We had a friendly mock debate on the forum which had me in stitches laughing, so I thought I would share with you all. People divided up and tried to convince the other 'team' which caique species was the superior.
Posted by user Kokomo:
Let me shed a little light on this subject.
Back in 'Ye Olden Days' there was thought to be only one type of Caique and it was what we refer to today as 'The Black Headed Caique'. We all know how awesome of a companion bird the BHC is so it should come as no surprise that any/every person of stature would obtain a BHC to as a status symbol. Being the BHCs were more than the folks bargained for the BHC quickly turned in to quite a bit more than status symbols. They won over the hearts of their human owners and became members of their family. Some BHCs were even regarded as royalty and owned/ruled over townships and cities. Now this was indeed a time of turmoil and imperfection. Big changes were afoot and not everyone was in agreement with the changes that were brewing. ***PAY ATTENTION HERE as it gets really complicated.*** A strange man from a small country just south of where one of the most powerful BHCs ruled came to town. (We will refer to this man as Mr. J. because history has many different versions of this story and we won't complicate it with any of the names associated with them.) Mr. J. was a wise man and shared a wealth of knowledge with any and all people that would ask for his words. The ruling BHCs assembled a group of men to speak with Mr. J. The BHCs wanted to remain anonymous as they suspected Mr. J. knew a secret that would be thier undoing. Under instruction of the ruling BHCs these twelve men learned a lot from Mr. J. and one night at the dinner table one of the men asked Mr. J. if the beloved BHC was the best bird in all of the world. Mr. J. responded to this question with a pause and then answered -(and I quote) "No. There is another. One that is extremely close to the BHC but has a head that resembles the Sun." RESEMBLES THE SUN PEOPLE. The men were taken back by this info. They didn't know what to do. Should they go to their ruling BHCs and tell them of this news? Surely the ruling BHCs would want to banish and destroy all knowledge of this Sun Headed Caique. The men even feared that they would be either killed or have thier tongues removed to keep this secret safe from the people. The men continued to ask Mr. J. questions about the [i]Sun Headed Caique[/i] and had a local artist paint a picture of the bird. They asked Mr. J. if it would be appropriate to officially name the Sun Headed Caique the White Bellied Caique. Mr. J. said to the men (and I quote) "That would be a very accurate description but it wouldn't differentiate the Sun Headed Caique from the BHC." The men agreed with Mr. J. but told Mr. J. that the BHC's name would differentiate it from the Sun Headed Caique and not make it seem like the Sun Headed Caique was trying to be like the BHC by having the word 'Head' in its name. Mr. J. gave some thought to his and said (and I quote) "Cool." This is really a long story and many books have been written about it so if you want all the details just look into getting one of the books. I will tell you that when the BHCs got word of the teachings of Mr. J. they captured him and two of the twelve men that they had hired and had them CRUCIFIED!!!!! They wanted to set an example of what would happen if they caught anyone talking of a WBC or how it is the best bird in all the land.
I have included pictures of Mr. J. and the twelve men. This is just after Mr. J. told them of the 'Sun Headed Caique'. They are discussing the official naming of what is now the WBC._-_The_Last_Supper_(1495-1498).jpg)
The debate begins
Merry Christmas!
This post is a little late, but I wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season. For this months post, I wanted to let you preview an excerpt of an article that will be appearing in the latest edition of the BirdBoard.com newsletter. Remember, decorating for the holidays can be fun, but you want to make sure your decorations are bird safe as well!
"During the holidays, there are many new and exciting things we use to decorate around the house that can be as dangerous to your avian friend as they are pretty. We want your holidays to be fun and safe, so we are addressing the common holiday household dangers for 2008.
Among the most common decorations for the winter season, is mistletoe. This often seen holiday plant that harbors such fairytale legend also has a dark side. Mistletoe is part of the Viscaceae family, and the form commonly seen in North America is a hybrid plant of both English and European varieties. Mistletoe is famous for bearing its fruit in the winter months, making it a popular decoration during the Christmas seasons. The red berries that are so trademark of mistletoe are toxic to our avian friends, as are holly berries. Another favorite holiday plant, the Poinsetta, can cause GI tract irritation if ingested. "
Catch the rest of this article soon, coming to an inbox near you!
