Considering a Caique

[Panamaniac]

Hey everyone - new to the forum (today!) and this is my first post - so please be gentle

I warn you this may be a very long post - I have many questions and want to ensure a parrot (namely a Caique) would be the right fit.

So my fiancee and I are looking into purchasing a parrot as "our" first pet (where we are today).

She grew up with cats and dogs (in the DC area), and has little to no experience with birds. I grew up in Panama with a varied range of pets - starting with a little green Parakeet by the name of Popeye (who fell of my handle bars while riding on the bike with me at the age of 7 and succumbed to a street cat). Ever since then I haven't been very trusting of cats, and proceeded to grow up with birds and dogs. I guess my longest relationship with a pet was a Severe Macaw that is currently still living with my parents in Panama. Unfortunately as he was aviary raised and tamed by me, he's a 1 person bird (and aggressive to everyone else). I've also had a playful Buffon's Macaw (died from salmonella poisoning), many parakeets, Amazons... etc. Lets just say I've been around parrots (and dogs) for most of my younger life.

Its been many years since I've lived in Panama (away from the zoo), and my fiancee and I are looking at getting a pet. Since I'm currently on a travelling project and not around to walk a dog in the mornings - that was out of the question. I really don't want to have a cat around the house - I don't mind them much anymore, just don't want to own one. We're thinking a parrot might be the best "fit" - no need to go outside in the cold to walk it in the morning, it isn't a cat, it has great personality and you can physically interact with them - not to mention the vocal aspect of a bird.

What really turned my fiancee on to them was when we were recently in Panama my family had a really sweet (although kind of dumb and boring) blue headed Pionus who wanted to do nothing more than just sit on her lap or shoulder and nuzzle. I think that's when she really saw how sweet birds could be (not to mention she saw me rough-housing and playing with my Severe, who is the sweetest bird ever with me, and unfortunately no one else).

So my fiancee wants a companion for when I'm not around (I travel a lot for consulting) - and we went to a local breeder (DJ Feathers in Northern VA) and were looking around at what they had. I didn't want a parakeet or cockatiel - just feel like they would get lost in my hands and not really provide the "parrot" playfulness and attitude. I didn't want a Grey and our condo couldn't handle a Macaw or Cockatoo.

Then we saw some Caiques in the store and I asked about them. It seemed like the right size bird, seemed relatively quiet (comparatively), and seemed curious and playful as hell. We kind of loved their antics and that they seemed much more "dogish" than some of the other birds they had in the store. I'm kind of already looking forward to teaching one how to play dead and be a hopping wind-up toy (and play fetch, and finger wrestle... you get the idea).

So I've done a lot of reading because I don't like going into anything blind (unlike when we were kids). And I've read so many good things about Caiques (and a few bad).

These are our critical stats:
- We can probably provide 2-3 hours of out of the cage play/companionship a day when we are home.
- We can provide a decent size cage and play area (enclosed sunroom which houses many bonsai trees). The bird wouldn't be allowed in or around the trees, but would have his own play area. *I KNOW THIS IS PROBABLY A LIABILITY AS FAR AS THE BONSAIS ARE CONCERNED*
- Both of us are easy going and would want a bird who is friendly to both of us and is sociable towards other animals (namely a dog when we get one), and a bird who will be cool just getting in the car and going with us to visit family and friends.
- I don't think we would do well with a bird who completely "changes attitude" after a couple of years. Ebbs and flows we can manage, a complete nasty shift would probably push us away. When I'm back in Panama and my Severe gets nippy I usually just love him into submission, but sometimes he can get nasty at which point he goes right back in the cage and I may not want to deal with him for a day or two after.

