Possible Caique Parent…

[IanJ]

Hello!

I’ve been progressing my search for a feathery companion to join me in my apartment…

I’ve unexpectedly fallen for caiques

I’d been looking at Conures, but whenever I’ve stumbled across a caique, they’ve immediately stolen my attention and they always seem to like me and happily jump on my shoulder without reservation.

I really like their bold character, chirps and whistles and adore their more more stocky nature.

But!

I want to get some advice before I get really carried away and end up buying one without due diligence.

Things I’d like advice on…

*Are Caiques ok with some alone time (along with lots of toys and tv)? I work from the office maybe 2-3 days a week 10-5 and maybe pop out for a few hours during the day at the weekend.
I do have time in the morning and plenty of time most evenings to play.

*What time do Caiques go to bed? Can I watch tv late in the evening if I put the bird to bed?

* Alternatively are Caiques happy to play on their own later in the evening if they have lots of perches and toys? (Again while I watch a movie or read a book).

* Stubbornness. I met a black headed caique and it was fun and mischievous, but good as gold stepping up and going back in his cage. I met a yellow thighed one and whilst he was really sweet on my shoulder, when he hopped off to do other things, it took the shop owner a good 20 minutes and several nips to get him under control and back in the cage.

- is there any commonality here? Like are the black heads more docile/compliant or is it more just about the individual bird?

- do people have advice on generally how stubborn/compliant caiques are? I’m ok with some stubbornness, but if there was a 30 minute bite ridden will match everytime I need to leave the house, it’s not going to work!

Equally, if my questions are setting off red flags for any caique owners, please feel free to let me know and if anyone thinks another species might be more suitable, again, i’m open to advice!

thanks so much.

 

[Trent84]

hello!
I'm a newbie too and I found this thread very helpful.
I fell for them too and I'll have one shortly. I think it's quite easy to love them as they're really outgoing and hands-on, but after reading this I'm more aware of what I'm going for!

 

[OrangIsld]

I would also like to know this! in the future when I have more time I'd also like to own caiques

 

[Emma&pico]

Hi I don’t know much about caiques but I would say all birds are stubborn sometimes I can get pico indie back in cage within two mins other times it’s 10+ mins
I can’t put either of them back in cage by hand pico knows and flys straight off I have to have a perch on cage door they go there for a treat and I push door n off they go on perch so personal I wouldn’t add that to a list of not getting a bird as you have to work with and find easy stress free way to get them back in because they catch on super fast and being outside cage is super more fun than it is being in cage

 

[Kassiani]

I'll tag some members who have extensive Caique experience.

@Laurie @Irishj9

 

[Irishj9]

*Are Caiques ok with some alone time (along with lots of toys and tv)? NO, they are highly intrelligent flock animals, and they will punish you for what they see as your abandonment

*What time do Caiques go to bed? Caiques have no night vision and their hormones are controlled by daylight hours. Thay rise and sleep with the sun

* Alternatively are Caiques happy to play on their own later in the evening if they have lots of perches and toys? OMG NO!. Youve abanoned me all day and now you wanna read a book? WTF?

* Stubbornness. I met a black headed caique and it was fun and mischievous, but good as gold stepping up and going back in his cage. I met a yellow thighed one and whilst he was really sweet on my shoulder, when he hopped off to do other things, it took the shop owner a good 20 minutes and several nips to get him under control and back in the cage. There is no such thing as getting a caique under control. There is influencing his beheaviour based on a bond which took you MONTHS to create

- is there any commonality here? Like are the black heads more docile/compliant or is it more just about the individual bird?. There appears to be more personaliry differences between individual birds, that between species

- do people have advice on generally how stubborn/compliant caiques are? I’m ok with some stubbornness, but if there was a 30 minute bite ridden will match everytime I need to leave the house, it’s not going to work!. If you want to avoid caique anger at abandonment, they stay with him 24/7/365 pr get him a caique playmate and a HUUUGE cage. SOME? Stubbornness?. Youre dealing with a flying toddler with a can opener on his face. He will respond to shouting/threats with even MORE agression

 

[Haru:3]

They are damn adorable but even if not as much as Irishj9, i managed 3 caiques ( still managing 2 but next summer myb babies ) and i want to write about really bad sides about mines. You already fall for that adorable moments but you should know some damn bad sides as well.
My previous caique was alone, and he really didnt like the times in cage and whenever realised i was at home just kept screaming his inside out till i get him, then its over suddenly cuteness overload. He was a really good friend to be honest but i also lost him to his dangerous curiosity (10seconds matters...) They are trouble makers, dont let anyhing metal they might break and swallow. Other than this i didnt have any problems with him literally... he was such a good boy.