Baby its cold outside!
With the winter weather upon us, its about the time of year that bird owners start to worry about their fidlets freezing their, um, tails off. Some winter suggestions for keeping your fids warm include:
-Investing in a heated perch. I've heard many good things about this product. Best for smaller birds like caiques that are not prone to trying to chew through heavy plastic items.
- Invest in a heavy, warm cage cover. In doing this you can turn the heat down a couple degrees at night, save on your heating bill, but not worry about turning your feathered friend into a birdie popsicle
- A reptile ceramic heat emitter (emits heat only, no light) works great as a heat source for your bird.
If you invest in one, be sure to put the emitter into the appropriate light source, such as this one that has a ceramic socket which will not pose a fire hazard. One with a dimmer switch like this works perfectly to give you control of heat output.
Avitec also sells avian heat panels which can install in an aviary or your home to provide your bird a warm place to cuddle up to. I've heard lots of good reviews about these devices as well.
Stay warm, and have a happy thanksgiving!
Long time, no blog!
After a short hiatus from the blogsphere, I am back!
I just wanted to take the time and give a shout out to all our site sponsors for caiquecrazy.org and caiqueforum.com
Birds Comfort - birdscomfort.com
HQ Bird Cages - hqbirdcages.com
FeatherBrite- Featherbrite.com
Feathered Friends Momentos- featheredfriendsmomentos.com
Arlissa Green Creations- arlissagreen.com
Davis Aviary- Davisaviary.com
We appreciate your support of our website! We take every opportunity to refer customers to you :)
More spots are opening on the site, so if your small business is interested in some thrifty advertising opportunity, please contact Emily at emily@caiquecrazy.org subject line: Advertising. We'd be more then happy to work something out with you! Spots on the website and forum are now available.
Wishing everyone a wonderful beginning of November!
Caique Stolen at Omars
News: Man tries to make off with $1,300 bird | customers, sklar, bird, birds, shop - OCRegister.com
Video: Man tries to make off with $1,300 bird
Surveillance video shows a man putting a black headed Caique inside his jacket, and the bird crawling out before being chased down by customers and employees.
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
The Orange County Register
Comments 28 | Recommend 6
LINK TO VIDEO EVIDENCE!
LAKE FOREST Even with clipped wings, the costly bird refused to go with its alleged birdnapper.
A 35-year-old man tried to stuff a $1,300 bird into his jacket from Omar's Exotic Birds and then ran out of the pet shop Sunday afternoon, but the brightly colored bird wiggled out of the jacket, alerting customers and employees of the theft.
Customers ran out and held down James Leland Loper until deputies arrived and took him into custody on suspicion of grand theft, said Lt. Fred Furey of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
Surveillance video shows the man playing with the birds, which roam freely on perches or sit inside glass enclosures that are open at the top, said Danielle Sklar, assistant manager of the pet shop.
An employee approached Loper and asked him if he needed help, but he said he was just looking, Sklar said. For about 30 minutes he interacted with the birds in the store like the rest of the customers.
Then, after looking around for people around him, the suspect shuffled the black headed Caique inside his jacket and walked out.
"Somebody just saw a bird coming out of his shirt," Sklar said. "It didn't want to stay put."
A group of customers and employees ran after him as he hurried across El Toro Road. One of the customers tackled him and held him until deputies arrived.
Customers are allowed to interact with the birds inside the pet shop, but several visible cameras hang on the ceiling to deter any possible shoplifters, Sklar said. Thefts in the shop are rare, but surveillance video catches those that try to make off with the merchandise.
The store will perches and displays as they are, with customers having free access to the animals, Sklar said. This helps the customers find a bird whose personality meets their own.
The black headed Caique, a parrot with green wings, yellow neck and a black head which is native to South America, was recovered and is back in the store, waiting for an owner willing to pay for it. The price tag is $1,300.
