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#6
09-03-2009, 05:14 PM
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Donut is a female caique....you don't see them very often, but they are wonderful pets, especially if you already know what to expect with tropical birds and the emotional baggage they sometimes bring along with them. You know, in the wild, these creatures spend all day socializing with each other, and constantly foraging for food. We take them from the forest and put them in a cage by themselves, sitting on a stick, and wonder why they sometimes have behavioral problems. The key to a happy bird, in my opinion, is to keep them mentally stimulated....that means playtime, interesting and challenging toys, great food supplemented with fresh fruits and vegetables, and a central place in the household...after all, when you brought the bird home, she left her old "flock" and became a part of yours. As social creatures, this one thing is very important....
Now (stepping off of soapbox)........the answer to your first question..... Birds are naturally wary of their surroundings, and Donut is no different. When strangers come around, she becomes very quiet and tense, and it's not a good time to try and interact with her without a few Band Aids in the immediate area. Trust is eventually gained through time and familiarity, and it's one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for scenarios....once she is your friend, SHE will tell you when playtime is over. She will get on your head and "surf" in your hair, nip your nose, steal your glasses/earrings/cranium accessories, pull threads out of your shirt, "kiss" you repeatedly (yes, on the lips), and other such fun things. Think of it like having a three year old child (that is the level of intelligence parrots are though to have), with a bolt cutter on it's face. What could go wrong? LOL. Caiques have very small voices and are not known as good talkers, but they have a very even disposition and don't mind spending some time alone. This was one of the things you have to consider when buying a bird. Cockatoos, African Greys, Amazons....they are all better talkers, but if they don't have adequate mental stimulation they become self-destructive psychotics - pulling out their feathers, shrieking for hours on end, etc.. Not to say they can't be amazing and wonderful pets, but you HAVE to be able to give them the time they need. A caique was best for my situation and she is thriving here,so we are both happy. One day, when I retire for good, I want to have some big birds, especially a Hyacinth Macaw, but they can live to be 100 years old, so there's another decision to make. Anyway, Donut does do tricks - poo-poos on command, flies to my finger on command, does somersaults on her perch (as long as you keep applauding, she will keep doing them. For HOURS, even). She can figure out how to open any birdcage within fifteen minutes. She also whistles tunes. On the day I picked her up at the airport, she was in a little carrier and had just barely been weaned off of formula (I actually wound up feeding her baby food for about a month). On the way home I whistled that little two note "YooooHooo" llike Olive Oyl used to call to Popeye, and to my surprise she sang it back to me almost immediately, and still does it to this day if she can't see me in the house and wants to know where I am. Let's see, what else....she does a mean wolf whistle, a dog whistle, the first few bars of the Andy Griffith theme song, and a spooky ghost sound she makes at Halloween and when she wants to scare the dog. If you are interested in a pet bird, I can't think of a much better choice than a Caique. DD 
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#7
09-03-2009, 05:50 PM
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I hope Megan reads your reply soon. What a wealth of information. She sounds like a wonderful pet to have and I love that she whistles tunes for you. Im sure getting them as a baby helps with the training and getting them accustomed to their new homes.
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#10
09-15-2009, 05:36 AM
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DD, informative story. Another possible revision and the crew might consider stickying it. BTW biting is why I kept parakeets, Cocatiels and an wonderful animal the BeBe Parrot. I didn't want severed body parts. From your knowledge, do birds sometimes and rarely bite for no apparent reason? I've been nipped in the middle of cuddling. It was a female BeBe parrot. But it's happened occasionally with all of my birds.
RH
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