Thread: New Caique Owner - Some Concerns.

Hi Everyone. Let me just preface this by saying I wanted to post this threat in the Caique Talk section but I am unable to access it (sounds like a technical issue that other posters are having) so I apologize if this is a little off topic and warn in advance that this is a long post (my specific questions are in the last paragraph).

My gf and I purchased a 4 month old black headed caique 3 days ago and have named him Pip. All in all he (not DNA sexed yet so might be a she) appears to be acclimating nicely to his new environment but I do have some concerns about his current disposition and want to see what experiences Caique owners out there think (we have a vet check up scheduled for the end of the week).

As some background, we got him from a pet shop that specializes in birds and located in New York (prior to selecting him we had done alot of research and were looking for either a quaker, GCC, Senegal or caique and we decided to pick whichever bird seemed to like us the most). I was told he was bred by the store owners and was weaned. All in all there were 3 caiques available at the store and we chose him out of the many birds at the pet store because he was relatively calm, was not screaming, was friendly, did not mind being held and petted, and was not biting (most of the birds at the pet store would run away when we tried to pick them up or bite, one baby quaker even drew blood). The other two caiques (7 months old) appeared more active and alert but the store told us they were very clingy to each other and we did not want to separate them. The overall environment in the store was chaotic, it was well trafficked and birds screaming loudly and mostly cramped together (which I didnt like). Many of the birds were in cages or pens but the Caiques were in 10 gallon fish tanks (not sure if they went somewhere else when the store was closed but I sure hope so) towards the front and it looked like they were constantly being petted or handled by people (not sure if this is a good or bad thing). Anyway, I just wanted to describe the environment that Pip spent first 4months of his life in. Also Pips wings are clipped but we plan to let them grow in.

When we first got him, we took him straight to his cage and let him adjust for about 3 hours. He fell asleep and when he woke up I opened the cage and let him explore his environment and fed him a little. That very day Pip toured the cage, ate and drank healthily, and settled on the top pirch to sleep. In the morning we were woken up at about 9am by his “flock call” and I promptly fed him some fresh squeezed orange juice, some apple bits and his pellets (which he loves). He particularly loved the Orange Juice. He spent the rest of the day climbing around his cage every now and then, but mostly just alternating between preening/resting on the top birch and coming down to eat and drink. He learned how to use a ladder which leads form the cage to the floor and seemed happy to go back and forth. I also showered him and dried him with a blow dryer which he seemed to enjoy. This morning he did not even wake us up with any calls but started chirping when I came out to say good morning and feed him.

All in all he appears to be adjusting well but I do have a few concerns:
1. My biggest concern that he does not seem to very active for a caique and he does not have much interest in any toys. I would not call him lethargic, because I have seen him hang from the cage upside down, hang from the perch by his beak, and make his way inside and outside the cage but overall he prefers to either be relaxing or eating. I saw a video of 5month old caiques running, hopping, and just going crazy rolling around on their backs and actively playing with their toys, but Pip is nothing like this and he does not like to be on his back. I guess my concern is that he does not seem to seem overly hyperactive and playful like I was expecting a caique to be. I have tried to get him to be interested in his toys but he just nibbles on some and is scared of others and otherwise just leaves them alone. Perhaps this is a factor of his age and his new surroundings (although when we got him at the store he was just as mellow)? On the positive side he is not noisy at all aside from some very low warbling when he is eating, drinking, or hungry and some chirps in the morning.
2. My second concern is that his feathers are always puffed out (except for when he is active or alert). Whenever he is perching or doing anything else that does not involve moving he looks relaxed and puffy. I was reading that excessive feather puffing is an unhealthy sign. The temperature in the house is about 70 degrees I think.
3. My third concern is that he is very clumsy and falls all the time and I hope this is not leading to any trauma? He has fallen from his cage numerous times when climbing either because he was tired, missed his grip or got scared. I think part of the issue is that he was kept in a tank at the pet store and has not developed sufficient muscles for climbing. I just hope that all the falling is not leading to any latent issues.
4. Lastly he does not appear to like to be handled. He gets a little nervous and skittish and tries to back away from approaching hands. I hope he is not traumatized from falling too much when in people’s hands at the pet store. I have partially taught him to step up however and I am able to lure him into my hands voluntarily when he sees food (he also lets me scratch and preen him), but never on his own. I guess I just want to do everything I can to make him want to enjoy being handled, hanging out and playing.

Thank you for taking the time to read this long post and any suggestions or advise would be greatly appreciated.

First off, congratulations on your new family member!

Younger caiques tend to not be as playful with their toys in general - but a major life change has occurred, therefore Pip is trying to sort out his new environment and family - toys are not priority at this time :)

I know our Caique puffs up when he's scared, so this could be another cause for it. But in your case, the scheduled vet check will help alleviate some of your health concerns.

Ahh, he might not of learnt how to climb properly if he was kept in a tank - do you know if he was EVER kept in a cage? Maybe keep a fleece blanket (nothing to get feet caught in) on the bottom for a week or two until he gets used to this whole "cage idea".

If he was in the same enclosure with others, and the store sounds very chaotic - he will need some TLC to allow him the joys and wonders of being held. Never force a Caique to do anything though - your trust must be earned. If you lose that trust, it can take days, weeks, or even months for it to return - they never forget.

There are plenty of threads on behaviour which you should peruse through.

Welcome to the forum!

Nobody can get into Caique Talk, just pretend it doesn't exist.