And now im with two caiques, they werent with me when they were babies so i couldnt build on their behaviour really well, they already had preferences and it was hard to break most of them. My most problematic issue with them is "damned screams".. evet out of the cage as well, they scream so much that it can gives you anxiety... and with having such impactful scream potential if you dont interact with them , well you are doomed... they are forever babies really, and they want lots of attention even if they have each other, whenever i leave the room those screams which can cause an apocalypse will start right after

if you have one or two.. you will feel blessed sometimes but .. also sometimes you will feel doomed. But you can keep them busy with food you prepare for them, you ll have at least 2 hours of silence thanks to that breakfast lol. Oh that comes with the cleaning ofc hahaha. Lots of cleaning (i use a big aquarium for that snack times, it works so good, easier to clean) And routines are good ofc. They are not easy to handle. loving a caique means lots of work and you ll be just a parent with what ever species you choose to have. They are demanding little babies with mischeveness way bigger than their size.

i also would recommend having 2 after seeing 1 single caique, just give them love and decent amount of attention (like you would give to your baby )then they will be happy cute pies with big poops only. They all have different characteristics really.

 

[IanJ]

Thanks so much everyone.

This is one of those classic moments where it’s super important to really listen to the advice as it is presented, rather than only seeing the bits I want to see, or assuming the best case scenario when the evidence is stacked against that.

Thanks Irishj and Haru, these are really key insights that tell me a Caique would be an overly risky choice.

I get I can expect the odd bite from a bird, but an angry piercing machine is probably too much.


I‘ll keep trying with the slightly more mellow species and see what emerges.

I’d rather have no bird than a depressed or angry bird or a bird where trust and bonding totally breaks down.

I should add that I’ve probably overstated the ‘absence’ thing, but I’d rather paint the worst case and build out from there to understand that.

It’s my full intention to hang out and play with my buddy a lot, when I get home from work on office days, take it for walks if I can, play, stroke, go for trips etc…

 

[IanJ]

Haru, there’s no way I could have 2 birds in my flat, so a species that’s known to be ok to have a bit of chill time is good.

interestingly I hear 50/50 on that with Caiques!

But I hear too many stories of Caiques suddenly ‘turning’ from sweet, clownish balls of fun, to angry, hard biting attacking machines for it to be a case of being dreadfully unlucky. It seems like it could simply go either way and at any time.

 

[Shezbug]

Haru, there’s no way I could have 2 birds in my flat, so a species that’s known to be ok to have a bit of chill time is good.

interestingly I hear 50/50 on that with Caiques!

But I hear too many stories of Caiques suddenly ‘turning’ from sweet, clownish balls of fun, to angry, hard biting attacking machines for it to be a case of being dreadfully unlucky. It seems like it could simply go either way and at any time.

Your last sentence here really applies to all parrot species unfortunately, this is why many people prefer to get mature birds needing a new home rather than baby birds.

 

[IanJ]

That makes really good sense.

I’m really up for a mature bird, but I’m struggling to find them.

All of the rescue centres now seem to be online only and you get a description, but that doesn’t really cut it for me. It seems super important to really meet and get to know the birds.

I’ve direct experience of mature birds knowing what they want.

My dad owns a yellow fronted amazing. He and my brother can do ANYTHING with that bird. Complete trust and bond.

But for whatever reason, it would happily rip me to shreds. I have several scars, from not paying attention!

None of us can fathom it and it’s been like this for 30 years!!

 

[Ozarkarts]

Hello IanJ,

I have had two caiques (male and female) now since April 22 who will turn a year old later this month. I am retired and at home most of the time, so I can spend at least 5 -7 hours a day with my birds. I am glad I have two birds because I think one would be miserable alone. Plus, my birds were very bonded to each other, and I think it would have been very cruel to have separated them by only taking one. I know that many people do only have one caique but I think they would be much happier with a mate. I have also heard that sometimes two caiques who are both the same sex might get along fine at first but later after hormones hit can turn on each other (to others with more experience, please correct me if I am wrong here).

I had a cockatiel, named Lacey, who died of avian Bornavirus before I had these two caiques. She was a single bird who was very bonded to me. She was a very loving bird and loved to have neck rubs and snuggle time. She had very small poops that were very easy to clean. She went everywhere with me all day long and if I left the room she would fly to my shoulder. Her loss was devastating to say the least and I doubt I will never be “over” her loss.

