Moluccan Cockatoo?

[Chinniechantel]

Question, does anyone have any food suggestions as no websites I have found specify the best food. I bought the recommended parrot food that he was on, but want the best for him!

He is very happily chewing on a loofah as we speak and sitting in his carrier waiting for his new home. He has a smile, I swear! And, the funny thing is, possums are really bad for them and transmit diseases. Good thing to know!

 

[tunes]

I use Fosters and Smith fresh blend, and Sparky loves it. I use the macaw size, but there is one for parrots that works for cockatoos: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+5911+5921+8423&pcatid=8423. This stuff is SO good and smells SO fresh when you open the bag. It has whole slice apples in it and all kinds of good stuff.

I mix that with Roudybush http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+5911+5921+8376&pcatid=8376.

Someone mentioned to me they also mix in Zupreem of some sort, but I haven't used that. I also mix in whole nuts (in the shell) to keep Sparky working his beak and entertained.

Hit ebay and get lots of wood chews. Sparky goes through a 10 pound toy in under a week. I have to keep several toys here so I can rotate them to keep him interested, plus, he goes through them so fast I have to have several for back up.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

I have Goffin cockatoos here. With the larger too's your going to get a lot more dust. I'd highly recommend a hepa filter. We chose to get second hand birds since they are often bounced around and over looked. Our oldest 2 are estimated to be 22 & 30 years old. I will tell you they are not for everyone, but if someone was dead set on a cockatoo I think the Goffins, rose breasted, and bare eyed toos are a good choice. The others are beautiful thought! I admit I have my heart set on a Sulfur crested cockatoo one day....

One thing you need to do is keep a schedule, and stick to it. Don't smother him with attention unless your going to keep this pace for the rest of his life, other wise your going to have issues like screaming, plucking, etc when the attention declines. I have an abundance of toys for my birds, and like them to be able to entertain themselves. When we got our last cockatoo he was a horrid screamer. I used a water bottle, and gave him a firm NO, and then ignored him the best I could. If you give them lots of attention negative or positive after they have a screaming fit, they will continue since they LOVE attention of any kind! If I were to describe a cockatoo in general I'd say they are unpredictable at times. One of my boys can be a total sweet heart, and then just reach out and nip you for nothing. Plus he has his own issues like making "love" nests out of the back of my couch, or trying to nibble on the window trim, back of the chairs, etc. So invest in a lot of toys!
It helps to invest in toys with chain. This way you can get wood like KD pine cut it into chunks and restring your toys and make them last longer.
Congrats on the new addition.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Pictures!

Here is my beautiful no name:
Look how cuddly, he loves both my husband and I so far, I read they can pick one human and not like the rest so much. I hope we can have him love us both!

The pretty yellow under wing

Prettiest orange head feathers!

 

[aznmexaggie]

Aww, he is adorable!

We use a blend of low fat Roudybush and La Feber pellets here for Phoenix along with fresh greens, cooked beans and brown rice daily and sprouted seeds and fruit on occasion. We don't give nuts or seeds due to the fat content... but she does get low fat seeds (such as millet) every once in a while as a treat. I think the dietary needs of the rose breasted 'toos may be a little different than other larger 'toos though as rosies are prone to developing fatty tumors and obesity. I'm not sure if that is the case for the larger cockatoos. It's vastly different from the macaws as well... because the macaws need the higher fat diets. I use Roudybush because of the quality of the ingredients used and because it comes in a lower fat formula. I use the La Feber because the pellets aren't an extruded diet in which the heat can break down the nutrients of the pellet ingredients.

On the bird board I belong to, many of the owners use and recommend Roudybush, Harrison, and Zupreem Natural as the higher quality bird pellets. If you change his diet though, birds that are accustomed to eating one thing can be stubborn and refuse to convert to a new food. Like chins, you can try mixing the foods gradually... or you can try making a birdie bread to introduce him to new pellets and fruits/veggies... they often will at least try it that way! Many owners have success with the birdie bread route to get their birds to acquire a taste for the new foods.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Still have not heard a noise but once when I scared him putting a perch in his cage. He makes a very very quiet song noise when really happy. If he stays like this (which I KNOW he will not) that would be awesome. He is so sweet and just awesome.