Update- caique mutation
I managed to track down the original person that first posted the picture of the supposed blue mutation caique. Unfortunately the person has been unwilling to talk, other then to say that they had recieved permission from the owner to post the picture, but further information regarding this bird is, in a word- taboo. Very unfortunate as we can not really confirm or deny this mutation at this point, not knowing where the bird originated from, who bred it, etc etc etc. Pity, as this could be extremely useful knowledge to have down the line in regards to caique genetics, mutations, etc etc etc.
People, if you have information, don't be frugal. Share it. Aviculture is in its infancy and growing every day, and if everyone hoarded all their bits of knowledge, our community would be shattered. Its not the people who suffer, its the birds.
John McMichael of thecaiquesite.com has commented on the possibility of the blue caique mutation, and believes that it is possible, and sites the 'orange tint' on the nape as being a result of different pigmentation on the bird.
As such, there is no further information yielded about this bird at this time. Such a waste- there is such potential for caiques and enthusiasts to learn more about this intricate species.
Its almost October....
already, can you believe it? This year has just flown by!
With the coming of October I am proud to announce that the new issue of Good Bird Magazine (www.goodbirdinc.com) is out, and in it, an article written by moi! It is titled Learning From Mercy. If anyone gets the magazine, I'd love your feedback. I just learned about the publishing of it today, so am eager to see my copy. I don't know how much or what part of the original I sent in, so I am anxious to see how it turned out!
Everyone enjoy your transition into October!
A new presidential runner
Its been on everyone's minds: politics. Who are you voting for this election? Did you read the latest scandal? Blah.. blah... blah. We were talking politics on the forum and things got a little heated, so I pulled a prank to lighten the mood. 
Vote Caique for 2008- the only politician that won't let you down!
I jest, of course. But thinking about it... wouldn't the world be better off if caiques did rule? I can see it now...
Caiques rule the world: until they forget what they are doing or find something more interesting to do, halfway through the program.
Housing crisis? No problem! Everyone is let out of their cages to roam and survive. Locked up no longer!
Gas prices? Who needs gas when you've got wings?
Economy in a slump? The bird says as long as you can still get food, you are OK!
Maybe its better if caiques don't rule the world, after all....
Honey I'm home!
Well we have safely arrived to our new house, and gotten the fidlets somewhat situated. The car ride was long, but that is a story for another day! We pulled in somewhere around 10 pm, after getting hopelessly lost. Seeing as how the caiques like to put themselves to bed at around 7:30ish, they were not happy about having to be up 'after dark.'
Here you can see how the birds were situated in the car. 2 in the seat up front, 2 in the back. These are their traveling cages, which I love. They are collapsible so they store easy, but they are sturdy and great for traveling. Each of the birds had 2 perches and 2 side mount toys, as they would be in their travel cages for an extended period of time since we had to load the van, then drive, unpack the van, and unpack and clean the cages over a period of about 5 days. For the drive they had fresh fruit, seed, and a smidge of water.
Lesson learned during this trip? When birds are screaming in the car cause its past their bedtime, a chip from the quickee mart makes for a good bribe to be quiet.
Moving with Parrots
Well, its that time of the year again: moving time! I just love packing all my belongings up in cardboard boxes, hauling it into a truck, fitting all the animals into the car, and driving to my new place of residence. NOT!
The parrots are not happy. Not happy at all. I had to take apart their 'caique condo' (see post in 07 for picture of the condo) so that it could actually fit in the truch- I assembled it inside the bird room and found that for whatever reason my doorways are not 50 inches wide. So the condo is safely awaiting its departure in the garage, and the caiques are in temp. 18 by 18 cages. Poor babies have to get by with only a couple perches and toys each. And they are not happy about this situation, not happy at all. Can't say I blame them- but their upset is driving me bonkers! They are complaining all day about their new arrangements.
