Would a caique be a good bird for us?
My family is composed of my mom, my dad, my ten year old brother and I. I absolutely love birds and we currently have a pair of budgies. My mom really wants a puppy, but we don’t have the room for it, and I want a bird, so I suggested getting a caique because they act like little feathered puppies. My brother likes birds to an extent, but it wouldn’t be a problem getting him used to a caique. Same with my dad.
Anyway, my mom is prepared to spend the 900$ or so on the bird plus the 500-ish for the cage, food, toys, etc and vet visits. However, this would be out first larger bird. We’ve been researching them alot and have a book on them.
My dad works full time, and my brother and I go to school. My mom has a part-time job, so no one would be home for about six hours each day. We would provide the caique with plenty of toys and probably this cage: http://www.mybirdstore.com/VICTORIAN_CAGES-DOME_TOP_26_X20_X36_POWDER_COATED.html
It would be out of it’s cage on a playstand or playing with us most of the time when we’re home.
So, would a caique be ok by itself for six hours each weekday? Is this a good choice of bird for our family? Is the cage large enough?
I think you would be fine for now – but you need to think long term as well.
When you and your brother are older and have finished school – or more importantly, are older and become either more active in school or go off to college – what happens then?
Caiques, like other large birds, have a fairly long life span.
Aside from simply being concerned with the here and now – also take into consideration the future, and what will become of the bird when there is more than 6 hours out of the day that it is alone.
For the time being, though, this would not be an issue.
They are WONDERFUL family birds – because they do not tend to "pick" a specific family member to bond to.
It is definitely a GREAT choice in terms of a parrot that the whole family can enjoy.