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Posted by BRANDY on November 21, 2000 at 20:33:04: In Reply to: Some general caique questions (kinda long) posted by Charle on November 05, 2000 at 11:43:17: : Greetings, : For about 3 years now, I have been wanting to have pet birds--I have never had any before. For various reasons (i.e. lack of knowledge, finances, living arrangements) that wish has gone unfulfilled. At this time I am in a better position so that once I decide in which species I am interested, I can be on my way to ownership. My interest in birds started out with Sun Conures, then Jendays. Recently, I read an article in Bird Talk magazine about caiques, and this has piqued my interest in these birds. The article I read depicted these birds as active little "clowns" attesting to their playful nature, and that these birds can still bond with their human even if two are kept in the same cage. In addition, this article lead me to believe that these birds are not too "noisy", as compared to conures, for example. As I live in a 1BR townhouse apartment, I am concerned about noisiness only b/c of the neighbors. Would these birds, particularly the black-capped caique, be a good choice for people who live in an apartment? BTW, my apartment lies right along a noisy road, so it's not perfectly quiet at my apartment complex. Moreover, I alerted the management at the time that I moved in that I was planning on getting a pet parrot, and they were OK with it. : Also, as I work full time, I am very concerned about leaving a pet parrot alone all day. I know that parrots are intelligent animals and cannot be expected to be caged up all day with nothing to do and to do so would be cruel. B/C of this I have already decided that I will need to have at least 2 parrots, both in separate cages (I am not interested in breeding birds), to help keep each other company until I get home. Would this solution be OK for a caique, and for any pet birds in general? : At this time, in addition to a black-capped caique, I am also still interested in Sun Conures (although b/c of their tendency to scream, I may have to put off having one until I find better living arrangements), Jenday Conures, and my latest infatuation--Solomon Island Eclectus parrot. This leads me to this question: do caiques in general "get along" well with other parrot species, or if a person wants to have a pet caique and wants to have more than one bird, then he/she will have to have only another caique? : Lastly, as I have absolutely no experience in handling or taking care of birds, can anyone suggest what I can do to learn to prepare in having my own little ones? So far, I have read many stories on the Internet from parrot owners, and have been to one bird show where I asked as many questions as I could of the breeders, and I plan on going to two more bird shows, one of them the 2001 Parrot Festival, to learn even more. What else can I do? Before I take the plunge, I really want to know exactly what I'm doing and getting into. : Thanks for putting up with this long message, and any advice will surely be appreciated.Caiques (pronounced ki-EEKS) are native to parts of Venezuela, Peru, Columbia, Guyana, and Brazil. They live near savannahs and in forests, usually near rivers. They are usually found in pairs, small groups of families, or small flocks. They are small birds, around 9 inches in length, but for their size they can have very powerful voices. They are extremely beautiful birds with black, yellow, green, and white colors.
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