New to caiques need some advice

[Nachospoppi]

Hey guys im new to caiques and my sister gave me a 3 yr old female white bellied Caique and i dont know anything about them. She gave me all the stuff needed to keep her happy but i guess my only concern would be that he changed life styles and i wanna bring him in the best way. I dont want to confuse her or spook her. Can anyone give me any info on these and what they like?
So these are some of the things i noticed so far since we brought her home. She likes music, she likes to whistle and dance on her perch. She doesnt seem to like mybwife much lol, she has attacked her a few times. But with me she will sit all day with me. But what i dont like is she wont let me leave the room as soon as i get up to go do something she takes off and chases me and lands on my shoulder lol. Why is this? Also she will sit on her cage and just tweet for no reason is this normal? Hey guys i apreciate any advice i can get in advance.. I really like this bird she is alot of fun and may even look into getting more birds in the future

 

[wrench13]

You have a lot of reading to do my friend. Go the section on general info and the one on caiques. They are fun parrots, but settle down with one before thinking about more. Caiquies in particular dont generally take to second or tird parrots. Be lieve me this one will keep you hopping for awhile. Whats his name?

 

[mrs.pants]

Definitely scour the web for articles and watch videos about them!

This is our first Caique as well, but we've been interested in them for a while. What I can say is that they love company! Once i literally went out of view for .000001 second and Nanners leaped off the couch and came dashing after me. You go around a corner and he'll give a contact call lol. He can be independent sometimes, and there's plenty of times where he just likes to be around us, not necessarily interacting with us.

I saw them described as cats once and I think it's pretty accurate. Sometimes they don't want to be touched or fussed with, but they want you around. Def not a cuddly parrot (though you shouldn't cuddle them anyway for hormonal reasons).

Stuff I've learned having my own is that yes, they are extremely vocal. They aren't loud exactly? Not like a cockatoo or anything, but they will scream, whistle, chirp, copy sounds etc. and seem to just enjoy making noises.

One thing I've read consistently and also experienced is that they are playfully aggressive. They are extremely beaky birds and use their beaks for anything and play very very rough. You can use redirecting as in giving them a toy when they get too bitey, but we generally put ours away when he gets too aggressive or rough. Followed by the annihilation of his toys lol. They do like to hop and roll over to play.

They have a lot of energy, like a German Shepherd or a Corgi (I'm a dog person lol, so I use them as points of reference a lot ), and the same extreme intelligence so its a good idea to keep them stimulated with new toys, varied toys (lots of shreddy toys), and training. They can also be extremely stubborn and I have certainly been "told off" when I didn't let my boy get into trouble lol. But I have Shepherds, so I'm used to an animal trying to get away with everything

I don't have experience in this but everything I've read has suggested they are very bird aggressive if not raised with them, so if you do get a second bird there's a chance they will never become friends and you will have to keep them separated.

This has just been my experience and also stuff I've read before getting one but def do your own research! Your bird will have her own personality and quirks :3 They are great little birds if you like a good challenge! And I personally do lol.

 

[Nachospoppi]

You have a lot of reading to do my friend. Go the section on general info and the one on caiques. They are fun parrots, but settle down with one before thinking about more. Caiquies in particular dont generally take to second or tird parrots. Be lieve me this one will keep you hopping for awhile. Whats his name?

Her name is nacho. She is 3 yrs old my sister got her as a baby and always spent time with her but now she is to busy so i took her because every time i would go to her house she would always show me attention and thoufht it would be a fun bird.

 

[Nachospoppi]

Definitely scour the web for articles and watch videos about them!

This is our first Caique as well, but we've been interested in them for a while. What I can say is that they love company! Once i literally went out of view for .000001 second and Nanners leaped off the couch and came dashing after me. You go around a corner and he'll give a contact call lol. He can be independent sometimes, and there's plenty of times where he just likes to be around us, not necessarily interacting with us.

I saw them described as cats once and I think it's pretty accurate. Sometimes they don't want to be touched or fussed with, but they want you around. Def not a cuddly parrot (though you shouldn't cuddle them anyway for hormonal reasons).

Stuff I've learned having my own is that yes, they are extremely vocal. They aren't loud exactly? Not like a cockatoo or anything, but they will scream, whistle, chirp, copy sounds etc. and seem to just enjoy making noises.

One thing I've read consistently and also experienced is that they are playfully aggressive. They are extremely beaky birds and use their beaks for anything and play very very rough. You can use redirecting as in giving them a toy when they get too bitey, but we generally put ours away when he gets too aggressive or rough. Followed by the annihilation of his toys lol. They do like to hop and roll over to play.

