Caique or Yellow Collared Macaw

[Weezerj]

Hello all,

I have been spending a lot of time at my local parrot shop getting to know some parrots as well as trying to educate myself about parrot ownership.

I believe I am ready to take the plunge and become a flock leader.....but I can't quite seem to pick which parrot we want.

I fell in love with a beautiful white bellied caique at the parrot store, but unfortunately he was not for sale. I also love the Macaws they have, but not sure that I am willing to take on such a large bird....so I started to research the mini macaws. That is where I came to my other choice, the yellow collared macaw

A little about my situation. I am looking to put my new friend in my man cave. I work during the day (8hrs), so my friend would get out of cage time briefly in the morning before work and then again when my son gets home from school at 3:30 pm. I would be getting home at 5:30 and would give him plenty of out of cage time until his/her bedtime.

Of course, I plan on using plenty of foraging toys during the day to keep my friend from getting bored (as well as leave the tv on).

So, I'm guess I am asking if either of these feathered friends is better suited for the scenario I described?

How would their personalities (generalizations of course) compare? My son is 15 and I am also interested in knowing which species is better suited for not being a "one person" bird?

Any and all information regarding this matter is greatly appreciated,

Jess

[Pajarita]

Well, the minis are closer to conures than the big macaws in terms of personality. They are loud, nippy and tend to get hormonal. Caiques are adorable little clowns and a great size but they have been known to get aggressive. The problem is that there are no species that one could really say: "such and such is not a one person bird". All parrots are monogamous and tend to mate for life and that is what makes them a 'one person bird', namely, they choose one individual to love and, in the best of circumstances, other individuals will interact as flock mates and, in the worst, they will bite everybody else. It's impossible to tell one way or another.

I would suggest you get a low hormone bird (macaws are known for low hormones but not the minis) because if you are planning on keeping the bird up at night (in the winter, it's night at 5 pm), you are going to end up with an overly hormonal bird. It won't matter when the bird is young except for the fact that his endocrine system will be screwed up with all the consequences this entails (molt out of season, depressed immune system, etc) but it will definitely matter as the bird gets older because, eventually, he will start acting up (biting, screaming, plucking his feathers, etc). It's pretty unavoidable as they are in physical discomfort and even constant pain (some males even have blood in their urine from it).

[liz]

Weez, you don't say where you are. If their is a bird rescue near you might find the personality that fits you and not just a species. Even if you drive a couple hours it is worth it.
Also www.rescueme.org/your state has rehomes and the owners can tell you personalities.

[Weezerj]

Sorry if I didn't communicate very well...

If I am up at 6am to feed and socialize with my new YCM and then give him 2hours after work before putting him to bed at 7:30, that leaves him ~10.5 hours sleep per night. Is this not enough?

Is it better to give him the 2 hours of out of cage time per night and 10.5 hers sleep or to cut back thelaytime for longer sleep? Of course, weekends would have much more out of cage/playtime.

I am located just outside of Portland, Oregon. I am having trouble finding breeders with Yellow Collared Macaws, not alone rescues with them.

If anyone knows of a good Yellow Collared macaw breeder, please let me know.

Thanks

[Wolf]

It is normal for it to take several postings back and forth to clarify differences in information and ideas about caring for parrots, this is due to the amount of information both old and outdated and new information. I am sure that there are other reasons as well.
Due to the dietary needs of the Yellow collared Macaw, I am not sure how many breeders there are for this species in the USA, although I suspect that it is a low number. This particular species of Macaw requires a diet that is at least 50% fruits with some daily vitamin supplementation, such as Vitamin K.
For several years it was recommended to make sure that your bird received 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light, this was an attempt at controlling the breeding cycle and hormonal aggressiveness for the bird owner. It has since been proven that this did not have the desired results. It still is hanging on because while it failed in what its purpose was it is not entirely wrong as these bird do better in most cases with 10 or more hours of sleep. However the best way to look at this issue is to duplicate the same lighting that the birds outside your window live with as this is what is best, in most cases, for all birds that live in this region. The typical light requirement for a bird in any region is that they receive the first indications of approaching dawn and sunrise while they are still asleep in the form of the first greying of the sky which progresses on until sunrise. They then have the sunlight of that day and then go to eat as the sun sinks in the sky and dusk approaches they start settleing in to roost at dusk and are asleep at full dark. The two periods of twilight are of special importance to birds as this is the light that controls their internal biological clock and thus their breeding cycles and their hormones. This is the lighting schedule that the bird requires and it is really not a matter of an opinion in either direction as this is what is require to keep the bird healthy.
This is what I have learned the hard way that I must provide for my birds. I have 5 different species of parrots and I am a night owl so to speak and I am at my best if I sleep during the day and am up at night. I would love to let my birds sleep until 11 am or noon and then go to bed at 1 or 2 am. That, for me would be absolutely wonderful, but they just can not adjust to this schedule and remain healthy and their health is what is at stake with the lighting issue.

[keike's_mom]

Hi Jess,

I have been owned by a yellow-collared for almost 25 years now and am considering re-homing her. I actually live near-by in Central Oregon.

My "angel's" name is Keike (she must be an angel because she has wings) and I had her parents and raised her from about 7 days old. This bird thinks she is a dog and when we got a puppy a couple years ago who was starved she decided "he was her's" and to this day will play with him and feed him. One time I caught them simultaneously eating kibble out of his bowl and playing tug with one of my bras. She's lucky he's a gentle-soul and gets that Sister isn't a squeeky.

When you say the word "character" Keike comes to mind. She travels with us in the RV routinely, will go to anyone, loves rock n' roll and is so completely animated, she keeps us laughing all the time. She is beautiful, healthy, happy...she has never been locked inside a cage primarily because she'll take a finger off before going in so she lives on a huge hanging tree where she stays until she decides she wants to go for a walk about to find "her puppy" or "her human" (my husband). Though she's had full flight wings most of her life, she's saavy to the fact that when she holds out her wings and yells "C'mere" a shoulder will soon be offered so she's never flew by her own choice.

Keike LOVES men and is really not picky about which man. At times, she can be my little cuddle-bug (especially when she needs preened) but if a man is around, especially one of her chosen men (such as husband or house-sitter), she will get off me, walk to them, climb up their pant leg and immediately start preening. She loves to snuggle under the covers and sit on my husband's chest and have him tell her how beautiful she is. She'll flash her eyes at him and go "oohhhh!!"

The reason I am considering re-homing her is because for all her personality and friendliness - she is getting more and more frequently vicious with me. She has never bitten anyone else but more and more lately has no hesitation when it comes to drawing blood on me. I love her with all my heart and can't imagine life without her (had her since I was 23 and I'm now 48!) AND when she got my lip the other day, it broke my heart into pieces.

So I don't know where you are in your process but I think if you're fascinated by and interested in parrots, you'd fall for her immediately. She lived with her mother for about 15 years (after her father died) and she's one of the few birds I've ever heard of that could be bonded with another bird and still be a pet to humans.

[Parrotkeeper02]

U shouldn't get a hard bird like a macaw as a first parrot. I've owned parrots for 7 years now but I wouldn't recommend a macaw for me either my friend has one but he lives way way out in the country and it's super noisy as well as they are expensive and u have to spend heaps of time with them. Get a medium sized bird like Senegal, lorikeet, cockatiel, ring neck,

[Parrotkeeper02]

Keike Mum that a really sad parrot story I hope u didn't rehouse your angle it probbly go scared or startled use some training to get the biting out of the way or it could just be hormones plying inside her