Rescued Bella

Hi we are new to the forum we rescued a cockatoo about 4 months ago and we are looking for a little help with her. She is about 15 and she is a plucker. Most of the feathers on her stomach and legs are gone on a good note she is getting some of them back slowly. Is there anything that can be done when they are in a habit like this? Is there anything that can be put on it to stop her? She came from a house with 11 or so birds not sure how much attention she got. She is extremely friendly and comes out every night with us. We also have a conour so the time is not as long as we would like but not sure how the two would get along. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I just adopted a cockatoo two, I also have a cockatiel. I was worried about them getting along also. Cockatoos are very territorial. They seem to get along now but the too gets mad if he gets too close. They now hang out on the big cage with no problems together. But cockatoos are moody so keep an eye on them. I just leave both of their cages open now and havnt had a single problem. Granted my cockatiel is an awesome flyer and corky is not. So the cockatiel will just fly back to his cage. Give the plucking time, mine was shredding when i got him and it got worst when i brought him home. Since he has gotten use to me and has been getting attention his feathers are looking way better. It can take time.

Welcome and thanks for rescuing her! What kind of cockatoo is she? Has she visited an avian vet yet to rule out medical causes for her plucking? Treating plucking caused by dietary issues, skin conditions ext... is very different than behavioral plucking. Also, does she play with toys? Have lots of things to shred? Does she receive regular baths? what kind of diet is she on? ALL these factors can be helpful for members to give better advice

Since Bella came from a home with multiple birds and you have Beeker, I think a thorough health check from an avian vet would be a good place to start. Plucking is often caused by underlying medical issues. Do you know Bella's history? How long she's plucked? How many times she's changed homes?

I wouldn't put anything on Bella's skin other than water, unless it was prescribed by a vet. Frequent baths in plain water is good for any bird's skin and feathers and with cockatoos it helps to reduce the dust.

What kind of cockatoo do you have?

Thank you to all it is nice to have people to talk with about this. I believe this is her third home. The people who had her had her for a long time there son brought her home from a pet store he was working in and she was already plucking than. She has a sore form plucking. From all the research I have done she is a Greater-Sulphur Crested Cockatoo. She was strictly on a pellet diet when we got her with treats here and there. We have changed her up she gets her pellets and also fruits and nuts. She also eats almost everything that I eat both my birds do we share alot. She loves eggs and fresh veggies & fruits. We just started giving her weekly baths should they be more frequent than once a week. My conour baths almost daily but she will get right in her food dish if she wants to.

Folger got a "ruff" thing which helped stop him attacking himself, I think. I can't remember where it was from, but if you look through his mum's posts you might find it (assuming Bella doesn't have something that the vet fixes). You can see it on him in his videos in this thread.

http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/46774-folger-boy.html

It is nice to have a friendly place to discuss birds, I'm glad you joined us.

Three homes in fifteen years is not so unusual for the bigger Toos, as sad as that is. Her previous owners did her a favor by feeding her pellets rather than seed only. It's great she's eating vegetables and other healthy foods.

A weekly bath should be fine until Bella is fully adjusted to her new home. I wouldn't push the baths to the point of causing her stress. With open wounds, there is always the chance of infection, is Bella still chewing at it?

What is Bella like so far? Is she able to entertain herself and play with toys? I can tell she has already stolen your heart. Good luck with her, I hope you have a lot of happy years with your beautiful girl.

She has stolen my heart, she is the most lovable bird will sit with me for hours and loves my husband and son also she has really fit into the family. The sore is not open she has had it since she was in the pet store, she picks at it a little but does not dig at it. She has toys in her cage she plays with now and then she likes to hang upside down and ring the bell and loves ripping the paper up on the bottom of her cage. I have a mist shower so I put that on and spray her with it a little than let her go to the water I did not want to stress her out. She is our first large bird so any advice is helpful. We let her out every night she does not fly but will walk around the house like she owns it.

What color are the fancy green cheek conures? (Without the "O" after the "N")

How was she abused to be rescued?