My caiques are nothing like Lacey. My female caique (Winky) is very gentle and has never bitten be hard. Winky is one of the most gentle creatures I have ever had. My male caique (Dobby), on the other hand, is highly spirited and can be VERY rambunctious. Dobby has bitten me countless times, though he has never really broken the skin. Still, his beak is VERY sharp and I have no doubt that if he wanted to do real damage he could! So far he has not really tried to bite me but has just been playing or overtly excited and bit too hard. I have to watch him because he has a habit of running up my chest and grabbing my bottom lip. So far he has not bitten through it, but I worry about what could happen once hormones really hit, so I am trying to train him not to do that. He has also accidentally bitten my neck/throat area a few times when he was trying to bite/play with my shirt collar - that really freaks me out! He has left marks on my neck, but again, he is not purposely trying to bite my neck/throat. Both birds also like to chomp the writing on my tee-shirts, and have recently started putting lots of little holes in them (again, the male has a VERY sharp beak). Dobby loves to ‘surf’ on my shirts also, especially first thing in the morning. By surfing I mean he will grab hold of my finger with both feet and push his head and body back-and-forth against my shirt. Some say this is something they do to show their love. I’m not sure if that is the case, or if he is just rubbing an itch..!

Caiques poop is also about 10-times the size of a cockatiel’s and a whole LOT wetter! I have to say that they don’t poop on me as much as Lacey did, but when they do it is a lot worse. Because of their poops and their tendency to throw food (much of which is wet, like chop, fruit or a bean mix), you MUST fully clean their cage every day! It takes me on average 45-minutes each day to clean their cage, papers on the floor and under their tree. I also have a dedicated vacuum in their room (they have their own bedroom) which I use to clean up pellet food that comes out of their cage, and chomped up toys I give them to shred. I buy paper by the roll and have a cutter for it also. I go through about 720-feet (18” wide) of paper every 2.5-months (no kidding).

Caiques are also VERY loud and I wouldn’t think would be suitable for an apartment unless it was very large and their room did not border another apartment. They can really SCREAM when they want to! Sometimes they will be very vocal (scream) just for the joy of it when I am cleaning their room. I have special ear protection (made for shooting ranges) I wear when they start this because they CAN hurt your ears!

Caiques also need a LOT of toys to be happy - preferably ‘foot toys.’ They can play on their own with their toys for hours, but they will still need to spend a lot of time with you each day to be happy. My bird room has two different windows and I have built 1-foot x 3-foot platforms that fold down (with lips along the edges so the toys don’t fall off) on each window. They love to look out the windows and play with their toys on the platforms. Their house (cage) is made from two cages that are 64” x 19” each, so the interior of their house is 64” x 38” x 36”. I usually leave their door open during the day so they can climb out of the cage to access their Java tree, their windows/platforms and Lacey’s old house (40” x 40” x 60”). There are rope walkways between each area.

They love their room and all their toys, but they still want to go outside of the room into the main house, so I take them with me to go outside on the deck (in another cage on wheels) or into one of the living areas for a few hours (at least) each day. I plan to make a large platform for them so they can look out the window of the sliding glass door in the main living room so they can spend more time with me during the day.

Caiques are very social birds and they will want to be with you as much as possible. They are not birds (at least mine aren’t) that like to “snuggle” with you - they show their affection in other ways, such as surfing on you, drying off (surfing) on you after a bath, and playing with you. They are VERY intelligent birds and can be trained to sing songs you whistle but they cannot mimic your voice. Another reason to have two caiques is so they can play/wrestle with each other - that is a pure JOY to watch and even take part in!

Caiques are wonderful birds to have, but (in my opinion) are not good to have as your “first bird(s)”. They are not “easy” birds to have at all! Like most parrots they are companion birds - they not birds that you put in a dinky cage and forget about most of the day. They require a LOT of care, your attention/time, and are expensive to own. The best advice I can give you (or any other person wanting to get ANY type of parrot) is — BEFORE you ever get a caique, LEARN as much as you possibly can about them! Read all you can and watch as many YouTube videos as you can about them BEFORE you ever get one. This will make your decision on whether to get one a whole lot easier..!

 

[Kim1]

Zeb of Blueplanet pets is not a fan of caiques for what it is worth. He had more than one and found the both to be aggressive. The above comment shows you how individual birds in a species can differ so much! LZeb also has a female ekkie, which have a reputation for being aggressive, but his is the opposite!

 

[Trent84]

I'm a caique parent-to-be and one of the things that made me go for them is a video I've seen on birdtricks, where the girl says that they're the least found at rescues. On top of the list were cag, macaws, cockatoos and Amazons (all bigger species). It was eventually just a point of view of her and a personal experience, but this made me think a lot about it.
I've been to the breeder just yesterday, who has many species and told me how so many people chose cags just because "they speak", being later disappointed in having a very stand-offish bird.