Anyhow, the plan is to put the caiques, amazon, and parrotlets into travel cages, hook them into the car, and make the 2 hour trip to our latest destination. The caiques like car rides, so hopefully that will be enough stimulation to shut them up while we have the daunting task of unloading the moving van and trying to get some semblance of order in the house again. Once the van is unloaded the people have rested, we can get the cages back together and in their proper places. Until then the poor babies are going to be stuck in their temporary travel cages. Poor neglected things.
Just kidding about them being neglected, of course.
This week shall be interesting. I will be taking various notes for all parties interested, and shall have some funny stories (I am most certain of this!) when I return.
Hidden Gems
I love stumbling across hidden gems on the internet! Take the following pictures, for example. 
This is a picture of a pallid caique, found on www.parrots.org website. The pallid is a subspecies of the black headed caique, and one that is rarely photographed.
This picture was labeled as a yellow thigh caique, when in actuality it is a green thigh, another rarely photographed subspecies.
This photo was unearthed at www.caiquesite.com Its so refreshing to see the little talked about subspecies finally get some photo recognition!
We end with another small picture of some green thigh caiques. Until recently the only picture I had ever seen of a green thigh was the one that appears on P Patch Parrots website!
If anyone has any other pictures of green thighs, pallids, yellow tails, or any other caique subspecies that are not commonly photographed, please send them this way! I want to make a gallery of all the photos for later use.
A blue caique?
Someone brought this to my attention via the caique forum. A picture was found, and posted, of a supposed blue mutation caique!
There has been a lively debate going on as to whether this mutation is possible. We know that other supposed caique mutations have been reported, yet there is only one living specimen that has yet to be positively identified.
Is this mutation fact or fiction? Personally I am leaning towards it being bunk- the way the orange on the nape still shines through the white makes me suspicious. Add to that, that the picture used is actually of a pair of pallid caiques, and this gets even curiouser! Pictures of pallid caiques are rare, to say the least. The probability of this mutation being real? Slim to none. But its an interesting thought, isn't it?
St. Vincent Amazon
While this is not about caiques, it definitely warrants a story.
Rare St. Vincent Parrot Hatched at the Houston Zoo!
Birth the First at the Zoo
Since 1999
On April 25, 1972 the Houston Zoo made history, recording the first hatching in captivity of an endangered St. Vincent Amazon parrot. That first birth was followed by a second hatching in 1999. Today, the Houston Zoo is proud to report that history has repeated itself again and Zoo bird keepers are caring for a St. Vincent Amazon that hatched on May 28, 2008. The chick has been named Vincent after the father of the first St. Vincent born at the Houston Zoo.
“The chick hatched after 25 days of incubation and is being hand raised at the Zoo’s off exhibit Avian Conservation Environment (ACE) building,” said Houston Zoo Bird Department supervisor Chris Holmes. “For the first 28 days Vincent was hand fed every two hours from 5 in the morning until midnight. He went home with me in the evening and came to work with me every morning,” said Holmes. Vincent was transported in a specially made climate controlled carrier.
Found only on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, the St. Vincent amazon is officially classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the IUCN. The current wild population of St. Vincent’s is estimated at 800 individuals, despite numerous natural hazards and human encroachment into their habitat. Prior to 1898, the parrots were fairly common. However, two natural disasters took a heavy toll on their population after 1898. A devastating hurricane struck the island and was followed by the eruption of the La Soufriere volcano that crowns St. Vincent’s northern landscape. Though the population has increased since these disasters, the slow reproductive rate of this species makes this a long process.
With the end of the breeding season approaching, Vincent’s parents will be on exhibit again at the Houston Zoo by early August.
Trying to be a more concensious blogger..
Normally I feel proud of myself if I manage a post a week. I read blogging for dummies today, and doh, did it make me feel lame! A post a week? They recommend a post a day, or ever other day. Ooops.
So, here is my -every-other-day-turning-over-a-new-leaf-post:
I hope you all got to listen in on The Bird Talks on July 6th. I was the guest speaker, and was fortunate enough to be able to talk caiques for an hour! Complete and utter bliss, I assure you. I was asked back to do another talk in the fall- woohoo. Please kee your eye out for future speaking engagements - the new store 'The Platinum Parrot' has also requested my collaboration in holding a caique seminar and mini event sometime this year. Yay! I am very excited. I love nothing more then talking about these birds.
