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My 5 month old caique is so cuddly and sweet but I am worried about allowing some behavior now that may lead to problems later. I have read that caique owners need to be very firm with their fid. I really don't understand in what way I need to be firm so I want to know if it is okay to allow Yankee to use his beak around my face. He loves to snuggle by my chin and he rubs his beak across my cheek and lips in an affectionate, exploratory type manner. Yankee is not the least bit nippy or agressive when he does this and I enjoy it but will it possibly lead to problems later?

I am wondering what behavior to monitor now so that it does not become a problem as my caique gets older. Yankee is just so wonderful now that I hope that he doesn't change much as he matures.

Please share any experienes that you have had that will be a better parront.

Thanks, athy

PS What's the best method of removing seed from under omputer keys? I bet you an't guess whih key is not working.

The letter c????? LOL silly caiques. Anyway with your question, I know a lot of people have had problems with theirs biting occassionally, but mine is 3 years old and hasn't. He also rubs his beak across my face. I personally could be wrong, (and I am sure someone will tell me I am) but I think it has to do with how much time you spend playing with them. Everyone talks about out of cage time but how much of that is with you and not a play gym or etc?? Spyro gets about 2 hrs playing with me, on me and at least another 2 on his play gym or ceiling boing. Anyway I hope this helps and sorry to anyone who I may have offended. Have a good evening

Thank you, I am so glad that you replied. Yankee comes out in the morning for a short time before and while I am getting ready for school. Sometimes I get home about 4:30 but often it is closer to 6:00. As soon as I walk in the door he starts calling for me. I have to take my dogs out and then it is his time. He spends a couple of hours out of his cage and most of that time, he is on me. Yankee loves to just sit and nibble on me and it is very heart warming. He isn't very interested in his play area, yet. I really hope that is affectionate nature lasts into adulthood.

when I got Lola @ 3 months old.. she was barely beaky! It was GREAT!! As she got older she got beakier as expected. But there are times when she get over beaky and plays WAY rough. My hands have gotten used to it, but some people havent. It's funny, she'll go over to my grandma and be soooo gently... only beak her a little. then she'll run to my mom and attack the hell out of her...but just messing around. It's funny to see how different she is with other people.

Cathy, it took Lola about 5 months to get used to her playgym. I think it was just too big and for her being so young she couldnt handle it. But I was so glad that she got to love it b/c it's nice to have her out for hours and I can get stuff done. I cant get anything done with her on me b/c she's into everything!! lol... So that playgym that is near a sliding glass door is VERY helpful entertainment!!!! ha ha.. Like a kid in front of a TV!

Wow, Daisy is almost five months old already! Like you, Cathy, I an hoping she doesn't end up biting the heck out of me. We have a senegal who used to like both my hubby and me, but has now totally bonded with my husband. Daisy is MINE and I sSooooooooooo hope she stays as sweet as she is. I know caiques don't bond as strongly, so hopefully that will prevent serious biting. I do know some birds just bite. She plays a bit 'beaky' but that's ok with me. Beaky and BITING are really different.

As to your "C" key. You can pop the key or keys right off your keyboard and then push them down back in place. A wide screw driver will help lift them off. You can use your vacuum hose then.

Have fun!

Dweezel can get really rough when he plays and we just say "ouch, that hurt, play nice!" and he usually relaxes a little and is less beaky. Dweezel also gets out of cage time that usually exceeds 4 hours a day. Most of the time he is flying around the front rooms but occasionally he will choose to sit with me and rub on my hands or chew on my clothes. Unfortunately, since puberty has started to set in BIG TIME, he does not like my boyfriend anymore (who used to be his favorite person). Now he is my bird (which is nice since he was my birthday present). Anytime my boyfriend walks by the aviary, Dweezel will attack the side of the aviary. I have tried to get my boyfriend to take Dweezel somewhere on a car ride with him, since I know this will strengthen their bond and help curb the attacking at home but my boyfriend has decided that Dweezel does not get a second chance with him, which is completely heartbreaking to me. If your caique decides that during puberty, he/she does not like a certain person, please make sure that person does not give up on that bond! It makes me cry to think that a great parrot/human bond has gone to nothing within such a short time!

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. How old was Dweezel when puberty began?

Well, he was 1 year when we got him and he started acting a little crazy about a year and a half after that so about 2 1/2 years old it started. He would just be fine one minute and then his eyes would pin and he would make a certain sound and fluff up his head feathers. Then he would bite if you got near him. Thankfully all of my birds are stick trained so I just grab a stick, get him to step up on it and put him back in the cage where he can take his aggression out on his toys. He has only gone after me once while in this "crazy mode" as we call it. He normally attacks my boyfriend. I can hold him and cuddle with him but when my boyfriend comes around his eyes pin and he makes that certain sound, kind of like a growl but it sounds more playful.

Can someone else with an older caique comment on brimonster's comment regarding agression. My boyfriend and I are considering purchasing/rescuing a caique from an unfavourable housing condition but we want to make sure that we can provide for the bird for forever. We want to know what were getting into. The bird was origianally fantastic and is still only 10 months old. Do all caiques express this agreesion once they reach puberty?

2K I have had my Caique Spyro for a little over 3 years now. He is 3.5 years old. I personnally spend quite a bit of time with my bird. He has never bitten me. He is nice enough that any stranger or my 6 year old daughter can handle him. As far as rescuing one that is 10 mths old..... I just rescued 2 one is 9mths and the other is 7mths. If you have prior bird experience I would say go for it. Happy HOlidays

Thanks so much for your story. We don't have extensive bird expereince, but we've been spending quite a bit of time handling the bird in the pet shop. I've been bitten by a couple of smaller Maccaws! I think after that I can take on anything! I've been doing loads of research and think that I can handle it, I just like to be more sure! I'd also like to be fully aware of what to expect. Thanks for your vote of confidence thought!

Once we meet the bird, I think we'll probably go for it. We'll just do our best with a balanced diet, socialization and routine training. I'll keep everyone posted and I'm sure I'll have thousands of questions!

Not a problem. If you need anything else let us know!!!

I had spent a lot of time in a wonderful store that has many different types of birds and takes extremely good care of them. They also handfeed babies occasionally. I never found one that I wanted forever, except a green cheek conure. Then, I started reading about caiques and I was really intrigued.

I got Yankee, my bh caique, the first of October and I am absolutely sold on him. He is absolutedly wonderful! He eats everything, continually. He loves to play by himself or with me. He sings when I vacuum. He tolerates my husband, who is wary of all birds since my 'p'let routinely has attacked him for the last 3 years. He loves to ride in the car, especially if he can be out of his travel cage. He was very socialable with 10 different family members in Ohio at Christmas. And I intend on taking him to school after the holidays. (I teach social studies in a middle school and we are studying South America.)

Yankee does require a large cage as he is very active and likes a lot of different toys, especially his rings. He has a short attention span, so he needs lots of toys as I am gone about 9 hours a day. He also loves to untie knots. I wouldn't trade him for ANY other bird.

The only drawback, is that he is agressive toward my p'let and 2 lovebirds and I have to make separate playtime for them. He would be happier if I had a one-bird family unless maybe he had a mate, which is never going to happen.