Caique behavioral issues and how to address them

[Ladyhawk]

Back when I was in the biz over twenty years ago, I played with Sally Blanchard's black-headed caique, Spike. Of course, he was a joy: very well-behaved and so funny! I loved "winding him up" by gently bouncing him on the table a few times and then watching him hop all the way across. Recently, I went on a YouTube caique-watching binge and I've become very impressed with these little parrots. They remind me of lories and lorikeets without the specialized diet. Well, all parrots have specialized diets, but you know what I mean.

Any creature that silly must have a really big attitude. Remember, I was owned by a double yellowhead for over thirty years. What works well for Amazons might not work well for caiques. For that matter, what works well for one Amazon might not work well for another. In the past, I've pretty much made stuff up as I went along when I worked on birdy behavioral issues.

I'm wondering if there's a special way to approach caiques. I'm not going to rush out and buy one, mind you. In fact, one parrot seems to be plenty for me, although I would like to brush up my skills and volunteer at a parrot shelter someday. Unfortunately, I live in too rural an area. I would start a parrot shelter myself, but I'm not in a good position to do so for a variety of reasons I don't want to go into right now.

Knowing a bit more about caiques and how their little minds work might be beneficial for some bird someday. Caiques have caught my attention. I imagine there are a lot of little clowns out there who were too much bird for their owners and need some behavioral love and a new home.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

I have 4 Caiques.Greta was my first bird.The trick with them is you have to learn "Caique ��".When you first let them out of their cage.They want to play and blow off steam.Put them on a playstand or on top of their cage with a toy.After awhile then go see if they want to visit you.If their giving you a hard time your trying to make them do something they don't want.Strong minded little things .Dont let them get something they can't have like a pen or a earring.They will deem it theirs and fight you till the death for it.I like big wide cages so they can play with foot toys on the bottom.They like swings,beings and lots of toys.great eaters .They seem to be very light sensitive.They want to be left alone when it's dark and get up when it's light .They are the one species in my house that are excited about everyone.I think their great birds ��

 

[Ladyhawk]

I have 4 Caiques.Greta was my first bird.The trick with them is you have to learn "Caique ��".When you first let them out of their cage.They want to play and blow off steam.Put them on a playstand or on top of their cage with a toy.After awhile then go see if they want to visit you.If their giving you a hard time your trying to make them do something they don't want.Strong minded little things .Dont let them get something they can't have like a pen or a earring.They will deem it theirs and fight you till the death for it.I like big wide cages so they can play with foot toys on the bottom.They like swings,beings and lots of toys.great eaters .They seem to be very light sensitive.They want to be left alone when it's dark and get up when it's light .They are the one species in my house that are excited about everyone.I think their great birds ��

Thank you! I figured they must have strong personalities to be that hilarious. So, that strong personality is tuned to "Play First! Everything else second!" Very interesting. It makes sense to wear them out before seeing if they want to visit. Since they seem OK with multiple people, perhaps it would be best for a person to get two young caiques at the same time or for a rehabber to carefully introduce two older caiques to one another and send them off to the same home. They could wear each other out, saving the fingers of the people of their new forever home. One problem I can think of is a prohibitive adoption fee, but perhaps it's an ideal situation. You would know better than I. All I know is I love the videos of wrestling caiques.

Since they have strong personalities, I'm sure there are pitfalls when you introduce two older caiques to one another. Is there a recommended way to do this? I'd hate to break up a fight to the death! If they claim certain items as "theirs" I'm guessing they might be cage territorial, too. Is this so?

I'm looking into getting some blackout curtains to use as a cage cover for my BFA because I tend to have insomnia and I would prefer she didn't share my affliction. Maybe this would be a good investment for caiques if they have a regular schedule.

How do you prevent a caique from getting his beak on something you don't want him to have? Do you have designated "Caique Zones" where everything can be a toy? Do they stay out of "No Caiques Allowed!" zones with some training?

Do you allow caiques to wrestle with you? Some YouTube commenters opined that allowing caiques to explore your skin with their beaks was a recipe for disaster because it was next to impossible to teach them to be gentle. Is there any merit to this point of view?

You're teaching me some cool things. Maybe someday I can put it to good use. Again, I'd like to volunteer at a shelter to give back to parrots. In order to do this, I need to hear new ideas that have arisen since I worked with birds at a pet store. Behavioral techniques are always evolving and I've probably forgotten a lot of what I learned because it was a long time ago.

 

[Pinkbirdy]

If you want to get 2 Caiques. Get one at first ,then bond with him.Then down the road get the 2nd Caique.Keep their cages side by side.After the get used to each other.Ypu will know when the time is right cause they will mirror each other.Like eat ,play and sleep at the same time.Let one out ,he most likely will climb on the others cage.They will interact through the bars.Do the same with the other Caique.Eventually let them both out to play on top of their cages at the same time .Supervised of course and don't rush the process.Let them be curious about each other.After they have bonded you can put them on the couch to wrestle around.Join a Facebook Caique group to see if their selling any.or maybe they can direct you.Dont be afraid of having one shipped .I had Caboose my Blk hd Caique flown to me from Texas to Newyork.He was a middle aged bird and he did great.

 

[Ladyhawk]

OK, that makes sense. I wish we had more parrot owners in this area so I could get a bigger bird fix. XD I'd like to observe someone else's caiques.