Killer Caique

[Alan]

Yup you read that right. You have heard of Killer Clowns from outter space. Well let me introduce you to the killer caique from h***. Reggie has been hormonal for about a month now, and i guess we are in the worst of it now. Last night she decided that daddies finger would taste better than her food. I was working on bird cages and had the door on her cage open. usually she will come out on the door for me to pick her up. Well she was "making friends" with everything in her cage including the cage yesterday but I thought nothing of it. In a house as full as mine that's nothing new. So anyway, I am working on the cage and well she came out of the cage really fast, which I thought was odd. Then she turns into Satan himself. So after she latched on to the food scoop I put her and the scoop in the cage and start shutting the door. Well before I could get the door shut she nailed me really really really good. Well needless to say right now she is staying in the cage and can make friends with everything in it for a while.

[sweetpeaches]

Oh geezz..that must of hurt! How old is Reggie? I am so not looking forward to Bailey's sexual maturity. He'll be 2 in three more months.

[Alan]

I am not sure of her exact age. I was told around 6. Hormones can start at anytime. It all depends on the bird

[LeRoy's owner]

Don't want to scare you susan but it isn't pretty. Just be prepared and you will be ok. If I can get through it then anyone can. Of course I had a lot of help from alan which I really appreciated. thanks alan. I got lucky, Leroys lasted about six weeks and my husband took over his care during that time.

[LeRoy's owner]

Yup you read that right. You have heard of Killer Clowns from outter space. Well let me introduce you to the killer caique from h***. Reggie has been hormonal for about a month now, and i guess we are in the worst of it now. Last night she decided that daddies finger would taste better than her food. I was working on bird cages and had the door on her cage open. usually she will come out on the door for me to pick her up. Well she was "making friends" with everything in her cage including the cage yesterday but I thought nothing of it. In a house as full as mine that's nothing new. So anyway, I am working on the cage and well she came out of the cage really fast, which I thought was odd. Then she turns into Satan himself. So after she latched on to the food scoop I put her and the scoop in the cage and start shutting the door. Well before I could get the door shut she nailed me really really really good. Well needless to say right now she is staying in the cage and can make friends with everything in it for a while.


Sorry Reggie got you so bad Alan. I know, maybe you should get her a boyfriend to help ease her tension. LOL

[Nailhole]

Sorry to hear that Alan,
hopefully that will go away soon at least faster
than the normal mating season.

Uriel.

[Nokomis]

Ummm.... guys?

This is a female thing, right??????? :?

Nokomis is dna'd male- and around 4 yrs old. Is this something I have to look forward to? Neither of my other birds are hormonal, even though one lays eggs.

I will say- he's been a bit grumpy (not bad) the last couple of days.

[Jinta]

Sorry to hear Alan, hope 'the satan in her' will not last that long!
Good luck!

[sweetpeaches]

Jeni,
The hormone thing is both sexes, however, I know of other owners whose caiques have not displayed those behaviors through their hormonal stage, so it sounds like an individual caique thing. If also read it's most noticeable between 2-3 years of age. So it's just best for someone like me to be prepared either way.

[BareFootAviary]

My male went through this but with a wing clip, he was back to normal and now has full flights and is still a sweetie.

My females on the other hand are different. Peregrine is 10 and she is a devil bird. Mango is 6 and she is moody depending on the time of day. Zorro is 8 and she goes through seasonal hormonal changes, like right now she is on eggs so she is moody while in the cage, but when she comes out she is sweet as pie.

I don't want to be the devil's advocate or anything (or the bearer of bad news) but all 3 of my females were rehomes, the first 2 due to behavioral issues. Every behavioral issue I have seen with Caiques (so far in my personal experiences) has been with hormonal females and they end up being rehomed. Both of the girls with behavioral issues had to do with not liking someone in the house. Peregrine turned on her owner of 10 years and Mango turned on all men.

It's sad, but knowing what can happen ahead of time will hopefully prepare everyone so they can deal with these issues and work around them or with them, so they can still be happy and stay in their original home.

[Alan]

As has been said I will assume it depends on the bird. each bird is different. Reggie was a rehome and didn't really have no problems till this started. I wanted people to be aware of some of the things that these little heathens can do because you never know what ya got till it happens. Her first phase of hormones was finea nd I guess now we are coming to the end of them and this is what she is going to be doing ARGH!

[slic102]

Sadly I think my Pogo is an early bloomer. He won't be 1 until next month, but he's already been getting his groove on with a ball in his cage and with hubby's hand. He is also quite the little biter right now and gets rougher than usual.

[Alan]

We all have to remember that people who tell ya when these babies come in to their hormones thats the ones that they have looked at. The timing of when it happens depends on several factors in the enviroment. Connie's little leroy was an early bloomer as well. ;)


Sadly I think my Pogo is an early bloomer. He won't be 1 until next month, but he's already been getting his groove on with a ball in his cage and with hubby's hand. He is also quite the little biter right now and gets rougher than usual.

[jinx1764]

Royal will be 7 this year and while she's had some periods of hormonal she's never gotten that bad and is nearly always sweet with both of us, fortunately. Bebe is the devil bird in this house.!