I guess it's all about what we're expecting from having a parrot. In my personal experience too many still thinking of them as "only birds" (with all the due respect) and are not prepared AT ALL for the basics even. Thankfully we have internet and forums like this where we can learn and read many different experiences.

 

[IanJ]

Hello IanJ,

I have had two caiques (male and female) now since April 22 who will turn a year old later this month. I am retired and at home most of the time, so I can spend at least 5 -7 hours a day with my birds. I am glad I have two birds because I think one would be miserable alone. Plus, my birds were very bonded to each other, and I think it would have been very cruel to have separated them by only taking one. I know that many people do only have one caique but I think they would be much happier with a mate. I have also heard that sometimes two caiques who are both the same sex might get along fine at first but later after hormones hit can turn on each other (to others with more experience, please correct me if I am wrong here).

I had a cockatiel, named Lacey, who died of avian Bornavirus before I had these two caiques. She was a single bird who was very bonded to me. She was a very loving bird and loved to have neck rubs and snuggle time. She had very small poops that were very easy to clean. She went everywhere with me all day long and if I left the room she would fly to my shoulder. Her loss was devastating to say the least and I doubt I will never be “over” her loss.

My caiques are nothing like Lacey. My female caique (Winky) is very gentle and has never bitten be hard. Winky is one of the most gentle creatures I have ever had. My male caique (Dobby), on the other hand, is highly spirited and can be VERY rambunctious. Dobby has bitten me countless times, though he has never really broken the skin. Still, his beak is VERY sharp and I have no doubt that if he wanted to do real damage he could! So far he has not really tried to bite me but has just been playing or overtly excited and bit too hard. I have to watch him because he has a habit of running up my chest and grabbing my bottom lip. So far he has not bitten through it, but I worry about what could happen once hormones really hit, so I am trying to train him not to do that. He has also accidentally bitten my neck/throat area a few times when he was trying to bite/play with my shirt collar - that really freaks me out! He has left marks on my neck, but again, he is not purposely trying to bite my neck/throat. Both birds also like to chomp the writing on my tee-shirts, and have recently started putting lots of little holes in them (again, the male has a VERY sharp beak). Dobby loves to ‘surf’ on my shirts also, especially first thing in the morning. By surfing I mean he will grab hold of my finger with both feet and push his head and body back-and-forth against my shirt. Some say this is something they do to show their love. I’m not sure if that is the case, or if he is just rubbing an itch..!

Caiques poop is also about 10-times the size of a cockatiel’s and a whole LOT wetter! I have to say that they don’t poop on me as much as Lacey did, but when they do it is a lot worse. Because of their poops and their tendency to throw food (much of which is wet, like chop, fruit or a bean mix), you MUST fully clean their cage every day! It takes me on average 45-minutes each day to clean their cage, papers on the floor and under their tree. I also have a dedicated vacuum in their room (they have their own bedroom) which I use to clean up pellet food that comes out of their cage, and chomped up toys I give them to shred. I buy paper by the roll and have a cutter for it also. I go through about 720-feet (18” wide) of paper every 2.5-months (no kidding).

Caiques are also VERY loud and I wouldn’t think would be suitable for an apartment unless it was very large and their room did not border another apartment. They can really SCREAM when they want to! Sometimes they will be very vocal (scream) just for the joy of it when I am cleaning their room. I have special ear protection (made for shooting ranges) I wear when they start this because they CAN hurt your ears!

Caiques also need a LOT of toys to be happy - preferably ‘foot toys.’ They can play on their own with their toys for hours, but they will still need to spend a lot of time with you each day to be happy. My bird room has two different windows and I have built 1-foot x 3-foot platforms that fold down (with lips along the edges so the toys don’t fall off) on each window. They love to look out the windows and play with their toys on the platforms. Their house (cage) is made from two cages that are 64” x 19” each, so the interior of their house is 64” x 38” x 36”. I usually leave their door open during the day so they can climb out of the cage to access their Java tree, their windows/platforms and Lacey’s old house (40” x 40” x 60”). There are rope walkways between each area.

They love their room and all their toys, but they still want to go outside of the room into the main house, so I take them with me to go outside on the deck (in another cage on wheels) or into one of the living areas for a few hours (at least) each day. I plan to make a large platform for them so they can look out the window of the sliding glass door in the main living room so they can spend more time with me during the day.

