Strange Pairing

Rescued wild caught G2 and Mitred Conure Pair.

So we went to the rescue yesterday with the intention of adopting a pair of Sun conures rescued from the Bailey Foundation. We ended up taking home a different pair. A Goffins Cockatoo and a Mitred Conure. Both are wild caught and not friendly at all. The reason we decided to take them in is because the likelihood of them getting a adopted is slim because of their demeanor. The conure is terrified of people and the cockatoo is curious, but very protective of the conure. He always stands if front of him when someone walks in the room. I have put them in my room for their quarantine and because they are soo scared.

I am not sure if the conure will ever be friendly, but the cockatoo will take treats from my hand and is people curious. I figured even if they are not friendly I can give them a good home and good nutrition. Hopefully someday they will be comfortable enough to come out of there cage and hang out on the bird stand.

If anyone has any ideas of suggestions for handling these poor guys let me know. I up for any ideas. Especially do I just let them be birds and provided a good home for them or do I try to earn their trust?

I am such a sucker for the underdog that no one wants

oh pretty birds. congrats on the new additions.. Alison and sweetie pie

Anyone have any suggestions on maybe separating these 2? The cockatoo will not let anyone near the conure. Last night the Izzy(cockatoo) was on top of the cage so I tried handing Miranda(Conure) a piece of food and she was taking it from me, but soon Izzy came in a shooed me away from Miranda. Izzy is very protective of Miranda won't let strangers even look at her. She blocks her with her body and then hisses and lunges. I am not sure this is the healthiest of relationships. They also over preen each other around the head.
Any suggestion would be great. Thank you in advance.

Thank you for rescuing these two! Do not separate them yet. I use to volunteer for Bailey's. Let me contact some of the past "good" people and see if they know the history on these two for you.

I would let them be birds while trying to earn their trust in a non-pushy sort of way. If the conure is the skittish one, let him observe your efforts with the cockatoo and then watch his reaction. You can accomplish a lot by just handing them treats every time you walk by and stopping to have a chat with them. They will eventually learn you intend no harm if your not constantly in their face trying to sweet talk them into doing scary things like step up, and recieve petting etc. As you go along the opportunity for a quick scratch or beak rub might present itself. If not thats okay. If it does, keep it super short, guage their response and maybe, maybe not try again later. Better yet, let the bird initiate it. In birds like this the top priority needs to be their happiness. Their capacity for being good pets comes in a distant second. Often times if you make them happy, some pet behaviors will start to show themselves.
A slight word of caution, if the cockatoo is a male he may become upset if he sees you start making friends with the conure and that could elicit some cockatoo mate aggression. Generally with bonded pairs its best to tread lightly. With my various pairs I have to be very careful if I want to give the female attention because the male is likely to attack whichever of us is closest to keep me away from his hen. Even though this isn't a cockatoo with cockatoo pairing, you could still see some cockatoo type aggression. If the male persists in positioning himself between you, respect that in order not to upset the pair dynamics. Or separate them so you don't have to worry about it. I think you have real potential to turn the goffin's into a decent pet and earn some trust from the conure. Your chances are better if you separate them. Otherwise it could just be mostly verbal interaction with a quick scratch here and there with some work and otherwise they hang out on their cage and be birds. Personally I would allow them to just be birds together unless it becomes apparent later on as things evolve that a change is needed.
Melissa

Thank you Greycloud and melissasparrots. I really just want what is best for this pair. No matter how wonderful a rescue is, it really is not an ideal situation for birds. I already have 3 companion parrots and my gut just told me I needed to bring these guys home with me whether or not they would ever be approachable. I will keep them in my room for a month and then I will try to slowly introduce them to the bird room (which is my foyer the center part of the house) and see how things go. Last night the cockatoo was playing. It makes me smile to just watch them be happy comfortable birds!
Any information that you can find out would be great Greycloud. The paper work that was filled out when they were sent to the rescue I go to was very minimal.

michell448 said:

Anyone have any suggestions on maybe separating these 2? The cockatoo will not let anyone near the conure. Last night the Izzy(cockatoo) was on top of the cage so I tried handing Miranda(Conure) a piece of food and she was taking it from me, but soon Izzy came in a shooed me away from Miranda. Izzy is very protective of Miranda won't let strangers even look at her. She blocks her with her body and then hisses and lunges. I am not sure this is the healthiest of relationships. They also over preen each other around the head.
Any suggestion would be great. Thank you in advance.

Click to expand...

How about one of those divideable cages. They can be near each other and snuggle up through the cage bars but the cockatoo can't get in the way of the conure. Doing that may mess of the pair dynamics though. The goal would be to let them feel close to each other but have them separate enough to work with. However, I think your more likely to see them pull each others feathers if they snuggle up with the cage bars between them. Or some aggression when they are out together. Personally considering their situation I'd just let them be, however if they both are volunteering some pet type behaviors, maybe its best to separate them. You could also just do two cages close together and then move them farther and farther apart. Keep in mind that if one over preens the other, they are likely to start over preening themselves when their friend is removed. You may see some other behaviors show up that you'll have to deal with. The flip side is maybe that conure has been bullied into accepting a submissive role and separating the two will allow his/her true colors to come through. I'd play it be ear and see what types of behaviors they are showing you in another week or two.

I got a response about the birds and can put you in touch with this person if you have FB. Here is her response:

Julia wrote: "They came from my local spca originally owner surrendered. They lived with me for a while. After what happened to TBF I took them to Iowa parrot rescue (Mike Hutchison). They are wild caught and totally bonded. Let me know if you need any more info. I know them quite well."

I will PM you.

I sent her a message. I got them from the Iowa Parrot Rescue. Mike is absolutely wonderful. 3 of my 5 birds have come from there. Now I am at my limit . I wish I wasn't, but the birds come first.