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After 12 years I finally have my baby wb caique. Super sweet, handfed, just weined. I can do anything with her. She is def in trust of me and I love the hell out of her. My question is.......I didnt think that the caiques were screamers, everything I read was they could be, but not as a general rule. Well.....my little gurl is. How do I treat this at this young age? I dont want this to be a habit. Any way of dealing with her now so she dont do this 24-7?

Dan

Dan,
Congrats on your new baby. My BH Rowdy turned 8 this year and I've had him since he was about 7 months old. Caiques, like all parrots, use their voices to communicate in the vastness of the wild. Teach your new baby that she will get a chance to "vent it" daily. With Rowdy our scream fest begins with me getting loud and goofy and he knows by my body language and tone that it's time to get noisy. In usual caique fashion he's ready to move on to something else in about 5 minutes but he knows he will get the chance to vent and would rather do it as part of the flock. He will also sit on his window perch and "talk" to my guineas outside. Rowdy is much quieter than other parrots I've worked with volume-wise, but he has his moments. He has one squeek that drives me crazy and he knows it goes right through me, but I've turned it into a game by telling him to "do something else" and he will move on to other noises (thankfully). Hope that helps. Tandy

Hey Dan

One of the first things we taught Cisco (besides UP) was a contact call. When he was little he screamed for us and that was how we answered him. We use a slaight drawn out whistle with a emphasis at the end. We use that whenever we are going to come and see him or if he just needs reassurance that we are around. He (almost ) never screams and when he does we just ignore him and it stops very quickly. Like Tandy said he does get to let loose with all his glory at least once a day. I go up and put on some good rock and crank up the volume. He stands on my fingers and we bounce up and down. He starts bobbing like crazy and then sings and yells his little heart out (poor guy is tone deaf -tho LOL). He loves anything loud and really loves flock participation !!!!! They are graet birds -- Good Luck

Freddy

Dan,
One of the first things caiques tend to scream about is when they are tired. If its evening, sometimes 5ish, my babe would have gotten tired so off to bed, and she'd be fine cause that was the problem. If you got your bird outta state time change too don't forget. Baby caiques tend to like to go to bed around 7 too.

I have not figured out why she is screaming. Thought maybe she reverted back and needed some handfeeding, that wasnt it, she has tons of toys to occupy her, plenty of 'other' foods plus a handfeeding now and then. She was in my kitchen, because I wanted her to part of the family, but now moved in the back room cause you just cant here yourself think, eat or watch tv. I didnt notice whe was in bed early, it was my 'quiet' time, along with early afternoon. She dont really play like caiques are said to, is this because she is young? Then again, if she stops screamin 3/4 of the day, maybe she would have time to play. I am getting at my wits end and thinking about finding another home for her. I dont want to, she is a sweetheart, loves to cuddle, but I just cant handle the screams. A friend of mine has conures, so she is used to alittle noise, I am thinking about taking her over there and see if she can figure out what I am doing wrong.

Hey Dan

My guess on her screaming would be because of a change in behavior on your part. Did she spend all of her time with you when she was younger? Was she screaming when she was always with you? Or did she start when she was moved to another room?
When we got Cisco we started him on a schedule that we knew we could keep as far as daily interaction goes. He does not expert to be with us all the time hence there is no frustration on his part - which is my guess as to her screaming. I'm no parrot psychologist nor do I play one on TV but I think that is the root of your problem. Get yourself a Parrot self help book and work on some behavior modification - and get to work on that contact call , too.

Just a BTW - Cisco did not really start playing liike a Ciaque "should" until he got some self confidence- he is now very cocky and totally fearless and plays until one of us is worn out (and that is usually me ))

Freddy

Bought her from a breeder, she started screaming on the way home, but I expected something like that. The only reason she got moved to the back room is because she yells so loud it echos in the room and you cant think. I have some patience, but it was really starting to test my nerves, making me really stress out trying to figure out what would calm her down. If I know that this is something she would get over, I wouldnt even think about getting rid of her, but she sure cant stay in the kitchen, or I will end up with a divorce...........well, IF I could get married, LOL

Thanks to Tandy and Freddy for really great advice.
The REAL Jones should be coming next month, and it really helps prepare to read about situations like this ahead of time. Great stuff.

Hi Dan - sorry to hear that your little girl is driving you nuts already - ha ha. You know, it coul be that she wa calling to her clutch mates and wondering where they went. Maybe if she picks up a whistle, that that can be your call to each other and she may stop screaming. With 5 caiques, mine all get each other screaming - but -if I whistle the special call, they usually will return that rather than the horrible scream a couple have taught each other.

When I had rescued a pionus and then rehomed him, I had an extra cage. It was flat with a playtop but I had not put the playtop on. I would put a towel on the top of the cage and the birds loved being higher and having the rail around the edge to perch on. I would sprinkle seed mix, nuts, corn, etc on top and they would have such a good time and once they were full, they seemed to be more content to just perch and look around.