They have a lot of energy, like a German Shepherd or a Corgi (I'm a dog person lol, so I use them as points of reference a lot ), and the same extreme intelligence so its a good idea to keep them stimulated with new toys, varied toys (lots of shreddy toys), and training. They can also be extremely stubborn and I have certainly been "told off" when I didn't let my boy get into trouble lol. But I have Shepherds, so I'm used to an animal trying to get away with everything

I don't have experience in this but everything I've read has suggested they are very bird aggressive if not raised with them, so if you do get a second bird there's a chance they will never become friends and you will have to keep them separated.

This has just been my experience and also stuff I've read before getting one but def do your own research! Your bird will have her own personality and quirks :3 They are great little birds if you like a good challenge! And I personally do lol.

Wow thanks for taking the time to write all that.. Its nice to see i got some help.
So today i got time to spend with her abd she is very cuddly. Wife and i were watching tv and had all the lights off and she just came and laid right on my shoulder against my face and fell asleep..
If i did get another bird i would get anotger cage. My wife has a hard tine with her. Shes been getting atttacked by her alot but she is getting better. She likes to get in my wifes hair and face and bite. Any advice for this?
I will try to post pics of her

[ame="https://youtu.be/Ii6hjpKmDf4"]White bellied Caique 3 yrs old - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="https://youtu.be/MT3wBuZAUMk"]Nacho dancing with mom - YouTube[/ame]

 

[EllenD]

It's not uncommon for a parrot to bond with only one person in it's "Flock", and it seems that Nacho has chosen you to be "her person"...The fact that she knew you and spent time with you prior to moving into your home may or may not have something to with it. There's really usually no rhyme or reason as to why they choose the person they do to bond closely with, they are extremely intelligent and they know why they choose who they choose, lol...And Nacho has chosen you...

The reason that Nacho flies to you whenever you leave the room is because once again, he's chosen you to be "his person", so he is always going to want to be with you when you are home...You have to keep in-mind that birds are "Flock Animals", and with pet birds the people whom they live with are their "Flocks". Think about the wild birds you see outside, how often do you see wild birds traveling by themselves? Not often. They are usually with their Flocks, and when they are alone their Flocks are not far away at all. So when you walk out of the room and out of Nacho's sight, he follows you because he wants to be with you. And that's how it's going to be from now on, whenever you're home Nacho is going to want to be with you. As already mentioned he won't necessarily always have to on you or attached to you, or directly interacting with you, but he will want to be able to see you whenever he knows that you're at home.

***A lot of new parrot owners come here asking why their new bird is screaming all of the time, and usually the answer is because they have their cage located in a spare bedroom or a back room away from the 'main room" of their home, or the room where they spend most of their time whenever they're home. Usually this is the living room, family room, TV room, etc. So their birds know that they're at home, they can hear them and sense that they are there, but they can't see them, they are away from their Flock and their person, and so they continually scream for them. It's not because they always have to be directly interacting with them, but simply locating their cages in the "main-room" of their house so that their bird can be 'among their Flock" and with their person while they are at home will keep the bird happy, content, feeling safe and secure, and they are much more likely to happily entertain themselves inside of their cages or on a playstand with their toys this way. So if you spend most of your time in your living room when you're home watching TV, playing video games, reading, eating meals, talking,, on the computer, etc., then just having your bird's cage in that room will allow him to feel safe, secure, and content, and she will be much more apt to entertain herself and give you a little break...Of course they would typically rather be attached to you, but not always. They just want to be "among their Flock"...

 

[Nachospoppi]

It's not uncommon for a parrot to bond with only one person in it's "Flock", and it seems that Nacho has chosen you to be "her person"...The fact that she knew you and spent time with you prior to moving into your home may or may not have something to with it. There's really usually no rhyme or reason as to why they choose the person they do to bond closely with, they are extremely intelligent and they know why they choose who they choose, lol...And Nacho has chosen you...

The reason that Nacho flies to you whenever you leave the room is because once again, he's chosen you to be "his person", so he is always going to want to be with you when you are home...You have to keep in-mind that birds are "Flock Animals", and with pet birds the people whom they live with are their "Flocks". Think about the wild birds you see outside, how often do you see wild birds traveling by themselves? Not often. They are usually with their Flocks, and when they are alone their Flocks are not far away at all. So when you walk out of the room and out of Nacho's sight, he follows you because he wants to be with you. And that's how it's going to be from now on, whenever you're home Nacho is going to want to be with you. As already mentioned he won't necessarily always have to on you or attached to you, or directly interacting with you, but he will want to be able to see you whenever he knows that you're at home.

