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!

One thing I find rather frustrating about keeping caiques in the home is that so little is known about them. We know there are two species and four sub-species. We know they like to reside in the forest canopy of their natural environment. We have a general idea of their range and to which countries they are native to. We think we have an idea of which foods they eat in the wild- over at the Caique Site, John Micmichael has documented a small list of foods that caiques eat in the wild.

But other then that- what do we know? Their sleeping or foraging habits, their nesting habits? Unlike macaws and cockatoos or other parrot species who have been studied extensively in their natural habitats, we know next to nothing about these delightful little birds called caiques. People argue over whether or not to give them sleeping quarters such as a nextbox year round- in countries such as Germany where they are avicultural requirements and minimums, this is a must. Why? What leads us to that conclusion?

When people ask about the specific dietary requirements of caiques, no one can answer honestly, because we don't know. Oh, we can guess about their needs- its been said they need a higher fruit content, perhaps even supplement with nectar like a lori and fresh flowers- but why? What if we are leaving out an important aspect of our birds diet because we have not sought to find the true answer.

People fight all the time for the funds to get to go and observe a species in its natural habitat, log the data and bring that information back to share with the avicultural community in hopes of better understanding our parrots and enriching their lives. Shouldn't we do the same for our caiques? I've donated to yellow eared conure conservation efforts, hyacinth, spix, lears, and blue throat macaw efforts, but have yet to come across a person, group or some such organization that has stood up and said: 'I am fighting for the right of the caique parrot. I want to know more about their habits so that I can make my birds at home happy and healthy and allow them to live out their natural lives.'

Isn't it time?

Your first bird

Its a commonly enough asked question, especially among birdie minded folk. 'What was your first bird? How old where you when you got it?"

I have another question, birdie folk. When was the first time you realized you were destined to become a bird owner? I know some people have grown up around parrots and it just seems to come naturally, while others just got stuck with that odd pet and poof- love at first site. But do you ever look back at the years before your house was a live-in jungle and wonder if you ever saw warning signs of what the years ahead were destined to be like?

I was chatting with one of my best friends via IM the other day. Her and I go way back. We met in 3rd grade elementary school and were in the same class every year until I moved away- have stayed in constant contact ever since. I had pulled out this box of pictures that had gotten sucked into some unknown closet vortex (you know the type...) and was just reviewing the pictures. It was a bunch of pictures of me, my friend, and our 'old gang' from elementary school. Good times, good times.

So here we are getting all nostalgic and sappy, and memories are flooding back like everything happened just yesterday. And I remember the moment that I will define as my first 'birdie moment'. AKA destined to clean up bird poop for the rest of my life :D

Elementary school, 4th grade.

Aww, come on folks. Don't some of you struggle to know WHY one day the urge hits you to drop an insane amount of money on a pile of feathers that squawks, bites, poops, flings food all over your walls and carpet, and makes your neighbors pull their hair in frustration? All while you are looking on with adoration in your eyes, of course.

I remember growing up and thinking parrots were cool. I remember someone in my 6th grade class bringing in their blue and gold macaw, and thinking it was a pirate parrot. *insert rolling of the eyes here*

But seriously. Wouldn't you love to have that defining moment in your life and bottle it, preserve it somehow, and look back, perhaps give your past self a little shake and scream 'WHAT THE HECK WERE YOU THINKING?!'

hehe.

Back to my story.

It was fourth grade. We were in the artsy phase of life. You know what I am talking about... lots of chorus, hands on learning, and lots of art classes. I remember lots of play-acting at recess, too. I grew up with a cat or two around the house, a dog (m y grandparents) and the occasional fish, but nothing more exotic.

I remember one day drawing what I considered the classic 'parrot'- long tail, big beak, wings. Flashy bright colors. I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread. Cut the little figure out, and to make it really seem lifelike, make a pesudo ring out of paper which I promptly glued the parrots feet too. Attach the ring to your finger, and with some maneuvering, the parrot could stand up on his own! Err... wave in the wind? Flap and catch the breeze?

Anyhow. I was the hit of the playground. I had a pet bird! Take that contraption out to recess and before you know it everyone was on that piece of paper like you thought it was a bowl full of sugar candy. Soon my time in class...err... extra time, was spent making paper parrots for friends. I bet during recess the monitors were scratching their heads wondering what fad was this- everyone seemed to be walking around with parrots!

Sadly I don't know whatever happened to my original Polly. I guess he/she got lost in the shuffle of life. Funny how memories like that get buried- much like those pictures did, and resurface after time.

Polly the paper parrot, I salute you!!!

Ode to a Captive Parrot

Parrots have given up a lot for us. They have given up their natural lives as they know it- and even though parrots in the North American Market today are domestically bred, they still for all genetic and instinctual purposes, are wild animals.

This is, Ode to a Captive Parrot.



created by me, but pictures rights go to various sources off the internet. Text is all mine.