out of controll baby WB Caique parent-reared need help

[bethsWBCaiques]

I have been A White-bellied Caique breeder in Connecticut, for going on 17 years now , this June when the clutch was hatching A store owner approached me that I know and took 2 babies very young and hand raised them, I am not one to do this but my elderly mother had surgery and I needed to be there for her and I had no time to and raise young chicks! but I was left with 1 and decided to let the parents rear the baby ,my Crimson-belly conures are wonderful at this and there chicks are super sweet, I wish I had not done this I am so soar being bitten day by day from A small bird!! it screams at me acts like I am evil wow!! Like it was wild caught, I interacted with it from day one even offered hand-feeding witch it more or less refused.the little bugger is now eating on its own ,screaming for mommy and daddy!! I am baffled need help cant believe I am asking for advice I usually am giving it. any advice I will take it please help

 

[SilverSage]

First, I am a breeder but not of caiques, so you will have to take my advice with a. Grain of salt, but I am experienced with co parenting babies.

How old is the baby? You say he is eating on his own and screaming for mom and dad, are you sure he is fully weaned? Often times parent raised babies don't wean as fast as hand raised ones, and as you know, there are serval weeks when the baby is eating solid food but is not yet weaned. It could be that your baby is so terrified, angry, and hungry, and confused that there is no way he can pause to even think about being your friend.

Is he around other birds? If he is fully weaned, consider moving him to where he can interact with other same species tame birds, and follow their lead on how to interact with humans.

How often did you handle him, and what kind of interaction did you have? At what point did he start trying to bite you?

Look at his posture; is it fear biting or actual aggression? Is he being territorial? Is it just you or all people? Does he stay angry even when he is in a different room?

What are you doing to tame him? Is this your first parent raised baby? If he doesn't think he is tame, then he isn't, and you will need to start from step one as if he is a wild caught bird. Caiques are a unique species that is known for being a very bold and demanding species, it could be that co parenting this species is just not a good formula for a good pet (even though I am very pro-co parenting in general). We already know that there are pretty major differences psychologically between hand raised and parent raised birds on a sliding scale depending on raising fledging and weaning techniques, but I am not aware how they play out with caiques. One example is that a co parented IRN almost never bluffs.

In the end, if all else fails, you can ask yourself if the physical health and personality of his parents is something that you would like to pass on. If they are a great pair who produce great pets in great health, you can consider holding this bird back for breeding, putting him in a giant flight with a mate to live out his days happy and free of your attempts to love him. Now, I am NOT SAYING that any untrainable bird you have should just be added to your breeding program of course, that is irresponsible. But if this behavior is due to improper socialization with humans, but the bird knows how to interact with other birds, and if his bloodline is producing quality pets, it is a possibility. You might want to start looking for a hand feeder to assist you in your time of need; I'm so sorry to hear about the hard things your family is dealing with, best of luck to you all.

 

[Irishj9]

Are the parents hand tame? Surely the chick will learn how to beheave round you from its parents?

 

[SilverSage]

Tame parents wil not cause babies to be tame unless the baby is properly socialized. In fact, sometimes having tame parents can actually hinder the taming of co parented young, because nesting parents with no fear of humans can be much more violent than wild parents, and hinder interaction with humans.

 

[Irishj9]

Tame parents wil not cause babies to be tame unless the baby is properly socialized. In fact, sometimes having tame parents can actually hinder the taming of co parented young, because nesting parents with no fear of humans can be much more violent than wild parents, and hinder interaction with humans.

Ive heard that, and yet my experience is different. A parent raised hen introduced into my hand raised flock learned how to beheave around me from them, and is now so tame that she will not go to bed in her nestbox unless I carry her there.

Flock beheaviour is a powerful ally

 

[Irishj9]

because nesting parents with no fear of humans can be much more violent than wild parents, and hinder interaction with humans.

And nesting parents who have come to know and trust their caregiver, are less likely to go for the jugular than a wild bird IMHO

No they're not afraid of humans. Does that mean they want to attack? WHY?

 

[SilverSage]

A lot of this is species dependent as well as dependent on the individual. My GCC pair will rip me to shreds during nesting, but never under normal circumstances. My "wild" cockatiel hen will leave the box when I open it, yet the tamer one would rather try to eat me. Yet another , semi tame hen, will happily sit in the box and let me handle the chicks while she is there. I have had tame parents raise wild babies, and wild birds become tame almost as if "by magic" when introduced to tame birds (which is why I suggested that the bird in question be housed with tame birds), and so on and so forth. All I'm saying is that tame parents do not necessarily produce tame offspring. Also, if I bird wants to keep a human out of his nest, he may still get out of the way when that human invades, because he has fear of humans. Yet if that same bird is tame and wants to keep that same person out of the nest, he may be more likely to bite rather than flee.

 

[bethsWBCaiques]

2 1/2 months old in it's own cage eating on it's own ,daddy still wants to feed it

 

[bethsWBCaiques]

yes 1st parent raised chick never again , the parents are very tame climb all over me I have no were else to put him

 

[bethsWBCaiques]

when I received the father e was A 3 year old never interacted with human contact , when I opened the crate h bit my face bad . took to years of patience and once he was a daddy he actually changed now he is a honey feed babies from 1 day in anyones hand so will momma. I interacted with this baby 5 to 6 times A day this just started 2 weeks ago

 

[Flboy]

Howdy, I used to live just up the road from you! In Naugatuck.