Help...Biting caique...I cant keep him anymore.

[rockybird]

I am at a loss on what to do. My little boy caique, who is about 4 yrs. old, will bite badly with no reason. I have tried everything to get around this. I am right now nursing a very bloody bite on my hand. He will go months without biting, and then he will fly into a rage. I have found that these rages seem to come out of jealously...paying too much attn. to my other bird or talking on the cell phone. But occasionally, I can find no reason for the bites. He is extremely spoiled, spending many hours outside of his cage, usually with me. I really wonder if he needs to be with a female caique. He will run to the mirrors in the house to be near his reflection. WHen he bites, there is no reasoning with him. His eyes are pinpoint and he is dangerous. I usually fling him to the ground when he bites. Sometimes I turn the light off and walk away. Or I wrap him in a towel and put him in the cage. He attacks the towel ferousciously. After this last bite on my hand today while he was sitting on my shoulder, I feel that I can no longer keep him. What do I do???? I will not put him in a bad home, but I am becoming scared of him. I love him so much, but these bites are horrible. They are nothing like the bites my maroon belly used to give me, and even he learned not to bite. He will snuggle under my chin forever. He hops on command. He wrestles. He is all caique, but I cant take the biting anymore. I dont know what to do.

[rockybird]

My boy:

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o...ek/zeekers.jpg

Dancing in the shower:

Video of Zeek likes the shower - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[sweetpeaches]

i'm so sorry you're having such a hard time with zeek. he is a beautiful caique. it must be breaking your heart. i've only had my caique for 2 mos. he's 6 mos. old. i don't let him out of his cage very much as i work all day and when i'm home i take turns taking him out with my lovebird. but when i do take him out it's only at 15 mins. intervals. that's one of the things i'm concerned about, that he gets "too" used to being with me all the time. there is a book called "the beak book" by sally blanchard that deals exclusively with biting. maybe you should read it before giving zeek away. i'm sure something can be worked out. i wish you the best.

[rockybird]

Thanks SUsan. I work a lot also, but I take him out immediately when I come home and he is out with me for a couple hours then. He is also out in the AM while I get ready for work. He is out almost all weekend. Maybe he is out too much? Maybe I am spoiling him? I will check into the book, but he is crazed when he bites. He is not getting the message when I leave him alone in a dark room after biting, even though he cries incessantly. He is not putting two and two together and I think this is because he is like a wild animal (which he really still is) when he bites and NOTHING gets through to him. He even looks crazed with his constricted pupils. Yes, I am crying right now. He was the perfect pet until about age 3 yrs. of age and something changed. I have had him since he was weaned. But I absolutely will never give him to a bad home. I am wondering if OASIS would take him if they have a female caique and if I pay them some money. I really think he would be ecstatic to be with another caique. Geez. I just dont know what to do.

[sweetpeaches]

sorry, i don't know what oasis is, but i think no matter who zeek goes to it will be very difficult for him because he loves you so much! i know caiques can get very "crazy" when they get excited. when bailey starts (key word here...starts) to get this way i immediatley try to divert or calm him down before he bites any harder...as he always "bites..beaks" as is their nature. if he doesn't listen to me, i immediately put him in his cage, but he usually gets the message. i wish i could help you more, but i myself am a novice caique owner, and may very well be in the same situation you are four years from now??? i think about that often as i read and hear how parrots go through personality and hormonal changes. but knowledge is soooo very important. maybe this is just a phase zeek is going through. try to get more information before giving him up. and maybe you two can make it through this. there is a website/forum caiquecrazy that is very helpful also. again...good luck to you and zeek.

[huntress]

You need to talk to Freedomoflight. She can help you - she is the ADHD Caique mom to the rescue.

[cbalvino]

sorry to hear this and I do empathize as I have a Senegal who also does this,I do have him out and try to place him on the play stand,I did have his wings clippped and it does help as he can't attack me by flying at my face,I only have him out when I can watch his behavior I'm getting better at knowing when the crazy stuff will happen and I always keep a towel in hand to put him back it's not perfect but I wouldn't rehome him as I would fear he would be abused by his behavior,I miss the sweet boy he was when I got him but I still love him now

[Freedomoflight]

*plays music in the background* duh duh duh! Super caique is here!

Sorry, all joking aside- I am sorry you are going thru this. A (what I am assuming) hormonal caique is very difficult to deal with. Male blackheads in particular seem to get downright evil around age 3 to 4. Thats how I got my male BHC- he had a lovely trick of flying at peoples throats and latching on.

What is his routine like? What is his diet like? Is he fully flighted or clipped? Where is his cage located? Does he have full spectrum light? What are his sleeping habits?

How do you react when he bites you? How often does he bite you? When did this start happening and for how long has it gone on?

