Introducing My Beautiful Major Mitchell's Cockatoo, "Bella"!

[Kimmied]

Bella is a little beauty!! I too a drooling on my keyboard. So so wonderful that you can give her a happy home too. Looks like she has beautiful fids to play with. 😃

 

[Marcy]

Bundiibird,
I cant believe you have sulphur crested cockatoos flying over the house! Oh that would be amazing to witness! If you ever get a photo of that please share it! I would love it!! Wow!

 

[Marcy]

You'll have to tell us what it's like living with one! Bella is gorgeous!

MonicaMc,
I indeed would love to share how it is to live with a MM2, and thank you for asking! Bella and I had a special connections from the moment we met, which was a blessing since she was. my life long dream bird! The MM2 are a very fragile species! I am very careful of everything I do and her surroundings. I personally can't take her to the vet, someone else must. I don't do anything negetive towards her or I would risk our relationship. She is a for sure a one person bird! I'm the only one she will let hold her, cuddle with her and preen her neck and head. She wants me to hold her all the time,but does well playing herself. She is frightened easily. I always tell her before I turn on the light or someone else enters a room. I actually talk her through things just like I do with my daughter with autism. She is very sweet &gentle with me. She gently preens my eye lashes.She is a wood chewer! We are blessed to own a lot of land, with Sycamore trees, and my husband cuts large branches down, and my aviary is filled ith them for the birds to play and climb on. Bella goes through hers much quicker than my other parrots!! She is very quiet saying sweet sounds, but also talks and dances fantastic. I actually have a video on my aviary youtube channel of her! My aviary is called, Marcys Mountain Aviary. She is really intelligent and has an excellent memory. Her feathers are like silk. Its hard to explain. I thought Lex my G2 was the softess parrot possible, but she is more silky. She has a lot of big feathers, especially around her neck. I love to preen her long crest feathers! Her beauty never stops stunning me and taking my breath away!! Its a blessing to watch her. I never take for granted the realationship she and I have. Its a lot of hard work, but more that worth it! She gives to me far greater than I give to her!

~Marcy
Sent from my BlackBerry Playbook via Tapatalk.

 

[Marcy]

Bella is quite the exotic beauty! That crest is breathtaking. What's Bella's personality like and how old is she?

Thank you so very much!! Bella is only 3 years old. Still a baby

 

[Marcy]

Bella is lovely. They are one of my favourite parrots. We never see them here. We see the odd King. And few Black fly over if its going to storm.

Thank you! I would just love to see parrots fly over us! Wow! Any time you capture a photo, i would LOVE to see!

 

[Marcy]

that's why i wanted to visit australia so badly is to see all the birds in their natural habitat. One day.....

so do i!!!!!!

 

[Marcy]

Bella is quite the exotic beauty! That crest is breathtaking. What's Bella's personality like and how old is she?

I forgot to answer your first question. Read the post i gave responding to Monicamc, I gave great detail. Thanks for asking!!

 

[Marcy]

Beautiful Major Mitchell, Marcy. They're my favourite cockatoo, and no exactly cheap even here in Oz. Where I lived over east until Feb, there were 3-4 pairs that bred around town, they'd sometimes come into the tree in my backyard or at the office (which was on 7 acres, with some acacia trees which many parrots love the pods of). I've also seen them in the wild on the Nullabor Plain including most recently in February as we crossed to come over to the West again.

A friendly acquaintance who we got several birds off on my last town (mentioned above) had a couple of pairs of MMs I must email him to see if any actually bred. Last summer he handraised 4 chicks for a friend of his so I got to see the babies close up.

I see an Alex in here and you have Bella- we have a female eccy called thus (not tame). I doubt a MM would fit into our zoo, now, as we'd be unable to give it close, one-on-one attention.

Once again, a simply beautiful bird, Marcy.

Dear Mike17, Thank so much for your long message & i want to reply to all of it! So even though they live in Oz, they are costly? May I ask, just because I love to learn all I can about them, how much are they in your country? I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU HAVE WITNESSED SEEING THEM IN THE WILD!!!!!! That is my dream! Have you ever taken photos of them in the wild? If so, may I please see them?? How amazing! I wonder if I can purchase Acasia pods her in the US? I would love to get some for her!

I know the few pairs in the US, they are very hard to breed! Let me know if your friend was able to have them breed!! I can't believe you were able to see the babies close up, that is precious!

Your zoo sounds great! Thank you so very much for your very kind words regarding Bella!!!

 

[Birdman666]

You'll have to tell us what it's like living with one! Bella is gorgeous!