***A lot of new parrot owners come here asking why their new bird is screaming all of the time, and usually the answer is because they have their cage located in a spare bedroom or a back room away from the 'main room" of their home, or the room where they spend most of their time whenever they're home. Usually this is the living room, family room, TV room, etc. So their birds know that they're at home, they can hear them and sense that they are there, but they can't see them, they are away from their Flock and their person, and so they continually scream for them. It's not because they always have to be directly interacting with them, but simply locating their cages in the "main-room" of their house so that their bird can be 'among their Flock" and with their person while they are at home will keep the bird happy, content, feeling safe and secure, and they are much more likely to happily entertain themselves inside of their cages or on a playstand with their toys this way. So if you spend most of your time in your living room when you're home watching TV, playing video games, reading, eating meals, talking,, on the computer, etc., then just having your bird's cage in that room will allow him to feel safe, secure, and content, and she will be much more apt to entertain herself and give you a little break...Of course they would typically rather be attached to you, but not always. They just want to be "among their Flock"...

Wow again thanks I can't say how much help I have gotten on this site already I like coming on here and looking for information. I have my bird cage in my living room where I spend most of my time and when I'm home I usually open the cage and let the bird out but sometimes she gets a little attached and just wants to sit on me and doesn't want to move she just wants to sit there with me which is okay but sometimes I have company and I tend to move around a little bit and the bird is all over the place because she is trying to stay with me lol I think it is cute though I enjoy having her she's a good bird and she was well-trained from my sister because she tends to go do her potty in one area You Don't See Much potty anywhere in the house other than maybe a drop on the floor here and there may be but we try to monitor her while she is out I think you are right she chose me to be hers and that's okay it just hurts me to see that my wife wants to be attached to her but can't get close to her she is getting better though last night we spent some time trying to get her close to my wife and it worked okay she just had to have her hoody and the bird would sit there and not try to attack her but as soon as she makes eye contact with her she wants to be in her face

 

[mrs.pants]

something you could try with your wife is f8nding your caique really likes (they tend to love grapes, mine loves raisins!) and have your wife try and feed her through the bars or while shes perched on you. whenever our boi is scared of someone we have them do that and it helps build trust. we lucked out that ours favors me and mr. pants equally but most times yeah they pick 1 person and the other is tolerated. ive heard that can switch later for equally unknown reasons lol. your birb is still new to this new situation so things could change.

 

[Nachospoppi]

They are starting to get along fine now. I think she just had to get used to her. we tried giving her treats and I think that helped. They are starting to get a good connection now so I don't have to worry about the bird being out without me being home now LOL
yesterday we were watching her trying to get to the top of the cage but there was something in the way and I got up to move it and she looked at me and said thank you. It was in a whistle but you could tell what she was saying I was amazed these little birds are awesome

 

[Flboy]

something you could try with your wife is f8nding your caique really likes (they tend to love grapes, mine loves raisins!) and have your wife try and feed her through the bars or while shes perched on you. whenever our boi is scared of someone we have them do that and it helps build trust. we lucked out that ours favors me and mr. pants equally but most times yeah they pick 1 person and the other is tolerated. ive heard that can switch later for equally unknown reasons lol. your birb is still new to this new situation so things could change.

Iron is an unwelcomed nutrient in quantity for a parrot! Raisins are very high in iron!
https://www.petmd.com/bird/conditions/digestive/c_bd_Iron_Storage_Disease

 

[mrs.pants]

oops i definitely should have specified these are treats!

some of the foods listed in that link are recommended for caiques tho. we personally switch out different fruits every day for variety reason. everything in moderation!

 

[Nachospoppi]

Mr pants looks like my nacho

 

[EllenD]

Yes, watch the Iron-rich foods, as birds cannot handle much Iron at all, and Iron Storage Syndrome is typically fatal once they have it...

Also, as far as fresh fruit goes, you should avoid any and all Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, and also Tomatoes, or anything else that is very high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C enhances the body's absorption of Iron, and this is often the reason birds develop Iron Storage Syndrome, because they are fed oranges or tomatoes all the time, or they are given orange juice every day...Once in a while is fine, but max maybe 1-2 small portions a week and that's it.

 

[rita1]

these birds will keep you entertained lots of energy, i got two caique so they will keep each other company when i am not there, they do call for me when i leave the room but settle down really quick, as they have each other. hope you have many years of fun with them. my hubby built them an avairy for the summer days, so they can enjoy the sunshine, when it comes out.