citron crested cockatoo info please

[potamotrygon]

hello! In search for my first feathered friend, ive come across one of these near me for rehome on craigslist. I couldnt.find it in the species listed in the cockatoo subforum but found.some info searching the web.

Heres what i gathered- they are one of the smaller cockatoos. Rather quiet and has a vocabulary of roughly10-15 words but are very playful and affectionate and love tricks. I also read that they are on the endangered species list but are legal in the pet trade w proper papers.

Anyone have experience or.could give more in depth info?

 

[ann]

ok, its great you want to rescue a bird, they really need you! However, cockatoos, especially re homed cockatoos, are VERY difficult birds for first time parrot owners. They are very loud, one of the loudest birds out there and not suited for apartments. They are playful and affectionate, but are incredibly demanding and needy. They need a huge cage with lots of toys which should be rotated monthly. Also, not every bird will talk, just because it can doesn't mean it will. If you still want a cockatoo, understand they can live 50 years, some have even lived to be 80, and are one of the loudest most demanding birds you can own, and their bite can send you to get stitches. If you want one do lots of research, read books, handle cockatoos at pet stores (young and old birds), and read, read, read and read some more. A great source of brutally honest info about cockatoos is mytoos.com. I also recommend buying a training course before you get one so you are prepared deal with issues that might come up. If you do all this, cockatoos are incredibly affectionate, loyal, loving, gentle, playful, and funny companions. But its not easy, input equals output. I don't mean to be harsh, sorry if it came off that way, im just trying to tell you what your getting into. I would definitely meet the bird first. You should also feed him/her lots of veggies, some fruit, and good quality pellets with nuts as treats. dont feed him apple seeds or the flesh close to the seeds, the same goes for peaches, pears, and nectarines. as a general rule, dont feed them the seeds of any fruits except stuff like bananas and pomegranate. never feed avocado, chocolate, alcohol, or anything high in caffeine sugar and salt. good luck

 

[melissasparrots]

I don't have a citron but I have friends that do. They are a member of the sulfer crested group and have a lot of characteristics on common with them. I do have have a sulfer crest and grew up with a lesser sulfer crest which the citron is a subspecies of. Sulfers/citrons have a reputation for being more independent than the other large cockatoos but still cuddly. That means you will need to brush up on your parrot psychology and how not to spoil the bird. They generally love attention but you have to be the one to put limits on it so they don't come to expect your full attention all the time. While citrons can be one of the quieter cockatoos, "quieter" is a relative term. Cockatoos in general can be quite loud and I would not recommend one unless you live in your own home, all member of your family are okay with some very loud vocalizations and your life is stable enough that you can reasonably predict that you will not have to move into an appartment at any point. Unless the bird has been taught to be a screamer, you can expect 10-20 minutes of on and off loud vocalizations a couple times a day. That would be considered normal for most cockatoo. If your lucky enough to get a citron that actually read the rule book and decided to follow the species stereotype, then you might only get a few squawks here and there. If your bird didn't read the "How to be a Citron" manual then you might have some more screaming. Particularly if this is a rehome and the last owner taught it all sorts of bad habits.

Keep in mind it is a cockatoo so feather picking is a definite possibility. The sulfer crested group is less prone to this than some other species, but still a cockatoo so it needs to be something your willing to work with and not get totally emotionally devastated if it happens.

Being a cockatoo, chances are decent it will pick a certain member of the family to be the favorite. That means it may or may not be trustworthy with other memebers of the family. All adults in the home need to be on board with possibly not being the favorite and possibly needing to protect any children or other pets from a nasty cockatoo bite. Citrons generally don't take aggression to extremes, but being as this is a cockatoo you need to know what can happen before you get it.

Fear. Citrons are known for being more skittish than other species. Sulfers in general can be this way. Never, ever chase a citron cockatoo unless you have to for medical reasons. Ask first before having the bird step up and allow it to say NO. Never force. Always remember you cannot show a bird something scary is okay by forcing it to accept it. You will just make the scary thing more scary. When dealing with fear behavior in cockatoos, it can be incredibly heartrenching and a very long term problem to overcome if you trigger it. You don't need to walk on tip toes around them, but you need to never force, never trigger a prey animal run for your life response. I know citrons that are incredibly emotionally stable and others that are a little hypervigalent. Cockatoos in generally are a little more emotionally complex than other species of parrot. There is less room for error. Cockatoos make lousy pets, but very good companions for life. They need more respect and give and take from their owners than a typical pet relationship entails. If this is a rehome, then you have to be willing to take the bird as it is. You can see some pretty aberrant behavior from rehomed cockatoos if their previous owners weren't very good. That means it may or may not match the species stereotype and you may end up with a screaming, biting, feather picking mess. Or it could be the worlds most perfect bird ever. Rehoming a cockatoo needs to be an act of compassion first. You may have to put your own needs and wants second to the bird. And accept it when it doesn't turn out the way you want. Ask yourself if you can provide a good home for a cockatoo. If your train of thought is currently will a cockatoo give me what I want in a pet, then chances are you should NOT own a cockatoo. The question should be, can I be the best thing for this bird to give it a good life regardless if it loves me or wants to love me or kill me.