Caiques are very social birds and they will want to be with you as much as possible. They are not birds (at least mine aren’t) that like to “snuggle” with you - they show their affection in other ways, such as surfing on you, drying off (surfing) on you after a bath, and playing with you. They are VERY intelligent birds and can be trained to sing songs you whistle but they cannot mimic your voice. Another reason to have two caiques is so they can play/wrestle with each other - that is a pure JOY to watch and even take part in!

Caiques are wonderful birds to have, but (in my opinion) are not good to have as your “first bird(s)”. They are not “easy” birds to have at all! Like most parrots they are companion birds - they not birds that you put in a dinky cage and forget about most of the day. They require a LOT of care, your attention/time, and are expensive to own. The best advice I can give you (or any other person wanting to get ANY type of parrot) is — BEFORE you ever get a caique, LEARN as much as you possibly can about them! Read all you can and watch as many YouTube videos as you can about them BEFORE you ever get one. This will make your decision on whether to get one a whole lot easier..!

Thanks Ozarkarts! That’s so helpful. Funnily enough this mimics my early experiences with them.
I’ve met a couple in stores and theyre adorable. I love their chunkiness and their outgoing rough and tumble nature.
But… one gave me a bite when I asked to step up and whilst it wasn’t especially hard, it was a bit harder than I was comfortable with.
Then when the shop keeper wanted to put him back in the shop, it turned in to a chaotic 20 minute chasing game around the shop. Hilarious to watch, but translated in to every day life (i.e. needing to leave for work), would be completely impractical!
This is one of those cases where I have to observe the actual reality of the situation!
Thanks so much for your advice. It sounds like a cockatiel or a conure might be more suited. Possibly a Pionus from all of my reading, but they seem to be uncommon to come by in pet stores - although rarely show up on rescue sites. I can’t tell if thats because they are good birds or just because they are rare here.

Thanks everso!

 

[IanJ]

Zeb of Blueplanet pets is not a fan of caiques for what it is worth. He had more than one and found the both to be aggressive. The above comment shows you how individual birds in a species can differ so much! LZeb also has a female ekkie, which have a reputation for being aggressive, but his is the opposite!

Thanks Kim, that’s really interesting. Yes, it seems that caiques are quite commonly a handful. It seems it could be worth getting a mature/rescue one thats been through puberty and is a known quantity, but getting a youngster is a more of a risk that with some of the other species as their bite is nastier than conures and cockatiels.

 

[IanJ]

I'm a caique parent-to-be and one of the things that made me go for them is a video I've seen on birdtricks, where the girl says that they're the least found at rescues. On top of the list were cag, macaws, cockatoos and Amazons (all bigger species). It was eventually just a point of view of her and a personal experience, but this made me think a lot about it.
I've been to the breeder just yesterday, who has many species and told me how so many people chose cags just because "they speak", being later disappointed in having a very stand-offish bird.

I guess it's all about what we're expecting from having a parrot. In my personal experience too many still thinking of them as "only birds" (with all the due respect) and are not prepared AT ALL for the basics even. Thankfully we have internet and forums like this where we can learn and read many different experiences.

Yes this is a really good point.
I’m so glad I found this forum. It’s much easier to ask and receive information about ‘how it is’. Most pet stores just say almost anything to sell the birds and I find breeders are a mixed bag. Some will have really honest and long conversations, some are more vague and more interested in making the sale.
In this forum, people really spell it out!

 

[Emma&pico]

Have you considered lovebirds ? My male lovebird pico is amazing and my lovebirds are happy and content while I am at work 7/7 two days a week just fill up foraging toys etc

I love gcc too but they can be nippy just got to learn them not too

 

[IanJ]

Have you considered lovebirds ? My male lovebird pico is amazing and my lovebirds are happy and content while I am at work 7/7 two days a week just fill up foraging toys etc

I love gcc too but they can be nippy just got to learn them not too

I haven’t really considered love birds, as I understand they should be kept in pairs. I’m open to being corrected though.
I’m ok with nippy - I don’t mind being told off by a bird or a pinching bite. I’m just not down for aggressive hard bites, because I’d lose trust in the bird and we’d both be miserable!

 

[Emma&pico]

I haven’t really considered love birds, as I understand they should be kept in pairs. I’m open to being corrected though.
I’m ok with nippy - I don’t mind being told off by a bird or a pinching bite. I’m just not down for aggressive hard bites, because I’d lose trust in the bird and we’d both be miserable!

Pico as indie but he would and probably preferred to be on his own
I do think indie needs pico and I think they enjoy company but are in separate cages as pico not down for sharing