A couple of Magic Item pricing questions

[Kalendraf]

However, the caster level of the torque is set to 6th, for some reason. So, its 6 x 1 x 2,000.

That must be where the seemingly high price comes from. I usually don't worry about that type of CL when determining item cost, since a crafter can usually pick the CL that they want the item to function at. In the case of Speak With Animals, there's really no benefit besides duration for having a higher caster level.

Where that 6th level minimum comes is anyones guess. Craft Wondrous item would be minimum level of 3, so it's not from that. Is there something special about 6th level in regards to talking to animals? I sure can't think of anything.

FYI, were a player to request an item like this in my campaign, I'd just go ahead and use the standard 3.5 rules for crafting and use either the 4K price for a standard slot (which is Hat for Interaction), 6K for non-standard, or 8K for non-slotted. To me, those prices seem balanced for an item with this kind of effect.