If you were unable to catch the live podcast on the 6th, please go to our Emily's articles page- www.caiquecrazy.org/emarticles.html a stream of the podcast will be available shortly for you to download.
Green Thigh Caiques
Until recently, there were only a couple of breeders within the United States that bred the green thigh caique (Pionites leucogaster leucogaster ). Green thighs are not available in the pet trade- a hybrid of a green thigh x yellow thigh may pop up every now and then, but the main reason for breeding is to increase the captive population. Ralph Lima was once a well known caique breeder and had a good deal of information regarding different species of white bellied caiques on his website. A few years ago, most unfortunately, he sold out his caique stock and scaled back breeding to only select few species. Nancy Speed of P Patch Parrots was one of the remaining breeders that still was actively breeding green thighs. Most unfortunately it has been reported that Mrs. Speed has sold her collection of caiques and is going into semi retirement. When the stock was sold out and whom to is not known at this time. I hope for the sake of the caique community that the breeder(s) who have invested in the green thighs will start updating caique enthusiasts on breeding status and any other pertinent information. Up until now, little to no information has been revealed on the status of the green thighs within US aviculture. Hopefully things will change!
Caique Seminar
On July 11th, 10 pm EST, there will be a live caique seminar at www.caiqueforum.com
Caique guru John McMichael of www.caiquesite.com has graciously agreed to come and do a live chat with all members interested in attending. The chat will be a roundtable discussion, and should be very interesting! Please come and join us if you want to learn more and are interested in hearing about Mr. McMichaels longtime work with these wonderful birds.
If you are interesting in joining, please:
sign up for an account at www.caiqueforum.com
on July 11th, login
hit the chat button in the navbar, and you'll be there!
Remember the chat is at 10 pm EST.
Sponsors for site
I just wanted to take a moment and thank our new sponsors, for helping keep the caiquecrazy.org alive!
www.birdcages4less.com
www.birdscomfort.com
www.hqbirdcages.com
You can view their ads on the website. Please take a moment to visit these fine vendors.
Book Review
I recently ordered a caique book from amazon.com it was titled 'Caiques' by Mary Gorman. Initially I tried to lookup Mrs. Gorman, to see her other works and her relation to aviculture. I could not find any information regarding Ms. Gorman and her parrot experience, which left me a bit wary about the books potential.
Nevertheless, I ordered it to skim over.
The information is very solid, basic information. Good for a newbie to birds, or a new owner that has no idea about caiques at all. The information does not talk about breeding, which I like because most handbooks such as this do, and its not relevant to the new pet owner. A short list of pros and cons on the book are as follows:
Pros-
solid basic information
gave good advice as to cage size
gave good advice as to what a basic diet it
gave good advice as to the needs of a caique
gave good advice on energy level of a caique
gave good advice as to not buying caiques for children
Cons:
left out the differences between young black heads and white bellies
did not tell how to distinguish a male from a female
was extremely basic, not good for a owner that already has a caique or is previously experienced
showed pictures with caiques with other species of birds with no mention of their tendency towards aggression
said caiques can be housed with multiple species
gave no solid caique references in the index
mediocre:
Did have lots of relatively nice pics, but the majority of pictures were black headed caiques, not enough white bellied caique representation
did not give solid facts as to when caiques were first kept
Overall on a rating scale of 1 - 10, I would give this book about a 4. Good solid information for a first time owner, or person researching a bird, but not for the experienced birdkeeper.
I also ordered and am awaiting another book titled Elsewhere In The Land Of Parrots. Review to come shortly.
If you are interested in buying the caique book mentioned above, click on the following link.