Pip - Great Expectations! One of my favorite books! Pip's a baby, baby and has to learning EVERYTHING - how to play with toys, how to climb, how to fly, what's good to eat, what scritches are, everything! You can teach him to play with his toys by playing with them yourself - he'll be interested in anything you have (always). He's going to be clumsy for awhile and, for his safety, you may want to put the perches a down low in the cage for now.

Give him a lot of variety for fresh foods and don't expect him to eat everything just yet, he has to learn what things are first. Food is part toy right now. Be careful with the acidic stuff (like oranges) and only give it sparingly (a couple time per week). A good food resource:

Caique Food Manual

On the upside, he's just a baby - just weaned and probably wasn't out on the pet store floor for very long. That means he hasn't been handled a lot by a bunch of strange people with dirty hands. However, he hasn't been handled a lot, which means you have to move slow, talk soft, make flirty eyes (long blinks, winks - it tells him you're not a threat), and expect this to take time.

Every caique has a different personality and you choose him because he was quieter. Enjoy while it lasts, he will get up to speed.

Thanks for the reply and reassuring words Cyreen and Grey, and glad you picked up the name reference Cyreen! Grey, I don't think he was ever kept in a cage, do you think its bad practise to keep them in a small tankl like that? This bird pet store has been around for 25 years and is supposed to be reputable so I was a little surprised by the conditions.

Right now his activity primarily consists of moving back and forth between the water and food on the lower perch and then back up to his top perch to preen, then 5 minutes later repeating the activity. I surrounded his cage with plants so he feels like he is in the rainforest but it looks like he is pretty scared of them (probably never saw one before). I am going for the vet checkup tomorrow morning and will report back (hopefully with a clean bill of health). Thanks again for the replies!

Hi and welcome to the forum. The others replied with great responses.

Your last question about the tank. Allot of breeders use the tank I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

Give him/her time and patience. From what you wrote, it's right on target.

Yep, its common to use the tanks but once they can balance, it's best to add something they can grab onto to work those muscles. That could be adding to the reason he is falling. That and Caiques are giant clutzes on their own! The tank is also a good bit of why he may be running from your hand. If you spent 8 hours in a glass box with no privacy and had people that didn't know any better grabbing and petting you all day, you would run away when you got the chance too. Like the others mentioned, don't force, don't rush. Let him decide he wants to be with you, it will make for a much stronger bond. As for Cyreen getting the name reference, she always gets the name references. Wait till you find the post on what the names of her caiques mean, it's awesome! Sounds like Pip is doing great. Just a little time and you will be sharing stories of him tearing through those toys so fast you won't believe there was a time he wouldn't play. Enjoy and welcome!

Annrose and 5minters, thank for your replies and clarifying about the tank!

So Pip went to the avian vet today and got a clean bill of health! A stool sample was taken and if anything is amiss he will let me know but he was pretty sure Pip was in great health. Overall, I was very impressed by how well behaved Pip was at the vet. I was cautioned to only feed Pip seeds as a treat only, and only one at a time as it is total junk food for birds. The doctor did comment that his wings were overclipped and reccomended I let them grow out, which I will definetly do. I also did not do any bloodwork on Pip as the doctor did not think it was necessary and I did not want to add any unessecery procedures, so it looks like we won't know Pip's gender until two years.

The next step is to go on a little shopping spree and get him a play gym as well as some better toys and pirches. As far as pirches, Pip currently sleeps on plastic tbranch imitation type perch which he really likes, but I will get him natural one to bite away at his hearts content, probably get a manzanita branch but would love to hear some suggestions. I was perusing some of the play gym threads on this forum and I was really awed by the ones at at wxoticwooddreams, so I am leaning toward a table top one at the moment. Again, any suggestions owuld be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for all the replies and kind words! Will post pictures soon.

Regards,
Michael

Yeah Pip...for a clean bill of health!

On the toys, Caiques LOVE foot toys. Little ones that they can pick up and tote around.
Since he's not used to toys, introduce them slowly as to not over whelm him.

Some of the freebies they love: toliet tissue roller, that has no glue on it. Boxes from the kitchen. Red Beans & rice size
is one of mines favorites. An Old Fashioned Oatmeal box (round one) that's a HUGE hit.
Thread spools the smaller ones. Paper tape from an adding machine. Can be hung all sorts of ways. Crumpled up magazine or newspaper. OH they love to shread. There's lots an lots more!

I might suggest going to my site and looking at sleep tents. At this age they still like to sleep on their tummies, and a sleep tent is perfect for that!

You can also...p/up toddler toys at the family dollar or walmart, for a fraction of the cost of some of the pet stores.

Happy shopping!

Good news! There's no hurry, he's still young, but I recommend starting to build a toy box - a collection of toys you can rotate around and out of his cage so he doesn't get bored. Once he does start playing and you figure out what he likes, how long they last and what things cost, you may also want to start building your own toys (parts are overall a little cheaper).

Coming from someone who owns a few (I have girls and this is their wardrobe), Annrose's tents are the best quality you're going to find. If he doesn't sleep in it, he will play in it - Joule loves playing peek-a-boo in her tent when I pass by.

Thanks Ann and Cyreen for the toy suggestions. I actually have a tent in his cage but he hasn't taken a liking to it, just prefers to perch. A little bit of bad news is that Pip's stool samples came back and it actually turns out he has a small yeast infection and he proscribed Nystatin in liquid form which I have to administer orally. Having a really hard time getting him to hold still so I can put the syringe in his mouth and seems to spit it all out. Anyone have a good method? THanks again for all the helpful posts and insights.