Anyone know where I can get him a harness?
Is it humane to file down their beaks, he came like that and they guy said to do it every few months. It sounds kind of mean to me. The vet does this supposedly, I will ask her as well.
Also, he files down his nails and said I can do that myself. That I feel comfortable doing, but not the beak!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Well, Paco (I guess that is his name!) is doing great. He is so funny and already plays fetch and throws a willow ball and loves me to pick it up and say "uh-oh!" and give it back. He will throw it to the left, then the right, left then right. If it does not go in the right directions, he does it over. He is super smart already! My husband loves this bird to death, I am so glad because he was skeptical at first so I am so happy.

Anyway, we have a vet app. on wed to just get a wellness check, a DNA sexing just to make sure he is in fact a he, a chlamydia test (haha!), 2 fecal exams for parasites and something else, and a micro chip. Are we missing anything? One vet mentioned a shot while another knew nothing of it. I am not having him around other birds and we only have chins and hedgehogs, so I don't know if we need shots or not. I like to go to the vet prepared though.

Also, how long in between wing clippings? Can I do that myself or I am better of going to the vet? What about their nails and beaks, do you file them or have it done? I think the beak would be impossible for me to do. I found a pet store that does all 3 for like $24, that sounds good, right? There does not seem to be too much information out there, I joined a cockatoo forum but it does not seem too active. Thank you!

 

[eroomlorac]

Well, he certainly is beautiful. Congratulations on your new bird.

 

[Jenn]

Wow, he is such a big bird! We want a cockatoo but I would probably start with a baby ideally - I would be a little nervous when the big guy gets cranky and decides to get nippy! My tiel poops all the time, I can't imagine what the size of his poops must be!!! He is a gorgeous bird, though! I want to reach into the computer and snatch him from you! Good luck with him. Sounds like he is settling in just fine.

 

[3CsMommy]

Congrats on the new addition. First (and only) Moluccan I've met was called Peaches, and his favorite pass time was eating at the kitchen table with the family. His bowl went on a place mat across from mine, and while we ate cereal etc. he picked through his seeds. He would occasionally beg for a bite of Life cereal as well, but wouldn't take it if you just handed it to him or put it in his bowl; he had to have it from a spoon *having come out of a cereal bowl* just like we ate it. You are in for some fun.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Haha, my husband just texted me telling me the bird is screaming because he wants attention! I told him to ignore him, and not cuddle him or anything, and that is working. In the afternoon and morning when all the wild birds are singing he tries to compete, I think. He is still no where near as loud as I have heard, but loud. He ate breakfast with me this morning, and loved toast! He loves corn too, of course both things he should not have much of. His old food was so stale (I tasted some, yuck!) and it was so gross and soggy, he gobbled up the new food so fast and lookes so happy...you can see it in his eyes.

He is going to be very demanding, I can tell that for sure! He is such a little baby, I just love that. I get to have a baby without the labor and pregnancy!

 

[Sandi]

Wow, I just heard the video of the 2 cockatoo's. Congratulation's your cockatoo is gorgeous!

 

[Chinniechantel]

Ok, my bird said a very, very bad word yesterday. A few things actually. It was a very racist word. What do I do? Obviously not repeat that word, but when they have learned something will they ever unlearn it? I can only imagine having guests and them hearing that. You have got to be kidding me. It was clear as day, we both heard it, it was his first word here! The N word. I would rather him say anything else! We turned on the radio and he started dancing and said some weird sentence we did not understand and then very clearly said the bad bad word. We were shocked to say the least. Wow, that was not the problem I was expecting to come out of the bird! Well now I get an idea of what his previous owners were like...how terrible. I had an idea he was happy to be with us as he really is smiling with his gorgeous eyes all the time we give him fresh food, toys, etc. I don't think he had that much. Hopefully the vet will give us a clean bill of health and microchip him and everything.

 

[Orlandochins]

Growing up we had a cockatoo....I honestly don't remember how loud it was but I remember how much attention it needed...we got it over the summer and it bonded quickly with me...then summer was over and I had to go back to school...the bird could not adjust to the new schedule and started picking his own feathers out..it was pretty bad...so we had to find it a new home

we also had an African Gray and at times he was loud but no louder than any of the other birds we had...he wasn't as friendly as the cockatoo but he talked more and we had more fun teaching him new words...