Caique Beak
I've seen lots of questions around the internet lately, in regards to caique beaks. Is my birds beak too long, should I get it trimmed, what is a 'normal' or 'safe' length. Here is the skinny on caique beaks:
Caiques have longer beaks then other similiar sized parrots. What looks OK on a senegal, medium sized conure or other similiar size bird can mean 'short' or 'acceptable length' on a caique. Why? Well, caiques are built differently. Their beaks are slightly longer as an adaptation to their natural diets, which include the nectar and pollen of native flowers. To be able to access the goodies, they have to have longer beaks to reach deep within the flower or fruit.
You can see here, the beak length of a senegal parrot.
Now, compare this length to that of one of my own caiques, a female black head.
You can clearly see the difference in length. But for a caique, this length is more then acceptable, and not to be considered 'long'. I've been approached by many people, asking if their birds beak at this length is too long. Nope, thats just a caique for you.
While this is a very short and informal post, I hope this clears up some beak misconception.
Avian Artist
Thank you for everyone who has voted in our informal poll. The gathering of information is still continuing, so if you have not already voted, please take a couple minutes to do so! So far there has been an interesting correlation between males, and birds that are older then 2 years in regards to 'tailfeather tipping'. When there is a broader spectrum of input I will post the results here, in case anyone is interested.
I found this website while browsing the internet and thought I would post it here for interested parties. The site is dedicated to avian portraits. I have been watching the progression of several portraits and they are turning out beautifully.
Click the banner to be taken to the website.
7/12/08 edited to add: unfortunately the avian artist site appears to be unavailable and no longer working.
Caique Poll
We are polling to see if the amount of yellow tipping on a caiques tailfeathers has any correlation with age and/or sex. Please vote now to help us gather our data!
How much time does it really take?
You tend to hear that question alot. 'Well, birds can't be that much trouble. They are in cages, after all.' No such statement could be further from the truth. In fact, its been said that having one parrot in the house can be equated to living with a dolphin or chimp. And thats just one parrot! Most people have a multiple bird household. How does one bird really affect the household and how much time does it really take to care for that bird?
I've been conducting an informal experiment. I took my camera and started photographing everything I do on a daily basis for my birds. Clean cages, weigh the birds, feed the birds, cook for the birds. Well, you get the idea. It was mind boggling how much effort one actually puts into caring properly for these amazing creatures! A photo journaling of my 'day for the birds' is soon to follow.
March is fast approaching
and do you know what that means? March 23rd, 2008 will be our 2 year anniversary! We are going to celebrate big time, with lots of pomp and circumstance :) Keep your eyes peeled for new and exciting additions to the 'CC Empire!'
If you haven't already, please check out our forums. We recently switched servers, which unfortunately wiped out all members. Please take a moment and register again! This new forum is better and faster then ever. We want you with us as we celebrate our special two year anniversary!!!
Because I've been delinquent with keeping up with the blog lately, here are some interesting caique photos I took with my new Sony Cybershot Camera
The Hierarchy of Parrot Needs
This is a post I wrote about a year ago on a parrot message board, in regards to a posters question about parrots and dependency, the need for. This was my response:
OK here it is. Bare with me as this is all pure speculation/observation on my part and I am going to be jumping around alot, K?
Have you ever heard of Maslows Hiercharcy of Needs? The theory is that once your basic needs are fulfilled- shelter, food, security- you can move 'up the ladder' and continue to fillfull lesser needs- needs that you do not need for basic survival. Needs like self esteem, postive interaction with peers. The highest need is self fulfillment- self awareness. It is estimated that very few, if any, human beings ever fulfill this need because we are continually moving up and down the hierarchy.
True parrot flock dynamics are instinctual, and based on survival. Parrots need other parrots. They need them for security- they warn each other of predators. They need each other for socialization- verbal and physical, like grooming. They need a flock so they can pick a mate and continue the circle of life.
In a cage a parrot has everything given to him. Food in a bowl eliminates the 4-9 hours a day your bird would be foraging. Toys and huts replace time the bird would spend seeking shelter and things to play with. A clean water dish eliminates hours of flying to find a fresh water source.
So whats left? Socialization of course! Verbal- isn't it fun to scream?! And physical- preen me, I itch. And your bird has 15+ hours a day to long for it, because everything else has been handed to him.
