Meet My Caiques + A Question

[missylynn]

Meet my new fids! In both photos is Sammy, an almost-four-year-old boy. He is ABSOLUTELY a sweetheart! He whistles and steps-up for pretty much everyone and loves to play and hang out. Love him! Not photographed is two year old Susie. She is not tame. She did not try to bite me when I finally managed to get her with the towel to put her in her cage, but she certainly screamed her little head off and lunges for me when I approach the cage!

Now here comes my long question... These two are supposedly "bonded", or so I am told by the person who sold them to me. I had planned to set them up with a box in the fall. HOWEVER, since coming home, it's practically been a battle to the death between those two. Constant bickering, lunging, wrestling, yanking with feet, chasing, yelling, you name it. Neither has drawn blood, but WHOA... not what I would expect of a "bonded" pair. I thought at first maybe the airplane journey had them up in knots, but this is just ridiculous. I finally set up a different cage next to the other cage and split them up. Now this is my first time with caiques... I have read that pairs sometimes bicker, like all birds and humans too, but I have also read that it is very difficult to successfully pair caiques. Could it be possible that these two are in fact not bonded at all? Or do they just need time to settle in to their new environment before acting lovey?

And just as a side note, I bought these two to be breeders, but honestly, with as SWEET as Sammy is, I would not be heartbroken if he just remained my companion and I sent Susie to find her true mate elsewhere. But of course, if they actually are bonded and just in need of adjustment, then I'd want to keep them together. Any thoughts?

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm sorry I can't help, but wanted to say Sammy is adorable

 

[Enjru]

If you can't trust the seller about them being bonded, then you can't trust the seller about which bird is supposedly which sex either. I'd get the seller to pay for both birds to be DNA sexed and, for now, house them in separate cages next to each other. You'll soon know if the two birds are bonded to each other. Do they perch next to each other, only separated by the cage bars? Do they mirror each other's behaviors? My two pet DYHA's quite like each other (I'm not using the word "bonded" to describe them just yet). They are just reaching sexual maturity now. I have the two of them in separate cages, next to each other. They mirror each other almost exactly. They even mirror each other about which toy they will play with, in which order, and I often find the identical toy destroyed in both cages at the same time. A "bonded pair" goes for a higher price than "two individual birds of the same species", so this seller owes you something.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Caiques are beautiful creatures! I held one for the first time last week and was debating bringing it home. Anyway I had to go the easier route and continue with a smaller beak. LOL Good luck!

 

[missylynn]

If you can't trust the seller about them being bonded, then you can't trust the seller about which bird is supposedly which sex either. I'd get the seller to pay for both birds to be DNA sexed and, for now, house them in separate cages next to each other. You'll soon know if the two birds are bonded to each other. Do they perch next to each other, only separated by the cage bars? Do they mirror each other's behaviors? My two pet DYHA's quite like each other (I'm not using the word "bonded" to describe them just yet). They are just reaching sexual maturity now. I have the two of them in separate cages, next to each other. They mirror each other almost exactly. They even mirror each other about which toy they will play with, in which order, and I often find the identical toy destroyed in both cages at the same time. A "bonded pair" goes for a higher price than "two individual birds of the same species", so this seller owes you something.

Well, they did come with DNA paperwork, so I'm pretty confident in the genders. But thanks for the pointers on their actions, even when separate. I have been watching for sleeping locations (which are not always near the other and could be coincidence when they are near), but watching for the mimicking of playing and eating actions didn't occur to me while they are separate. They typically do their own thing. I've let them out of the cage together (she is not tame, so I just set the playstand near her cage and let her wander over there while setting the tame male there myself). They pretty much ignore the presence of the other one and then when they suddenly notice one another, start the lunging game or just fly apart. Not very encouraging... I have read in many places that caiques are very difficult to pair, and even bonded pairs can go at it pretty bad sometimes, so that is why I am having such a hard time deciding if they have any bonding to them or not. It's very easy to tell with my conure pairs that they are in love with their mates. Not so with these two... However, they do call to each other when I take Sammy to other parts of the house.

 

[antoinette]

OMG Your bird is toooooo beautiful
Such wonderful colouring and looks so healthy

 

[roxynoodle]

Not to confuse you even more, but my conure and amazon sometimes mirror each other, too, and they are definitely not bonded in any way. But, yes, one will hang upside down fluttering it's wings, and then so will the other, and other things like that. Yet, last time I let them interact, the conure attacked the amazon and scared him pretty bad.

 

[Remy]

Are you sure they're not just playing rough? Look up "caiques playing" on youtube, and see if this looks like what they're doing. They're known for playing crazy rough. Puck has drawn blood from me, just from playing, a lot of times. He has also drawn blood from me because he is a moody little monster. =P

Puck's previous owner had 2 caiques, but kept them in separate, neighboring cages. She felt safer with it that way.

Get ready for a crazy roller coaster! Sammy has the a little bit of the "crazy eye" look. I need to be very vigilant with Puck's body language, due to his "demon mode", which happens pretty randomly.

 

[Leadfoot]

When my female is getting ready lo lay an egg, her mate can be quite persistent. Sometimes more persistent than she likes, and she lets him know it with a healthy peck. (henpecked?) Often they will hang upside down in the cage and lunge at each other sereaming. But eventually they start a mating ritual which still looks like they are trying to kill each other! One will grab the other by the by the beak and shake the heads up and down (kissing?), and then the male will start with the "romantic foot". At this point I have to leave the room.

Ont the other hand, they almost always sleep together, and when not playing stand right up against each other on the top perch of the cage. Even when there were two top perches, they always chose the same one.