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Ok, so many of you probably know of my search for a first bird. I'd like to say I'm partially experienced having been to soooo many bird stores in the past two years. I think i've narrowed my choices to a poicephalus parrot or a caique. i've heard two caiques are better than one, less likely to scream for attention, enetertain themselves during the day. So what is your take?If I were to get a caique then decide in a year i want another, would they be likely to get along?

and what about noise level? People in books say they are quiet but what I've learned at certain stores they seem to be louder, and others quieter.

I've never lived with a caique but, from my avian experience, I believe most parrots are happiest in pairs -- non-breeding pairs, I add hastily. If you decide to get 2, it's essential that you get two who are not related if not known to be same sex via DNA sexing. No guesses on this! And essential that you quarantine them separately so each has time to bond with you before you introduce them to each other.

Paca

Thanks paca, but this breeder i know says she can socialize two siblings young so they get used to each other and can live in the same cage, but i think i would get two just in case.

Easy to get sibs to live together in a single cage, but they'd probably have no use for you. That's not what you want!

Even being socialized at a young age, they should ALWAYS have their own cages. They can be 'out' together when supervised, but it's STRONGLY suggested they not 'live' together in the same cage. They'll go in and out of each others cages and they might want to sleep side by side, but caiques shouldn't be housed in the same cage when no one is home or they're left during any amount of time.
andrea

last month "birdtalk" magazine headline article was on keeping 2 caiques.
you might want to check that out. i only own one caique and he occupies himself quite well! and i work all day! just have to make sure they have fun toys to keep them busy. as far as noise goes....well he is only a little sqwaky in the mornings when he first wakes up. but through the day he's pretty quiet. he mostly jibber-jabbers. it's really cute. another good way to see their behavior is to check out videos on the internet on caiques or poicephalus parrots. if i were to get another parrot it would definetly be a caique...they are the funniest birds...i love em!

I have had a male caique for 16 months. He is wonderful and is only noisy when he wants attention and then he can call very loudly, but i have taught him to whistle for me instead.

I woudn't want another caique, because there is just no guarantee that when they reach maturity, they will get along. They may relate well as babies, but what about the next 25 years. Also, you can pretty much count on a lot more noise if you have more than one.

Yankee just needs too much time and I don't know what would happen if I had two and that's my 2 cents worth!

Well, this is a little different,but I have a 6 yr old BH Caique and recently got a baby WB caique...she is now 11 months old. I can let them see each other, but thats about it. The BH gets crazy when he sees the WB and would probably hurt her if I put them together. Its a longer story, but I won't go into it here I dont' expect them to ever play together.

We have two and they are definitly happier for the company. Sparky is an almost 4 year old male WBC and Mika is an almost 2 year old female WBC. They are flighted and have the run of the house. We did have separate cages for them when they were spending time locked up but since we almost never close the door on them, they have one gigantic cage now. They even share a travel cage on long trips without problem. I would not assume this will be the case even with siblings and we do still have fights from time to time. I would not lock them up together if we weren't around. They definitly need their space even if they get along very well. Since ours have the run of the house they can get enough distance if they don't want to be together and we haven't had any problems leaving them alone.

I will say having two is more than twice the work of having one and more than twice the mess and at least twice the vet bills. But they have a great time playing together and both love us as well as each other. Their personalities are very different: Sparky is a cuddler and just wants loved and babied by everyone all the time; Mika is very independant but likes to be near us just not necessarily cuddled.

Good luck in your birdy search, let us know what you decide. Adding one then two caiques to our lives has been great fun!

sandy wrote:We have two and they are definitly happier for the company. Sparky is an almost 4 year old male WBC and Mika is an almost 2 year old female WBC.

A two-year age gap -- did you get them at the same time? Did you get Sparky first, get him used to you and so on, before getting Mika? How does all that stuff "work"? I get the vague impression that caiques are less prone than many birds to bonding to another bird to the exclusion of human company, but...?

Yup, there is a two year gap. We got Sparky first, when he was about 8 months old. Just before he turned two, we put a deposit down on Mika but she didn't come home until June that year, when she was fully weaned at about 3 months old. So Sparky was pretty firmly bonded to us before we introduced Mika and we all got to know her, and she us, at the same time. Ordinarily you should quarentine but Sparky was an only bird with no health issues and we had been back and forth visiting Mika so many times that whatever she might bring he'd already been exposed to, so we didn't wait. Also, the breeder had no current problems and no history of problems.

I think it worked so well because Sparky really wanted company and Mika has always had company, so didn't really know how to be on her own. Sparky had been trying to preen pictures and statues of birds and even his own reflection for months and he has a very sweet personality. Mika was housed with her 3 sisters at a busy breeder until we took her home, so she was very used to other birds both to play with and just around. We had planned to cage them separately and let them get used to each other slowly and see how it went. If they didn't get along at least they could keep each other company across the room while we were at work. We had a choice between two out of a clutch of four birds when we got Mika, and we deliberately picked one of the less dominant members of the clutch. As it turned out, the first night Mika was so terrifed of being alone and Sparky such a gentleman he invited her into his cage at bed time and showed her how and where to tuck in under his fleece blankets. So they have snuggled up to sleep together from the first night she was here. Durring the day, they were in separate cages, but both came out once we got home. We had to play referee for a while until Sparky learned how to play with another bird and Mika learned she needed to be a bit gentle with him. She was also working on growing out her baby clip and just generally getting more coordination. Sparky was also going through his terrible twos and would try to attack her when he was throwing a tantrum. We would protect her, and I think that and the fact that we are the source for all good treats put us in good standing with her.

Sorry for going on so long but the upshot is with the right birds and a lot of patience it can work out really well. Now we just have to see how Mika deals with the hormonal changes. So far she seems to be having an easier time of it than Sparky but his tantrums didn't get bad until after he was two.

sandy wrote:Sorry for going on so long

Not in the slightest; the subject of Two Caiques is one I expect to have two make a decision on in the future, and I need all the data I can get.

I'm sorry if this has already been mentioned, but if you are getting 2 Caiques, you are better off with one of each sex. Caiques can be difficult to breed so even if you have a male/female pair, they are not always going to want to or even try to breed. I know my male hates other male birds his own size and has attacked a couple.

I know most people who keep them in pairs keep them in male/female pairs. 2 females can get very aggressive with each other as well when they reach sexual maturity, but it really does depend on the birds themselves.

If you get two, just be aware that if they are the same sex, you may have to separate them when they get to be mature.

Caiques are such active, playful birds that they do prefer to have another to play with, though it is better to have another Caique since they can be other species aggressive as well. Playing with a Caique the way they want can sometimes prove difficult as they are beaky, but when they play together, they understand each other's limits and can play rough without hurting each other normally, when for example a pet Caique bites us in play, it can be too rough and we ask them to play nice, a Caique buddy can tolerate the roughness and will dish out the same right back