Once you answer these questions, we can analyze the situation :)

[rockybird]

Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate your help freedomoflight...er supercaique! Zeek is a male wbc. He was shipped from a breeder in TX. He was raised with an unrelated female caique, who I am guessing he was close to. The first thing he learned to do was crawl up the stairs to a full length mirror to be near his reflection. I have been through residency working long hours since I got him, while the little Py., Rocky, I got when I took some time off school (he spent lots of time with me and travelled quite a bit, I think this is why he is so personable). Zeek on the other hand has always been scared of anyone but me. He "cries" when I leave for work, he screams constantly if I am upstairs trying to nap. He learned early that when he "cries" I will snuggle him. He loves to curl up on my hand under my chin, with his beak tucked in my shirt and his little left foot curled around my finger.

His cage is a large avian adventures cage, located in front of a wall of windows that looks into the courtyard and the backyard. Rocky's cage is right next to his. As my friend says, their cages are "castles" ... full of toys. I feed the wild birds in the backyard so that they have something to watch.

He has bad sleeping habits. He sleeps in a covered night cage in the bedroom. I leave it unlatched so he can get out in case something should happen to me one night. He goes to bed when I go to bed...around 1130 and up at 730. He never wants to go to sleep, and we have a cuddling session before he goes to bed, where he will snuggle and cry mournfully. I kiss him and snuggle him. Sometimes he dozes on his back in my hand, but when I try to put him in the night cage he squeals and thrashes about. Just like a little kid not wanting to go to bed. he knows how to get out, and will sometimes get out and play with the latch and fight it, while I read or work.

I was clipping his wings, but stopped as he doesnt fly well at all. He can flutter to the ground but cant get any air.

He first bit about 1.5 yrs. ago. I think I was on the phone. He bit a couple more times soon after with lots of blood, including one time on the lip so bad that I went to the ER. The bites are BAD. I usually yell in pain and try to get him off me. Then I use a towel to pick him up - or sometimes he attacks the towel- and I get him in the cage. If it happens upstairs, like it did yesterday in the bathroom, I fling him to the ground..say or usually yell no..turn off the light and close the door. Yesterday, I took away the mirror on the bathroom counter that he has been entranced with. He is not interested in the big mirror, only a little mirror. I was afraid that he was becoming territorial over the mirror. After that, he did seem to calm down and was a little angel all night. Sometimes I spoil him and hand feed him corn while he sits on my shoulder. Am I smothering him too much?

He hates all boyfriends and will act like a 2 yr. old. I cannot have him out with them around. He will bite me or bite them.

The littlest thing that irritates him, throws him into a rage. One thing I noticed is that Rocky used to be the alpha bird, and Zeek accepted it. Now Zeek is the alpha bird, I think. Rocky no longer nips him to put him in his place, but runs away. Rocky used to hate Zeek, but now will lightly preen him.

This is his routine: Up in the AM playing while I get ready for work, in the cage from 830 to 6-7 PM (rarely later). Out when I get home for maybe 2 hours with Rocky, usually on my shoulder while I do stuff in the house. In the cage while I work out. Out of the cage with me and playing on the counters, shower while I shower, make dinner, etc. He does like his routine.

Am I smothering him too much? Is there anyway to stop the screaming when I am out of sight? I love him SO MUCH, but dont know what to do anymore. I cant get a female as the noise will be too much, and I cant have another bird that bites.

[Freedomoflight]

Hmm. I do think that he has you curled around his little toe- the screaming when you walk out of the room shows that. I'd try a couple of things:

first, assume he is hormonal. Start eliminating soft, warm, mushy foods from his diet. Is he on a pellet or a seed? Check his diet for hemp foods- a person on my forum had a caique that went absolutely nutso when fed hemp. It really fires up their hormones.
Regulate his sleeping schedule- try 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. Right now he is getting about 8? I think you were right to take out the mirror. If he has trouble sleeping, try putting a happy hut or similiar in his cage.
When he bites and you yell, that to him is a drama reward. "ooo look if I go like this *chomp* it makes my human make all sorts of funny noises!" when he bites, push into his beak to release, and calmly put him on a time out perch. Putting him back in the cage may be a reward in his eyes- away from the situation, and now he is allowed to play with all his cool toys. Putting him on a t perch for 4 minutes (since he is 4 years old) would be a sufficient time out.

Try to mix up his schedule a bit. Cut down on the cuddling time before bed a bit, and perhaps give him more ambient attention in the morning. Try to do more hands off activities with him, and start teaching him acceptable behaviors. Does he 'teeth' on you like mine do? Grab the flesh between your fingers and chew? If he does, keep a small toy on hand and redirect him towards the toy rather then your hand. When he starts biting you can tell him no, and to stop in a firm voice. Try and react more calmly to his bites.

Perhaps re-arrange his cage, or simply switch places, so his cage is now where the other birds cage is. Caiques tend to get extremely territorial of their perceived area, so you want to mix it up a lot. Can you get him in a harness? Perhaps taking him on daily walks outside, weather permitting, around the block can help both of you relax.

More later