Caiques As Pets
Caiques
Personality / Caiques as Pets:
These medium-sized parrots make captivating and loyal pets. There is little difference in personality between the two species, so which to choose is often decided by price and availability.
Pet owners love Caiques for their outgoing, fun, arobatic and lovable personality. The antics of a hand fed Caique are a constant source of amusement. They can be very trusting and can be taught to lay upside down in the palm of your hand. These outgoing energetic birds make great companions for households containing children. They do best when handled frequently by many different people and taken on a variety of regular "outings."
They are very playful, entertaining, and very active. These parrots are also sometimes referred to as "the Dancing Parrot" for their habit of hopping and dancing, especially when encouraged by rhythmic clapping. They are considered by many to be the class clown of the parrot world.
They are naturally curious and love to explore new objects - which could be a pen, a bottle cap or a new bird toy.
Caiques can also react with unexpected fear or anger to new situations, objects, or even habitual practices such as being put down or back into their cage.
Caiques may display territorial behavior, even toward people. Removing the Caique prior to cleaning the cage will result in fewer confrontations. To discourage beaking / biting, keep some toys handy andsubstitute the toy for your fingers. If the bird insists on chewing on you rather than a toy, some cage time may be appropriate.
Caiques can be noisy, so this may not be the best choice for apartment dwellers. They may develop the habit of screaming for attention. They may get noisy in the morning when they are waiting for food or when their favorite person leaves the room. However, a caique does not approach near the volume of larger parrots such as cockatoos and macaws; and they don't actually "scream" as much as whistle. With a little bit of training, this behavior can be controlled.
One way of gently disciplining your parrot would be to cover his or her cage for a few minutes immediately after excessive screaming, and only remove the cover after the parrot has quieted down. If you are consistent in this reaction, your pet will eventually figure out what the response will be if he screams -- and will be discouraged to do so in the future. This being said, it is completely natural for birds to make noises -- they communicate this way and it would really be counter productive to stop them from doing so. You can, however, teach him or her to talk. To call you, instead of yelling, and this will give your pet another way of communicating with you that is far more agreeable to your ears.
As Caiques are extremely intelligent, which presents the owners with the challenge of keeping them entertained and mentally stimulated. Next are some resources to help you with that ...
Training and Behavioral Guidance:
- Pet parrots generally present challenges, such as excessive chewing - especially at certain stages in their life. They do discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us" once they are out of the "baby stage" and they can generally be somewhat naughty, and it really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established. Undisciplined parrots will chew on electric wiring potentially causing house fires. They regard anything in your home as a "toy" that can be explored and chewed on; destroying items that you may hold dear or are simply valuable. Even a young bird that has not been neglected and abused requires proper guidance; this becomes even more challenging when it involves a rescued bird that may require rehabilitation.
- Web Resources: I put together web resources for you to help you understand your pet bird and properly direct him. Please visit this website for valuable tips on parrot behavior and training.
- If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend:
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
- Stop Biting
- Perform Tricks &
- Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
- and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course.
These websites will be helpful in setting up your parrot's space:
- Housing Your Caique
- Foraging
- The 3 Key Elements for Keeping Your Pet Bird Happy & Healthy
- Environmental Enrichment
- Housing Your Parrot
General Care and Feeding:
- General Info on Housing your bird / Fun & Safe Toys
- Purchasing or Adopting your Companion or Aviary Birds
- Breeders:
- Florida: .. Shady Pines Aviary, MAP-certified Breeder; Photos & Pricing & Availability
- Do you breed this species and would like to be listed? If so please e-mail for information. - Please note: A small annual listing fee for non-contributors to the Beauty of Birds applies. Listing is subject to maintaining high ethical breeding and business standards.
- NOTE: Aviculturists and breeders of Protected Species that take part in the preservation and conservation of critically endangered birds are encouraged to list their group information at no cost to them. Please e-mail me the information.
- Optimal nutrition to keep your bird healthy
- Caring for your companion bird
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with web visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the webmaster.
Photo contributions are welcome!