Hence the need for independence. Hence the difference between true parrot flock dynamics and human flock dynamics. In the wild, a parrot is always with another bird- in a 'flock'. At home, your bird may be around you, your dog ,your cat, your goldfish- but never have those true parrot flock dynamics.
Now- back to our handy-dandy hierarchy of needs.
This diagram is based on a humans hierarchy of needs- and is a bit more complicated then needs be, IMO. But it illustrates what I am going to be talking about well.
[img]http://i18.tinypic.com/2egh0eq.png[/img]
OK so picture a parrot. In the wild your parrot has to work to fulfill his physiological needs each day. Thats an all day job. Once those needs are fulfilled, he/she needs to find a safe place to roost for the night, and/or a safe nesting cavity to raise babies. That fulfills safety needs. Your bird has now moved up 2 places on the pyramid.
The flock dynamic, and your birds mate would most likely fulfill the love/belonging need (I do not want to get into these aspects too much because otherwise its going to lead into a lot of guesswork/anthromorphization/illogical reasoning)
Your bird is almost to self fulfillment. In humans, sell fulfillment is the ULTIMATE. We want for nothing, have everything, have no issues. I hesitate to move a bird to the esteem rung, simply because can birds have an esteem need in the sense humans do? You decide.
Either way you look at it- your bird in the wild is pretty far up in the hierarchy just by fulfilling basic needs on a daily basis. Higher up then some humans will ever get, for that matter.
Now- take a captive bird.
Physiological needs- handed to them. Why the need to fulfill if they are already there? Food, check. Water, check. Sleep, check. Clean cage, check.
Safety needs- fulfilled. A cage in an area away from natural dangers.
This leaves us at the love/belonging need.
OK so this is where dependency and the hierarchy theory ties in, for me at least. You can't want what you never missed, or in this case didn't acknowledge you already had- in this case physiological and safety needs. So it makes logical sense, if you are looking at the hierarchy- that most parrots start out trying to fulfill the love/belonging need. Whether or not it is fulfilled is based on the interaction between human and parrot.
I think that, IMHO, once the love/belonging need is fulfilled, the bird can move up the hierarchy to what we would view as fulfillment- in this case not having to be Dependant upon a human for everything. IE playing in the cage while the human is away, participating in foraging and natural preening activities, engaging in regular sleeping patterns, etc.
To be stuck in the dependent stage, would to be stuck on trying to fulfill one of the hierarchy needs. In most birds cases, its the love/belonging. Where do i fit in, in this human flock? Are they going to take me out today?
Now- interesting concept here. Compare the behaviors of a wild bird with behaviors of a captive birds, and their place on the hierarchy. A captive bird, as I said, i believed would be on self atualization portion of the pyramid, having fulfilled all other needs on a daily basis. Wild birds do not pluck- they do not bite (biting is a captive bird behavior, wild birds do not bite other then to warn of danger- they do not inflict harm with their beaks with the intent to hurt) and they certainly do not have screaming issues! they play, they fly, they make nests and have chicks.
Consider the captive bird. The captive bird is, from my perspective, usually stuck on the love/belonging part of the hierarchy. It is not uncommon to hear of, or even live with a bird that has biting, screaming, plucking/self mutilating issues. A bird that is clipped, that does not have chicks, and participate in other natural activities.
So where does this leave us?
Seems to me the bird that has more freedom- ie socialization within flock dynamics, be it human or bird, is taught to forage, engage in natural activities such as bathing, preening, playing with toys- is one to be happier because they can have lives outside their human. Being independant is not a bad thing- its being dependent that can turn into damaging.
Changes
For everyone I traded links with: can you please email them to me again? I lost my link back list when I switched the format of the blog.
I've been working hard on redoing the blog and website to make it more user friendly. Easier navigation, easier to read, all around simplified. Everything is still in progress so bare with me! I am trying to get it all done as quickly as possible, because it frustrates me to leave projects half finished lying around.
Happy January everyone!
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