Let's talk about caiques and conures a bit!

[Gizmomania]

Nope. No Jekyll/Hyde traits so far. We've only had him a week, and he's already 'the bomb'!

 

[t0mmick]

i dont know ALOT about caiques but im also interested in getting one, but i do have a gcc he is a pain in the ass but i love him to pieces, he can be such a little bugger lunging at the ppl in the house he doesn't like just to let them know i belong to him,lol he even nips me but not bite only nip, everyone else however better watch out!! Besides him only wanting me and nipping he is such a hoot to be with he likes tickles and snuggling up in my shirt, he sings and dances with me, he also speaks a little french! lol But i know what you mean about caiques, i want one too but they are pretty pricey where i live even previously owned ones aren't selling cheap!!

 

[punkindave]

Of our 4, only one is content to chill on a shoulder for any length of time. The others are quite busy running around and going about their Caique business! They are all friendly and love interaction, but they mostly don't sit still.

 

[Kisota]

Oooh, wonderful, thank you all for the feedback. I'm glad to have some people who can give direct comparisons between the species. Of course, it's tricky since there's so much individual variation, but it's still really useful.

I'd been leaning toward caiques again, but now I'm starting to think a GCC might really fit better with us. I have a feeling the constant energy of a caique might be too hard for my boyfriend to keep up with. I'd probably think it was fun and quickly get used to interacting with the bird that way instead of the relaxed playing I am more accustomed to. But, particularly considering that my boyfriend isn't as experienced with birds, I think he's more likely to be taken with one that will be willing to "take a chill pill" and be calm for a while and just hang out. I like having some of both - snuggly calm times, and some energetic interactive play. My tiel didn't do much of that. She was curious and investigative for a tiel, but really didn't play in a very energetic way like the caiques do.

Of course, I hear green cheeks are very playful, too, so hopefully I'd still get my fix on crazy-birdie-fun-times.

It's definitely still a bit of a toss-up, and I think meeting some more birds will really help us get a feel for them. But I think the caiques are a potentially riskier choice. I am pretty confident I'd be happy with the decision, but I think my boyfriend would feel safer with a smaller bird - less noise, less mess, less insanity. We'll have to see!

Food motivation is a good thing. I -really- want to do a lot of training. Mostly, I'm interested in doing training that will make handling easier - get the bird used to being handled different ways, harness train, possibly flight recall, etc. But tricks and other behaviors are things I'm interested in too.

I wonder how the two compare in terms of being good with other people. I know caiques have a better tendency than most to be good with strangers or at least people besides the primary caretaker. But I'm not sure about green cheeks.

And harness training! I know it can be harder with smaller birds... that's something I am concerned about. I think harness training is one of my top priorities, because I want to feel comfortable taking my flighted bird out places, meeting people, etc. I feel pretty confident it wouldn't be bad with a caique, but even the smallest Aviators look SO big on the greencheeks; I worry that training would be pretty hard.

 

[JadeC]

I wouldn't worry. Green cheeks are usually pretty good if you work with them. You sound like you'll do a good job with either.

 

[cateyes221981]

conure is much more easy to figure out

 

[cateyes221981]

caiques remind me of a faclon, very raptor like and they roll on their back sometimes like some rapators do and grab with their claws

if you can get intimadated by a bird sometimes i think conure is better

caique likes to crawl around the house like a rodent rather than fly lol

 

[Kisota]

Thanks for the feedback.
I've mostly decided I think a caique's constant energy would probably drive my boyfriend crazy. I know already that he prefers calmer and more sedentary animals (unlike me; I'll wrestle with dogs and play hard with birds all day if you let me!) Since he's being great and agreeable about bringing home a bird, I want to try to get one that he won't regret letting me get, haha.

I'm thinking conures would be good, because they're a good mix of playful and cuddly. I'm attracted to some of the poicephalus parrots too, especially Meyer's parrots, but they don't seem to have that wacky silly energy of the conures.

I'm in the middle of looking into some of the larger conures. Ultimately I'm afraid that won't work because of the noise level. I'm not even bothering with suns or jendays. But duskies, blue-crowns, peach-fronts... worth a look, at least. I like green cheeks, but I really prefer the size of the Aratinga conures and I do worry a little bit that the nippiness / aggressive qualities of green cheeks would also be a problem for us. I'm not sure they would... but I've heard some of these larger conures tend to be a lot less nippy. I really need to meet some birds before I just decide for sure on a species!

But the bird fair was empty due to weather. So no luck so far.

 

[Jowelbg]

You still have to show us pictures when you get the your new bird!

 

[Kisota]

Of course!! :3

Still struggling to make a choice with confidence, and the lack of opportunities to really get out and meet different birds is depressing. I'm keeping my eyes on the baby green cheeks at SugarCreek. They've got 3 normal ones right now, and I think another clutch on the way. I asked to be put on the waitlist for black-headed caiques. No email back (oddly; they responded so quickly to my other emails). But they didn't have any babies last year, so we'll have to see. If they get some in and I haven't yet found a baby yet, I'll probably see if I can come in and meet the caiques.

In the meantime, I'm kind of trying to see if there are any other local-ish breeders. Not having a lot of luck. I don't want to have to travel super far to visit if it's really a "let's see what this species is like" sort of visit and not much more. Tricky, tricky! If I knew for sure what I wanted, it would be relatively easy to look around and find someone who had that, then go pick it up or inquire about shipping. But since I'm more interested in meeting babies of any of several species and just finding an individual that suits me, it's a little more complicated. I'm trying not to feel too defeated about it, but it's hard to know how to proceed.

 

[veimar]

I don't know much about other caiques, but I have a Green Cheek Conure and would DEFINITELY recommend it. They are not too loud, very friendly and not possessive of one person (like amazons or other big birds), and very cuddly (at least mine is!). We just got one about 7 weeks ago, and without a prior bird experience I would say - he is an EASY bird! He wasn't socialized at all when we got him, and after a few weeks of training he was just a perfect bird. Very smart. Parry can sit on my shoulder for hours and cuddle with my hair and cheeks. Conures are huge personalities, very intelligent, curious and funny. Owning such a parrot is a blessing for me.
Your other choice could be parrotlet. I don't have one, but I'm thinking of getting one. They are very cute and smart.

 

[RavensGryf]

Since you also mentioned different species, I have to say I disagree about the Poi's...it really depends on the individual here, my Robin is very outgoing, loves attention, absolutely cuddly, AND fairly quiet and independent. Also it's not just him, many Poi's enjoy rolling on their backs, playing, and being interactive.

Also about Pionus, although they're all a bit different, still most are not typically as cuddly or hands on as I think you're looking for.