I would try putting her to be earlier (mine all get crabby I think, just as an overtired child does) but if I don't get home from work til 6 -6:30 and I have 8 birds to let out for awhile and try to hold each at least a few minutes or talk with them, I just can't gget them all to bed by 7 - 8. And I need to wash food and water dishes and maybe change papers. There just is not enough time. But when I had the Pionus here, he definitely had to go to bed at 7:00 or he would get cranky and bite. The caiques don't bite, but scream instead. But I think they love to scream and talk to each other that way. I can hardly remember what it was like to only have 1 caique and 1 sun conure. But Chili (my first caique) didn't scream much. When he did, I would say "that's not very pretty" and he would change his tone. I also repeated things and sang to him which he loved. I tried to teach him "Chilly Chilly Bo Billy, Banana Fana Fo Filly," (that old song) and it came out Chilly Chilly Bo Bee Bee or Chilly Chilly Chilly Chilly Chilly Bo Bee Bee as the other caiques have changed it to.

I hope that you can figure out a way to make things better at your house. I am able to tolerate the noise as I am the only one actually living here - my kids don't like to come over because they can't stand the noise and you definitely can't sit and watch a movie because mine are spread throughout the house. My exboyfriend and I talked about getting back together but he thought that I would "get rid" of some of them. Keep in mind that 3 of the birds are his that I took in when he was not able to care for them. So needless to say that will not be happening. But I do understand that I live with the noise by my choice of caring for them and I don't know of many people who would come here and enjoy it.

What breeder did you get your baby from??? I know we talked about it a few months back, when you were looking. And please keep me in mind if you do decide to rehome. I am not far from you - My sisters live in Appleton.

If you want to email directly, I would love to try to help you as much as possible.

scootiehammond@aol.com

Dan - another thing I just thought of - caiques are quite the screamers when they are hungery. How old is this baby and is it possible that it just needs a little hand feeding for comfort. My 2 white bellies were 11 and 14 weeks when I got them. They were down to 1 feeding a day and would nibble on other things during the day. But sometimes they regress from the transistion and just need more reasurrance. My little boy who was the youngest would cry these horrible sounds. I would mix up just a little hand feeding formula and give him a bite or two, talk to him real softly and then tuck him in. He would climb under a towel the first couple night because he felt safer there I guess. After a couple days, they both would sleep in a big ring swing that was fluffy and full. Actually, they would fight over it because it was getting too small for the two of them. So I called the breeder and had them send me a bigger one.

I sometimes make a small batch of cream of wheat and thin it with a small amount of milk and feed with a spoon. They will eat it right off the spoon. You can add Baby food carrots or sweet potatoes for good nutrition. My guys all love it. ( I do ad a bit of butter, a little pinch of sugar - but please don't tell anyone). And they love that you are spending time with them while you feed it to them.

And it may be that he got a little spoiled by being held so much at first, that he wants all that attention now. Because you just can't have a baby caique and not play with them.

Mine screams because I'm too much of big push over. Whenever he screams, I break down and go see him. So, I've rewarded him for his bad habits. The only cure I could imagine being successful is letting her know "YOU AREN'T SHOWING UP WHEN SHE SCREAMS." Easier said than done.

I've tried everything, believe me, but I think it's too late. He knows I respond eventually, and even if it's two hours, he probably thinks, "Oh, boy, good thing I screamed two hours ago."

Since you just got yours, maybe you can be stronger than I was, and not coming running when she screams.

P.S. I've even tried putting him to bed immediately after the first scream. I don't think that works because he needs personal time with me and I always break down and get him later anyway, even if it's 10 at night! Whenever I see an older parrot up for sale, I wonder it that's an owner who just gave up and tossed in the towel over screaming.

Kent

That is a classic mistake that most all of us have made. Our first bird, Huey, knew that eventualy we would respond to him also. He was a cockatiel sio his screams were not terrible but they did get annoying. We vowed not to make the same mistake with Cisco. Hence the contact call.........

Freddy

I am so happy! She did finally get over the all day screaming, it must have been something because she was young. She does scream a little in the morning, but that is pretty much it. I also have a lil friend for her during the day, there is a linnie right next to her in the room, so she is not alone all day. The do get along while outside the cage, but I keep a close eye on her, she is a bit beaky to the linnies feet. I will try and get some pics of both Chilli (WB) and Peppa (linnie) the next couple day on my web site. http://www.bluwillowfarm.comThanks all for all your advise! Happy Turkey Day!

Hey Dan

Glad to to hear that Chilli is doing well and even more importantly that you are happier as a Caique partner. Have you gotten to work on that contact call?

Freddy

LOL, oh you bet, that contact call is to the TEE!!