Caique vs CBC conure? Please help me

Greetings everyone- I have been losing sleep trying to decide between a Crimson Bellied Conure or a Caique for our family. I have had experience with Parrot ownership having "parented" a Grey, a sun conure, and cockatiels. I currently have a 5 month old Jenday who is an absolute sweetheart. I have done various and tons of reading and research on both species. I adore them both, truly. I don't have any experience with Caiques and need your help. Here is why I'm stuck:
1. I work full time, am home by 5pm- however as soon as I get home I play with my little Jenday and look forward to including whichever baby parrot joins our family-Caique or CBC-in our play and interaction.
2. I have 2 children aged 3 years and 2 years - they will not touch the Birds without me. All their interactions are supervised.

Here are my questions
1. Which parrot will likely be more accepting of a schedule that includes me working full Time? Is he/She ok playing independently?
2. I've read Caiques can be aggressive towards other birds. If we establish a pecking order, how likely will this still be a problem? Can the Caique and Jenday eventually be "friends" or is it a better bet to expect the CBC to get along with the Jenday?
3. Do caiques enjoy hanging out with you or do they need constant stimulation and play?
4. I'm What are your general thoughts about caique vs CBC with young children?


Any other comments or advice comparing the two with regards to having young kids, working full time, yet adoring both characteristics of each species. I am set on getting one or the other, and the breeder is waiting for my final decision this week. I've also considered Senegal, Meyers, Red Bellied Parrot, but was afraid to risk the chance (even though small) of my kids getting a good grinding bite with one of those larger parrots. I'd like to wait until they were older to explore larger sized birds to add to our family.

Thank you for your advice!!

I've had 3 caiques and 2 conures.

My caiques were a lot more fun than the conures. Endless entertainment and excellent at entertaining themselves. Honestly, they are great birds for the busy person as they keep busy with toys. All of them except one has gotten along fabulously with birds from a parrotlet to a blue & gold macaw! They are truly fearless and have no clue what size they are. The one I had who didn't care for other birds was 11 when we took him in and had never been exposed to any other birds.

Caiques are a lot less loud than the conures I had, and by a long shot. Dan is always only making happy chirps and tweets. He loves to snuggle and immediately puts himself to sleep when I put him under the covers. He also puts himself to bed at sundown by hopping onto his tent perch. My conures were active if we were up, even until 2am. My caiques? Every one of them loves bed time.

They aren't nippy birds in my experience. They are truly clowns. Super fun and goofy and never boring. All three had prior owners. I will say my two white-bellied caiques love to be out and have been wonderful with my daughter, while the black capped girl tended to be more on the go.

As long as you provide ample cage space and tons of toys (Dans cage is wall to wall toys, and he plays with all of them) they make excellent pets for the busy bird owner.

Thank you so much for your response! After reading your feedback I contacted my breeder to purchase a WB caique. I explained my current home-life-work situation and she said that a CBC would be a better fit - especially since my kids are so young. She recommended waiting until they were at least 5yrs old to get a caique. I don't think I can wait that long, I had my heart set on one after reading your post. I have another question- you mentioned you had 3 caiques and 2 conures- are any of them caged together? If they bond to each other will they still be tame and play with you? I will eventually get a caique, but the challenge then becomes finding space in the home for three large cages for each bird. That's the only true limitation. Any ideas or suggestions?

All but my one Caique were fosters, and even my rescued Dan (not a foster) was a re-home. He had been to three homes in one year!

He is much better with my daughter than the conures were. She is 8 now but she was much smaller before. My Caiques were definitely less nippy and way less loud. Also more interactive. Dan likes to cuddle but he also loves to play. Annabelle can get him from his cage on her own and he's never bitten hard enough to draw blood, and even then it's happened when she was annoying him.

My view on it is this- your child will reach 5 years old in no time compared to the lifespan of a parrot. ANY bird you get must be supervised with your child until they understand the boundaries and respect necessary with any animal.

If you have your heart set on a Caique, get a caique.

And I don't believe in caging birds together for a multitude of reasons. They can change their mind and attack or kill a cage mate in an instant. Also if they bond, they may become unhandleable.

Every bird is different. They all have their own unique personalities. I wanted a Caique in the worst way, but the only breeder within driving distance told me she might have chicks on the ground in 3 months. Well, the more research I did, the more I wanted this bird. As it happened, a local breeder had Sun Conure babies available. So when I went to see them, I couldn't go home without one. I've only had him for 2 months, but I am in love. I ran across a girl that had a Caique and a Jenday Conure and although she loves them both, she said the Caique needed way meore attention and my avian vet said the same thing. They are soooo adorable, though, right?

I just want to say that the Shady Pines Aviary is the foremost breeder of Caiques in this country I believe after much research. I was on their waiting list and just got a call, so they do have White Bellied chicks on the ground. I don't know whether they ship or not...near Ft Lauderdale, FL,

So I just totally happened to come across this forum while doing my own research on caiques.. As it just so happens I am right now looking at both White bellied Caiques, and Crimson bellied conures as well. I'm curious, what did you decide? How is it going and how is the bird (whatever you decided) getting on with your current bird? I have a female Eclectus currently. Anyway thanks for reading I know it's an older post
Barnaby

I am partial to conures, love them! The Crimson bellied are sturdier than green cheeks but awesome!

I am new to being a parront and I was stuck between a caique and a crimson bellied and I went with the Crimson as my breeder who had both parrots available said the caique would be a harder first time bird as they need someone more experienced with training or else they could be a bird that would walk all over the first time owners. My Crimson is very cuddly,but plays like that caique does. She is a bit on the nippy side and is pretty difficult for the vet, but as her training progresses she's getting better and better. I am extremely happy that I went for the Crimson bc she loves snuggling as much as she does playing.

I am also in love with my conures. My CBC, Phoe, is an amazing little guy who is full of orneriness and absolutely loves to play.

orneriness what a perfect way to describe the crimsons LOL

Caiques do better in pairs or small groups of caiques.

You can never leave a caique with another bird. Caiques are rugby players. Jendays are ballerinas.

Do you want a rugby player tackling your ballerina?. I had a quaker parrot almost beaten to death by his best friend ( a caique) while I was out.

I would suggest a caique. They're good at entertaining themselves and love to play. My caique is an absolute sweetheart and has never bitten anybody, while my green cheek conure bites almost everyone including me. I think I just have to work with him though, he'll probably get better with time. Both are great birds.

sorry i don't know how to delete comments lol on monile