I guess I can list my questions as follows:

1. Based on the profile above - does a Caique sound like a good fit?
2. Will a Caique pick favorites (people wise)? Will he act and interact differently with different people (kind of like a dog?) - as in - can he be sweet and cuddly with my fiancee and still rough-house with me?
3. How much do I have to worry about cooking with Teflon products around a Caique? I don't see us not using our grill pan or fry pan in the near future. As long as we take care to cook at medium heat and ensure things don't get too hot - is that sufficient? Does anyone else on this board do that and have not had any issues? Unfortunately, ventilating our apartment involves opening the doors and windows to the sun room (which is where the Caique would live) - so if we were to need to vent the apartment it would be funneled through the bird room...
4. How destructive will a Caique be with house plants, furniture and bonsai trees? If I give him his own toys can he/she be content with that? Can they be taught that certain areas are "off limits"?
5. Should we be looking at another bird? Other thoughts were a larger Conure (red masked - too loud?), a Senegal (temperamental?), or a Blue headed Pionus?
6. Will a Caique be upset if we leave for a weekend? How do they do with Boarding? How about house sitters? My Severe usually knew when I was leaving (3-6 months at a time as I would leave for college), but was always incredibly excited when I came back and was usually sweeter than ever. The Pionis was really sweet last time I was home but when I came back it took a couple of days to soften him up (so that we could get him to stop biting and get out of the cage). How do Caiques react to that type of stuff?

That's all I have for now - I am planning on attending some local bird club seminars and such to interact with other owners and their pets, and will look into volunteering when possible. I was actually surprised at the price of Caiques (compared to a similarly sized Pionus, Senegal or Conure) - but the money isn't really an issue for us.

Thank you in advance for your assistance! I'm also an avid photographer, so if and when we get one - expect to see lots of photos!!!

Josh Z.

[Panamaniac]

A last question - is there any significant difference between the white bellied and black-headed varieties? (size, temperament, habits) The local specialist told me there was a slight size difference (black-headed would be smaller) - but otherwise not much...

thanks!

[sweetpeaches]

Okay...I'm a relatively new "caique owner" myself (I've had Bailey for about a 1 1/2 years now)
Hel'll be 2 in June. but I"ll share with you my experiences with him so far. He is my first parrot and I have had no problems keeping him "under control".

1. IMO a caique is a good possibility for you.
2. Interacting with others: at this time Bailey gets along with everyone including the dog..altho I don't allow him near my dog. When strangers come in the house, he quiets down a bit, but loves to "check them out" and he usually ends up crawling up their arm and body surfing on them...lol. I like him to interact with company. I don't believe caiques are known to be "one person birds" however, I've read there are times where they decide they may not like someone in particular for awhile. Hasn't happened in my house. Sweet and cuddly??? hmmmm...depends on the bird (remember they all have different personalities) Bailey's sweet and cuddly lasts about 3 mins..lol..he's usually more in the "enegrizer bunny mode" definetly not a cuddler...however, there are those whose caiques will sit with them a bit.
3. I still use teflon pans..but am just very careful and Bailey's cage is not close to our kitchen area.
4. Destructive: unsupervised I think they could be, as Bailey loves to grab wires, buttons on keyboards, etc...however, I keep a playstand for him in our living room and he will stay on it for 3 hours or so and not get off. occassionally he may flutter down but hardly ever. of course he has lots of toys hanging on it to play with.
5. Looking at other birds: depends what you really want. caiques are very beaky, playful birds..like you said "sometimes you think you're playing with a kitten or a puppy instead of a bird" as they love to lay on their backs and foot wrestle. I think jardines, pionus, are also nice birds or maybe a hahn's macaw.
6. Leaving a caique: I left Bailey for 14 days last year. My son took care of him for me.
When I got back, he was fine, no issues at all!
7. No difference between BH and WBC except coloring and maybe size.

Hope this helped. I absolutely adore Bailey. He is my buddy. And so smart. I wish I had more time to teach him tricks. As you can see on lots of you tube videos, they're pretty trainable and quite the characters. As with any parrot, some people do experience some behavior changes when a bird goes through sexual maturity. I have known people whose caiques can become quite challenging at this time until it passes and I know of others who have never had an issue with this and their caiques are over 3 years old.

Wish you the best in your decision. and kudos to you for doing your research!

[Panamaniac]

Thanks Susan - Bailey's a cutie and sounds like you two have got a great relationship going.

I'm the type of person who likes to research things a lot (a fortunate/unfortunate trait of being a consultant and project manager) - and definitely don't want to go in head first without knowing what we are getting ourselves into.

Looking forward to some more insight (maybe from some people with older birds so I can get a good cross-section of the population) - thank you Susan so much though for your quick reply!

