. I have wanted to get one for as long as I can remember (I've met a few and I love their personalities!). I grew up with my mom having parrots so I have experience. My fiance and now own our own house so we've been wanting to get a parrot of our own. There are 2 white bellied caiques available within 3 hours of me; a 1 year old and a 12 year old. Both are males and around the same price, so really the age is the only difference. I know that they go through a hormonal phase when they are younger for a couple years, which is why I am hesitant about getting a baby. They both seem to have great personalities, so I'm having a hard time deciding. For anyone that owns a caique already, would you recommend getting a younger one or one that is already a mature adult? Thanks!
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Choosing between getting an adult or a baby caique?
- Thread starter Lorrie
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Mizzely
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that being said I have no experience with Caiques
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I have 8 year old caiques. The "hormonal phase" is called adulthood, which begins around 2 as you wrote.
Adulthood continues for up to 40 years
During this "adulthood" phase, caiques have lost all baby beheaviour and any dependable instinct to do what YOU want.
They have to be be bribed constantly, or be VERY well trained. Because they wont do what some people want, they are called "hormonal"
In that respect, I am also permanently "hormonal"
I have an 8 year old male who does exactly what he wants. His 8 year old female would live in my ear and obey my every whim
which type will you get?
Pot Luck
Adulthood continues for up to 40 years
During this "adulthood" phase, caiques have lost all baby beheaviour and any dependable instinct to do what YOU want.
They have to be be bribed constantly, or be VERY well trained. Because they wont do what some people want, they are called "hormonal"
In that respect, I am also permanently "hormonal"
I have an 8 year old male who does exactly what he wants. His 8 year old female would live in my ear and obey my every whim
which type will you get?
Pot Luck
I would say the older one.
Whilst the younger one may be cuter etc. that is the exact reason for my reply.
The younger one is likely to find a home really easily, as it is the 'young, cute one that can bond with me and be my best friend's. The other one, being older, will have trouble finding a home, I mean really, who would want an adult when you can have a cute baby? That is the problem, the reason so many lovely birds are looking for loving homes through rescues.
Please consider putting age aside and going for the one that needs you most.
Ali
Whilst the younger one may be cuter etc. that is the exact reason for my reply.
The younger one is likely to find a home really easily, as it is the 'young, cute one that can bond with me and be my best friend's. The other one, being older, will have trouble finding a home, I mean really, who would want an adult when you can have a cute baby? That is the problem, the reason so many lovely birds are looking for loving homes through rescues.
Please consider putting age aside and going for the one that needs you most.
Ali
Ps. I have no caique experience, but what I have written above covers birds in general
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I know what I wrote above is harsh. Thats because it takes a TRULY DEDICATED person to keep caiques( @Laurie . @saroj12 )
You build your WHOLE LIFE around them. You cannot pick them up for ten minutes a day than pop off to the mall to see your friends
Well you can. Then youll be back here complaining that a "hormonal" caique bit you
And keeping a single caique is the toughest way to go
You build your WHOLE LIFE around them. You cannot pick them up for ten minutes a day than pop off to the mall to see your friends
Well you can. Then youll be back here complaining that a "hormonal" caique bit you
And keeping a single caique is the toughest way to go
Caiques are so much fun but they are A LOT. I can only handle them in small doses haha. I would recommend spending time with the adult and see how he behaves. Even if you get the baby, he will eventually grow to be more like the adult. If you can’t handle the adult’s behavior, I wouldn’t get either.
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From my experience, Joey started getting hormonal around 2 years old and still gets hormonal when the seasons change. For the past 2 years he has been very aggressive and cage protective, to where he will attack me. He is about 7 years old. I am learning how to side step from getting hurt. He sees me as his companion, mate and enemy. 
i love him and enjoy him. It is a ongoing challenge to keep him entertained and to provide enough enrichment for a single caique.
Have you read this thread?
A 1 year old caique will be fun to play with and you will get to know him as he matures.
With an older caique, you will get to know a bird that has a developed personality along with the conditioning of his previous home situations. But I always admire those who can give an older bird a forever home. Hopefully, he will adjust well to your home And family.
wishing you luck with your decision.
i love him and enjoy him. It is a ongoing challenge to keep him entertained and to provide enough enrichment for a single caique.
Have you read this thread?
The good, the bad, and the ugly about caiques
The attributes listed in this thread are the experiences of each individual and your experiences may differ with your individual bird. I guess i'll start this one :) I've had my caique for a bit over 4 years. I got my Marley (Black Headed Caique) when he was 6 months old. I have watched him go...
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A 1 year old caique will be fun to play with and you will get to know him as he matures.
With an older caique, you will get to know a bird that has a developed personality along with the conditioning of his previous home situations. But I always admire those who can give an older bird a forever home. Hopefully, he will adjust well to your home And family.
wishing you luck with your decision.
