Can Caiques be mellow?

[Robin and Pilot]

Hello. I just joined this forum today and am looking forward to learning lots of wonderful info about my new birdie! I just purchased a baby Black Headed Caique and will be able to bring him home in about a month. I have read so many positive reviews from owners and have seen great Youtube videos, which has all been confirmations these little guys (and gals) can be super pets and loads of fun! I am wondering, however, with everything I read about their high energy, are they calm enough to hang out on my finger and just let me pet them, or to hang out on my shoulder (if he is grows up to be a good shoulder bird), or are they just too active for any of that kind of quiet time? He is about 1.5 hours from my house now and I visit him about 3 times a week, spending 2-3 very enjoyable hours with him each time. He is about 8 weeks old and falls asleep in my hand, but I'm wondering if this age is the only time I'll ever see him this calm. (He is a very lively and curious little guy, but I can pick him up and cuddle with him easily.) Anyway, can I look forward to some more of this cuddle time as he gets older, or is it "energizer bunny/tazmanian devil" sort of activity from here on out? Thank you!!

 

[greycloud]

Hi again! Yes, definitely energizer bunny! You have to remember though that birds like people have individual personalities. Caiques do tend to be very high energy, on the go birds! That is not to say they don't enjoy scritches or perching on you. I f you want him to be more "dependant" on you as you stated before, praise and treat him when he steps up or allows scritches.

 

[Robin and Pilot]

Thank you very much for your response! I love his warm cuddles, but have become nervous after a conversation I had with one of the women who is "training" me to be a good mommy. She sweetly suggested I might be holding (cuddling) him too much (usually 1-1.5 hours at a time) that could lead to dependence where he will think that he's supposed to be held or on me all the time--possibly leading to separation issues and plucking. I completely understand this, but of course, I'm addicted to the cuddles. I also stay for 3-4 hours each time I go and I guess I will need to ask next time if this is too "mommy over stimulation" as every second of that time is all about him. Thank you again for your comment--I certainly appreciate it!!

 

[Colorguarder08]

You should be fine giving him 2-3 hours of your undivided attention because honestly your going to want to give them atleast 1-2 hours of one on one time every day when you get him home in addtion to whatever out of cage time you decide to give him.

 

[Bobby34231]

Hmmm, melow, never heard a caique quite described in that verbage....lol, caiques are the Jack Russels of the parrot world, very energetic, acrobatic and highly inquisitive, wanting to explore just about anything they can get into....lol, though as a rule they don't talk all that well they make up for it in so many other ways, when they form the human/bird bond it is one of the strongest bonds amoung parrots, one big drawback to caiqes is that they don't do well with other birds not of their species, if you plan on Pilot being your only fid then you should be just fine.....never be shy to ask questions, this is a great forum for useful info for the beginer as well as the experienced

 

[Litilchef]

My baby Louis is a great "cuddler" if you consider him rubbing his head in my hand while I hold him cuddling. They love to snuggle in their sleeping huts. Louis will undo the stitches in his little tent's walls and snuggle in the pocket he creates in addition to on the inside of the hut. He loves it when I wear a fluffy robe so he can nuzzle the sleeves and lapels. He is also quite quiet, and I think that is mostly because he is our only pet. When he lived at a house with more pets, he was very very noisy.

Good luck with him, and he sounds like an extremely lucky bird. It sounds like no matter what, you are going to do a great job.

 

[AndrewH]

The Caiques I've handled love to rouse. You know, beak wrestling, head and neck scratching, hanging upside down from fingers, etc. They're definitely not cockatoo, but are very nice. I would get one if I could get away with it...

 

[Irishj9]

yes caiques can be mellow. From about 3.30 to 4pm in the afternoon when they are having their nap.

Outside that time, never!

 

[dskidd]

First of all, welcome to the forums!

As others have said, every bird is different, and a lot of it depends on your interactions with the individual birds.

However, in my personal experience, yes, they can be mellow...but they won't be for the vast majority of their waking hours! Both Henry and Eliza enjoy cuddles, snuggling, skritching, and so on, and Eliza certainly likes to be on my shoulder when I'm doing various household chores, etc. However, this is maybe an hour or two (at most) out of the day.

Bobby34231 called them the Jack Russell Terriers of the bird world. That's actually not a bad description. I had a Border Terrier for sixteen years. One of his traits has a parallel with E&H in that a lot of times, I don't have to be paying direct attention to them: they just want to be in the same room with me. Another Border Terrier trait I've noticed that has a parallel with Caiques is that they seem to be convinced that whatever you're doing must be more fun than what they're doing, and thus they need to come over and investigate immediately, just to make sure.

Irishj9 nailed it too. Interestingly enough, if I take an afternoon nap, they take one with me.

Looking forward to some photos!

 

[RavensGryf]

Did someone forget to check the upper left corner of the original post for the date?? :54:

OP hasn't been back here since 2010...

 

[dskidd]

Did someone forget to check the upper left corner of the original post for the date?? :54:

OP hasn't been back here since 2010...

Oops! Um...Eliza and Henry distracted me. Yeah, that's it! [emoji12]

 

[ShaunaR]

Hi and welcome!
Our Pixie is a dynamo and a cuddly ball of mush...it all depends on her mood. She decides (as it should be) what kind of moment it will be and we just roll with that. Sometimes she can go a few days with just being "rammy" as my Dad would say. At these times she only wants to play and has a very short (minutes to seconds) attention span. She still likes to be with us but is in constant motion. Probably 25-30% of the time she is a cuddle bug, crawling inside my shirt, up the arm of my sweater, or snuggles up under my chin which is her safe place. Whenever she gets a fright or startles she immediately wants to be held there and I am happy to oblige! I held her under my chin as a baby alot and find it's a handy place to secure her if I am going up stairs or into a potentially dangerous area of the house like the bathroom and she is quite happy to be there most times. Pixie loves to be out of her cage....bottom line. We have a large PVC perch that is loaded with toys and she sits there and does gymnastics with her toys if feeling playful. We have also taught her to poop there which is handy. So far Pixie is much the same as she was as a tiny baby in terms of snuggle time with some changes now that she is over a year old. She will not be handled when she sees her fresh food dish being made or coming to her cage. Any attempt to over handle her dish or her results in biting. Putting her back into her cage can be a challenge with some attmpts at biting and many "war cries" as I call the funny squeals she makes when something has made her unhappy. Bedtime is another no no. When she is ready for bed she will not allow us to take her out of her cage. We have a routine of kisses we do at bedtime and after that any attempts at handling will result in bites.
Things may certainly change when puberty sets in but we do make a point of handling her frequently throughout the day and evening (even if it's just to show her a toy or tickle her belly and then set her down again) and she rarely protests. So in our case yes, Caiques can be cuddly, and often!
Shauna and Rick

 

[punkindave]

Caiques (as with people) all can be quite different. We have 4 of the little buggers and they are all pretty high energy but in their own way.
Skittles will sit on my shoulder for extended periods and just snuggle in behind my ear. He's been doing this since he was a puppy. When he tires of that, he'll go flying around in "Air Superiority Mode", terrorizing the bigger birds.
Scooter tends to climb all over me and takes time to initiate little "wrestling matches"
Ringo (aka: Magellan) tend to wander and fly all over looking for something left behind by the others. When he's done, he'll stop by to say Hi and get a little head skritch.
Chica is just insane, she can be sweet as pie but at times gets in moods where she'll wait for me to drop my attention then launch an attack on me drawing blood!

They are each different, I would never call them passive or lovers of being cuddled in the traditional sense..