I got back from Parrot Palooza on Sunday and had a blast!!! Parrot Palooza is put on each year by the wonderful Bird Paradise in Burlington, NJ. I have never set foot in a nicer store. The event was well worth the drive. If anyone is in the area, I highly recommend checking out Bird Paradise!!!

Needless to say, I spent entirely too much money and enjoyed maxing out my credit card. The entire store was 20% off, and that didn't count the coupons you received upon arrival! I did some major shopping for my fids at home with the help of one of the caique friends I made at the store :) Among other things, I picked up a Large Long Get-A-Grip for my birds which I cannot wait to put up. I love the E-star bird products. I also picked up this really neat foraging toy called Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts. It is built for larger birds but makes a great playstation for a bird enthusiastic as a caique.

The event hosted free seminars all weekend long. I attended seminars by Sally Blanchard and Irene Pepperburg, who also graciously signed my copies of The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots, and The Beak Book: Understanding, Preventing, and Solving Aggression and Biting Behaviors in Companion Parrots. It was wonderful to meet these two people who have impacted so many lives in the avian world.

I gave been busily uploading photos for the better part of the day, and I am sure they will appear on the site sooner or later. As of now, you can view some of the photos over at CCF.

Now I am going to go run and wait for the UPS guy to get here to deliver my new cages!!!

Loyalty

One thing you never hear a lot of people talk about in regards to caiques is how extremely loyal they are. Not only do they have great personality, are the perfect size, and are just fun to look at- they make great sidekicks!

Unlike some other species of parrots that bond strongly to one person and will lash out to everyone who challenges that bond, caiques are very easy going. They can hop from person to person- heck, the more the merrier! The little attention hogs :) But thats not to say they don't bond strongly with one person and have a preference of who they like to spend time with. And, to that person they form the bond with is to whom they are extremely loyal. Having a bad day? Get your caique out and cuddle a bit. Having a great day? Dance around the living room together! Someone making you mad? Don't let the bird near- chances are the birdie will bite.
My caiques are very loyal to me, especially my male black head. Oh he loves meeting new people, but in a new situation that makes him slightly unsure, its me he runs to for re-assurance. If he thinks someone is threatening me or picks up a bad vibe off of someone, he will snap at them in my defense. If I need to have a restful, quiet day, he will sit on my lap or shoulder and gladly cuddle, quiet mellow. (now thats saying something for the energizer bunny of the bird world!)

Other caique owners tell me they have noticed this as well. I think it is one of the best quality a caique possesses - it certainly makes up for all the trials and tribulations you can go through adapting to the jekyll and hyde personality of a caique. When they are good, they are oh so good. When they are bad... they are very, very bad.

Until next time!

Babble Ball meets Caique

Rosie the caique LOVES her new babble ball toy. We got it in the mail last week and I tossed in the birds cage for a test run. The birds immediatly flung themselves against the sides of their cages like 'WHAT is that and WHY is it here? Will it eat me?' Poor dears.

Don't feel sorry for them too long! I took the ball out, let it sit within site for half a day, and gave it another test run by putting it in Rosies cage. You can see how much she loves it now. Its her new favorite toy! I think this is high up there on the list of caique favorites- I highly recommend anyone who has a caique to get one.

The toy is called a Babble Ball and there are several types available:

Babble Ball - Small

Babble Ball - Big

or this really neat looking one

Boinky Babble Ball

I am going to have to order another one for Higgins because Rosie certainly isn't sharing!

Busy busy busy!

Its been a busy, busy week! On top of regular life stuff, we've been getting ready for Parrot Palooza. For those that are going 'huh?' - Parrot Palooza is an event that takes place yearly at Bird Paradise, in Burlington, NJ. There will be educational seminars, food, door prizes, storewide sales (uh oh... must not max out credit card... MUST not max out credit card!!!) and best of all, you get to sit around and chat with birdie friends!

Over at the caique forum, everyone is getting excited as this event draws near. We have some NJ folks that are regulars at Bird Paradise and are getting all us un-initiated Parrot Palooza folks psyched! We've got flyers ready to print out, business card and brochures to leave for anyone that might be considering purchasing a baby caique. Just look for the big group of people wearing T-Shirts saying 'I've been caiqued!'

More exciting news on the home front- Caique Crazy has moved servers! We are www.caiquecrazy.org and ready to rumble. This means LOTS of promising things- more resources for caique owners- the sky is the limit!

CCF members have also agreed to sponsor a pair of white bellied caiques that are in the sanctuary program at The Gabriel Foundation. We will be getting more information on those guys Saturday, so stay tuned to find out!!

And... news on the homefront. Rose and Higgins proclaim that every caique must have a babble ball- they are the coolest thing since sliced bread. Mine came in the mail yesterday and they are both just enamored with it. Nothing better then two caiques giggling like goons, poking a ball, making it bark, moo, crow (I got the animal noises one) and then run to pounce on it as soon as it does.

Ok my break is over- back to the grindstone. More information coming soon!