So I mostly agree with IrishJ. For sure it is the luck of the draw so if you get to visit with them you will have a chance to get to know them a little but they will act somewhat different after settling in anyways so there is no guarantee. Are they in the same place do, do they get along? If they did then maybe consider having two.
I have eight of them but I keep them all in pairs which I highly recommend. Even that can be a challenge to accomplish if they don't happen to get along. Often times they learn to get along but sometimes they declare themselves mortal enemies and there is no changing there minds.
If you like the older one I think that he could be wonderful and as was mentioned the younger one will find a new home more easily, that being said caiques are extremely popular right now so I think most would find a home.
What IrishJ said about bribery is key. Training is also essential. Caiques are definitely an adventure.
While hormones play a role in bird behavior, I think the internet attributes many problems caused by poor training and handling to hormones. This does a disservice to people and caiques in that it creates a situation where people feel like it is hopeless and they need to wait for it to go away on it's own. Really what needs to happen is for people to learn new ways of interacting with their birds in ways that they get the behavior they want.
So more important than the bird you get it learning to interact with them in a way that promotes good communication and allows them to be who they are but still allows them to behave in ways that you enjoy too.
I have eight of them but I keep them all in pairs which I highly recommend. Even that can be a challenge to accomplish if they don't happen to get along. Often times they learn to get along but sometimes they declare themselves mortal enemies and there is no changing there minds.
If you like the older one I think that he could be wonderful and as was mentioned the younger one will find a new home more easily, that being said caiques are extremely popular right now so I think most would find a home.
What IrishJ said about bribery is key. Training is also essential. Caiques are definitely an adventure.
While hormones play a role in bird behavior, I think the internet attributes many problems caused by poor training and handling to hormones. This does a disservice to people and caiques in that it creates a situation where people feel like it is hopeless and they need to wait for it to go away on it's own. Really what needs to happen is for people to learn new ways of interacting with their birds in ways that they get the behavior they want.
So more important than the bird you get it learning to interact with them in a way that promotes good communication and allows them to be who they are but still allows them to behave in ways that you enjoy too.
Thank you everyone for the replies!! I ended up getting the 12 year old a couple days ago. His name is Chester and I love him to death already! He is an absolute sweetheart and a total goofball. He spends at least 6 hours with me a day, and is out of the cage the rest of the time (other than bedtime). There were other parrots in the same home as him, but he has never been housed with anybody else so I'm not sure how he would do with a cage mate. I may look into getting him a friend here in a few months after he is settled in, but for now he seems content with just hanging out with me around all the time. He has tried to regurgitate for me a couple times. I don't pet him anywhere other than his head, and I just try to get him distracted with a toy or something whenever he does decide he wants to do that which seems to make him stop usually.
The only thing I've noticed is that he doesn't eat hardly any of his pellets. He is on a mixture of zupreme and harrison pellets (sent with him from his previous home) but it seems he mostly just likes eating fruits and the seeds/treats that his previous family gave him. I made him bean/grain bird mash and he won't even touch it. I give him fresh fruits and veggies daily, but he won't eat the veggies he lovessss food, but just doesn't seem to want to eat the things that are healthy for him any tips to get him to eat more of his pellets? Or any recipes that picky eaters like? Thanks!!
The only thing I've noticed is that he doesn't eat hardly any of his pellets. He is on a mixture of zupreme and harrison pellets (sent with him from his previous home) but it seems he mostly just likes eating fruits and the seeds/treats that his previous family gave him. I made him bean/grain bird mash and he won't even touch it. I give him fresh fruits and veggies daily, but he won't eat the veggies he lovessss food, but just doesn't seem to want to eat the things that are healthy for him any tips to get him to eat more of his pellets? Or any recipes that picky eaters like? Thanks!!
GoDucks
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Hi, your new guy is quite handsome. I can tell you two are going to be great friends.
Well, they do eat a lot of fruit in the wilds so I expect eating fruit is what comes natural to him. Have you tried any nuts with him? A friend of mine makes a veggie smoothie for her bird, which he loves.
Well, they do eat a lot of fruit in the wilds so I expect eating fruit is what comes natural to him. Have you tried any nuts with him? A friend of mine makes a veggie smoothie for her bird, which he loves.
Hi. Anyone have a recipe fur this they'd like to share?
A.K
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Beautiful guy you have there. Just wondering, does his beak seem a little overgrown? No experience with caiques, so I don’t know the appropriate beak length, but it seems a little long to me.
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Yes that upper mandible is much too long. The bird will correct this himself, by chewing your furniture, curtains, clothes etc, anything he can use to wear it down.
Or you can take him to a birdie vet and have it pared back. Its something you can learn to do yourself. However he has a blood vessel running down the middle, same as his nails, so you need experience and a steady hand to avoid a bleeding emergency
Or you can take him to a birdie vet and have it pared back. Its something you can learn to do yourself. However he has a blood vessel running down the middle, same as his nails, so you need experience and a steady hand to avoid a bleeding emergency