I personally would go with an African Gray just because they can adjust to a schedule change better than a cockatoo....unless you can be sure that your schedule will always be the same I would think long and hard about the cockatoo

 

[3CsMommy]

About the only thing to do, just like when he starts screaming at unwanted times, is to completely ignore it. He may never unlearn it, but you can probably get him to use it infrequently by encouraging other words. I think there are even DVDs and CDs you can play that will help Paco learn new words/phrases. Think of it this way: since he knows mimicking certain human sounds lets him communicate with humans better than others, you have to pretend that word isn't in your vocabulary, and eventually he'll drop it to try something else that works better. I'd probably start trying to teach him "I love you" or "Daddy!" some of the more common bird phrases, but even "Yo Dawg, what up?" (if the people who had him spoke with that dialect) might be a better substitution.

But, at least you're not alone in being shocked/embarrassed by what your new bird has decided to try out on you. My grandparents took in a cockatiel their son and daughter-in-law had when my aunt died, and my aunt, a British War Bride, had used the F-word and "bloody" and other non-American slang a lot. One day while Grammy's minister was over for lunch, the bird decided he wanted attention and started screaming "Bloody Bas****! I'll kick your @$$! Sod off, ******!" etc. with a Yorkshire accent until Gram had to go cover his cage with a towel. Another bird in the same neighborhood had an aviary on the front porch and liked to wolf whistle and proposition women waiting at the corner bus stop. They really are like feathery 2 year olds: they pick up surprising things and bust them out at the most inopportune moments (though at least Paco didn't say that while you had a darker skinned guest in the house!).

 

[tunes]

Sparky came here with a very colorful vocabulary. It was nothing for him to just sit there and scream F off, F you, etc. It was particularly interesting because we live across the street from a church filled with blue hairs and you can hear him CLEARLY over a block away when he gets going. So no way they missed it.

He doesn't use it all the time now, because we don't use it around him. Not that I personally don't use the F bomb (I know, that will come as such a shock to some of you), but I just don't stand there in front of the bird repeating it. If I do happen to say it around him, BAM, he starts with it again. He still spits it out randomly, and I swear he knows how to use it appropriately. For instance, if he's aggravated at a particular toy, you'll hear F off! Or if the doorbell rings and startles him, it'll be F YOU! <snort>

The kids and I are highly amused. There are people out there who wish their bird would swear and won't, and mine came pre-programmed.

So yes, with new words he'll not use it as frequently, but don't be surprised if it continues to pop out now and again. It's been over 2 years with Sparky and he still does.

 

[Chinniechantel]

Oh, I am glad to hear that is not SO uncommon, and Peggy, I didn't picture you as a screaming, swearing lady! Lol. You seem actually very calm tempered for what you deal with on a daily basis. That is a hilarious story, I wonder how many people have this happen?

 

[tunes]

Ahhh Chantel - The F word is just too versatile to pass up on. I don't know why someone had to decide it was a swear word, it's just too expressive and you feel better after saying it! Especially after I've tripped over the tennis shoes that the boys leave laying in the middle of the room when I get up in the middle of the night to let Sam out, or when Sam busts through my screen door for the third time that week, because he's blind and just can't seem to grasp that doors should be solid.

When I was thinking about getting Sparky, everyone that knows me well laughed and said it would be a match made in heaven. My mom, Becky, Amanda, Nikki, etc. Go figure!

 

[Jenn]

I have to admit, that although I don't like to swear, and still don't in front of my parents, the F word definitely comes out of my mouth. But Peggy, yours...I thought you were above our foolish human standards!

Obviously the people who owned the bird before liked the F word as well. I agree with Peggy that he should use it less if he doesn't hear it repeated anymore. And then, you could always remind your friends when he uses that word in front of them, that the bird did come from elsewhere and you would never teach him such profanity!!!

Just don't give him any attention whatsoever when he uses that word, but give him tons of attention when he uses other words. Maybe that will help? Good luck!!!

 

[Becky]

You people do NOT know Peggy! She can swear in full, grammatically correct paragraphs, very creatively. When I'm around she tries to control herself, but it doesn't always work!