[sweetpeaches]

your quite welcome...i completely understand wanting to "hear from" those who have older caiques. i too am always interested to know what it's like living with a caique over 3 years old as most owners that i do know have caiques around that age. i think they (caiques) are relatively newer to the companionship world, however, author, sally blanchard has an older caique named spike who appears has had a wonderful life with. i also, through other forums have met those with "older caiques" over 5 years old and all are very happy parronts to these guys. and i completlely understand your "researchiness"..lol...i've been married to someone like that for the last 30 years...

[Panamaniac]

:-)

Thanks again!

[rockybird]

1. There's no guarantee...every bird is different. Your bird will want to be out a minimum of 2 hours a day. He will not want to be out on top of the cage, but hanging out with you. He may also scream or call for you, if he is in the cage, and can hear you moving about the house. My caique does this, although it has abated some with age. Also, they require interactive time. My little guy constantly wants to play with me. He will cry constantly to be let out of the cage and be with me, if I am near it. I always give in...he's too cute not to.
2. My bird does not like anyone but me. He is extremely jealous of boyfriends. He will try to attack anyone who enters the house if he can get near them. But he has spent most of his life with just me and my conure as his companion. If your bird grows up with you and your gf, it very well may be different. But there is no guarantees with birds.
3.I do not use teflon pans and never will.
4. Destructive - terribly. He has chewed into my brand new expensive bathroom cabinets. He shimmied up a towel in the bathroom and climbed onto my new door and chewed the edges up near the doorknob. While I was getting something in the car and he was on my shoulder, he managed to chew the visor and steering wheel on my new Toyota SUV and cause unsightly damage. He goes after electric cords, so I have to keep a constant eye on him. He chews holes in nearly all my shirts and towels. I would be very careful with trees, as they may be poisonous.
5.I think many of these issues can be the same with other birds, except that caiques are especially demanding, hyperactive. My gcc is a little snugglebug and a hoot to watch. He is more open to meeting new people, is very quiet, potty trained, affectionate, etc., but not as playful as the caique. THe caique loves to lay on his back in my hand while I snuggle him against my face. My conure snuggles quite a bit, but on his terms.
6.If the bird is in the house when the caique arrives, it might be okay, from my experience. My caique accepted the conure, who was already here. But the caique constantly wanted to wrestle with the conure and the conure was jealous of his new brother and would try to attack him. It took years for them to sit quietly together on my lap and preen each other. The caique will NOT take to any new birds in the house. He will go crazy trying to attack them. When I birdsat a pionus, he was constantly trying to find a way to get into the other room...all fluffed up, marching around, eyes pinpoint. If I took him to the cage, he would attack the cage (but not me).
7. Leaving - a weekend is fine. I have someone feed them. I couldnt leave my guys for 3-6 months. The caique used to get mad when I returned, but this seems to have abated.
Another note, my caique went through a terrible biting stage suddenly at 3 yrs. of age. Caiques bite horribly. They clamp down and grind, spraying blood everywhere. I almost gave him up. I even went to the ER for one bite. These bites were nonprovoked, but I changed my behavior some, and now LAVISH him with cuddles, kisses, more time out of the cage. The cell phone (jealous), sunglasses (he knew it meant I was leaving), and ignoring him would throw him into a crazed rage. I have found that they are very sensitive birds, and also need to feel some bit of independence. Thus far, the bites have stopped since I changed my behavior. He is again my sweet cuddley, playful little monster. Caiques are great pets, but very time consuming, messy, demanding, and some can be unpredictable. THey are also playful little clowns. If you realize all of this going into purchasing a bird, then it might be the bird for you.

[sweetpeaches]

Rockybird...gave a very good take on another experience with a caique. I remember when you (rockybird) were going through that time and am happy things got better

[rockybird]

Thanks sp! I cant believe what an angel he is now since I made those changes. I could never give him up.

[cockatielguy69]

I dont know anything about caiques as I dont own one but I just have a random question! I think I saw you in DJFeathers. I was in there a little more than 2 weeks ago. I was the lady with the 2 kids looking at the cockatiels and we bought one. I felt like we came in and barged in on you with Tammy (if it was you!) so, sorry!