Wow! It didn't take Ms. Bella long to feel right at home with you. That's wonderful that she's already confident enough to come out and spend time with your family.

I think you're doing everything right for Bella! If her diet is good and she has plenty of chances to interact with her family and play with interesting toys in her cage, then that's a pretty good start at a great life. I think these plucky-cockies need occupation more than anything else. Give her a job to do. Hide her food so she has to search for it (eg. bury it under stuff or stick it tight inside a cardboard tube etc. Look up 'foraging' for better ideas.)

We have a large playgym suspended from the ceiling over our back sliding glass door. It's made of pvc pipe and has various things hanging from it (swings, rummage basket, large boing, ladder, cargo net etc). My Beaks (Alexandrines) don't use it that much, beyond perching between flights, but my Galah, Dominic, gets all his exercise on the playgym. Dom can fly, but not far and not often. Most of his exercise comes from clambering around on the playgym.

So, put your thinking hat on and see if you can devise ways to keep Bella moving about her environment. Things like a knotted rope can work well: birdie can climb up from the floor to a perch or across from one perch to another. Sadly, it doesn't work for Dom as he has large fatty tumours that prevent him using a knotted rope, but my other birds love climbing up and down. I use sisal rope of various diameters - the biggest is about an inch thick and very hard to knot! LOL!

Another great occupation is trick training. Not everyone wants his bird to do tricks, but the training gives a bird something to think about and broadens his life experience. Don't dismiss it as another way to keep Bella mentally occupied so she forgets to pluck!

Of course, with cockies the best occupation of them all is chewing. They'll chew whatever you dish up: broccoli stems, carrots, celery sticks, paper, phone books, cardboard tubes, bamboo, wood, natural branches, plastic of all descriptions. You need to take care not to offer anything toxic or dangerous (eg. most bells designed for bird toys are absolutely NOT safe, so avoid 'em like the plague!) We have lists of safe trees to use here on the forum (you can use the search function to find them) and it's great to provide a nice hunk of tree branch with growing tips, blossoms and fruit for birdie to munch on. You'll be amazed how quickly one little cocky can strip a branch!

LOL! In the street up from us, the local flock of cockies has almost completely denuded the street trees of leaves and bark. I've planted some native trees in my yard to attract the cockies for a visit, but so far, no luck.

I do wish you well with dear Bella. She deserves the lovely home you're giving her and I hope you continue to make progress with her. You're lucky that she has some feather regrowth: my Dommie has lost all the feathers on his back and front because of long-standing follicle damage. We look forward to seeing some photos of Bella and Dom sends respectful squawks to his new friend.

Rescuing a plucked and actively picking cockatoo is a labor of love! As others have posted, time and lots of attention are the best therapies. It is possible you may accomplish nothing more than an abatement of the plucking while some follicles remain inactive. Regardless, you are on the road to saving a life and making a new best friend!!

the conure is green, yellow, red and blue
Not abused physically, just no time for her
If I can figure out how to place pictures I will

She came out and spent time with us the first day we brought her home she is fantastic.

So you adopted a neglected baby.....

Please do post pictures of your babies when you get a chance. We all love pictures!

I use photo bucket for my pictures then just copy the direct link and click on the little picture icon on your message box, paste the link within, then click on. Then when your ready to post, just click post. The picture should show up.

So we have been very busy and have not been here for a while. Bella is doing well she has started to grow some of her feathers back, but we have found this is going to be a long process if she gets them back. She has picked up the habit of screeching when we eat so we have started feeding her at the same time seems to help out. She wants all the attention when we are home but has come to love all of us and has to spend time with each one of us every night.

My adopted Goffin's,Jonesy,was a plucker when I got him less than 2 weeks ago. He was stressing from his previous home that had an Umbie that didn't get along with Jonesy.

Jonesy chest was just about naked! Now,like I said,in less than 2 weeks, I can already see an improvement in his white fluffy chest.

Jim