MonicaMc,
I indeed would love to share how it is to live with a MM2, and thank you for asking! Bella and I had a special connections from the moment we met, which was a blessing since she was. my life long dream bird! The MM2 are a very fragile species! I am very careful of everything I do and her surroundings. I personally can't take her to the vet, someone else must. I don't do anything negetive towards her or I would risk our relationship. She is a for sure a one person bird! I'm the only one she will let hold her, cuddle with her and preen her neck and head. She wants me to hold her all the time,but does well playing herself. She is frightened easily. I always tell her before I turn on the light or someone else enters a room. I actually talk her through things just like I do with my daughter with autism. She is very sweet &gentle with me. She gently preens my eye lashes.She is a wood chewer! We are blessed to own a lot of land, with Sycamore trees, and my husband cuts large branches down, and my aviary is filled ith them for the birds to play and climb on. Bella goes through hers much quicker than my other parrots!! She is very quiet saying sweet sounds, but also talks and dances fantastic. I actually have a video on my aviary youtube channel of her! My aviary is called, Marcys Mountain Aviary. She is really intelligent and has an excellent memory. Her feathers are like silk. Its hard to explain. I thought Lex my G2 was the softess parrot possible, but she is more silky. She has a lot of big feathers, especially around her neck. I love to preen her long crest feathers! Her beauty never stops stunning me and taking my breath away!! Its a blessing to watch her. I never take for granted the realationship she and I have. Its a lot of hard work, but more that worth it! She gives to me far greater than I give to her!

~Marcy
Sent from my BlackBerry Playbook via Tapatalk.

Thanks for that. I've only known a few people that have owned these guys, and you have actually mirrored A LOT of what I was told.

These are one of the prettiest of the toos.

These guys and the black palms I think...

 

[Mike17]

Dear Mike17, Thank so much for your long message & i want to reply to all of it! So even though they live in Oz, they are costly? May I ask, just because I love to learn all I can about them, how much are they in your country? I CAN NOT BELIEVE YOU HAVE WITNESSED SEEING THEM IN THE WILD!!!!!! That is my dream! Have you ever taken photos of them in the wild? If so, may I please see them?? How amazing! I wonder if I can purchase Acasia pods her in the US? I would love to get some for her!

I know the few pairs in the US, they are very hard to breed! Let me know if your friend was able to have them breed!! I can't believe you were able to see the babies close up, that is precious!

Your zoo sounds great! Thank you so very much for your very kind words regarding Bella!!!

I do have some photos of MMs, Marcy, I'll have to find them, they're not exactly clear. I saw three in a bush when we stopped for fuel at a remote stop on the Nullabor Plain and got reasonably close to them, but only had my phone camera.

MMs are around AUD700-1000 here, for hand-raised birds, only slightly cheaper than eccies. According to my friend from last town, they're not especially easy to breed and despite great successes with other species, his MM pairs hadn't given him very many chicks. Some years they didn't even start breeding in the sense of building a nest and courting, and he'd go out of his way with regard to feed and finding nice hollow eucalypt logs.

I'd imagine you'd fine acacia bushes/trees over there, Marcy. They are also known as wattle, one of our iconic native Oz plants with gorgeous yellow flowers. Specialist plant nurseries would carry them, I'm sure. Cockatoos also like the leaves- galahs would come into the trees near my office and strip leaves off by the hundreds. Not an especially good tree for a suburban garden as they shed branches in the wind a lot.

Our "zoo" had just been added to, I brought 5 cockatiel chicks inside to hand-raise yesterday. The other birds have to be kept away, of course, and we already let them out in shifts due to "interspecies conflict". The most interesting one perhaps, from your point of view, would be the princess parrot, Kermit. They are rarely seen in the wild, in fact their natural range is not far from where I live now in Western Australia.

 

[Mike17]

Bundiibird,
I cant believe you have sulphur crested cockatoos flying over the house! Oh that would be amazing to witness! If you ever get a photo of that please share it! I would love it!! Wow!

From 2002-2004 I lived in Weipa, which is a bauxite mining and port town around 500km north of Cairns, on the Gulf of Carpentaria in far north Queensland. The house we lived in had a fair number of paw paw trees, and as they ripened we'd get flying foxes (fruit bats) coming at night and sulphur-crested cockatoos during the day (they'd be after the seeds mainly, but it didn't stop them "opening up" a ripe-ish pawpaw). Funny thing was, if I walked outside, they'd move to the back of the tree, thinking I couldn't see them Pawpaws are hardly "big & bushy" for concealment, especially when half a dozen birds are trying to "hide" on one tree. We got very little fruit from those trees! I don't actually like pawpaw much, but my wife is fond of them.

 

[Marcy]

Thanks for that. I've only known a few people that have owned these guys, and you have actually mirrored A LOT of what I was told.

These are one of the prettiest of the toos.

These guys and the black palms I think...

Birdman666 You are very welcome! I have never known another person to own one so thats awesome to hear you say the others mirrored what i said!

I too are they are the prettiest!

We are members of the National Aviary in Pitt, and they have a Palm Cockatoo. Hes huge and stunning!

Thank you for your comments!

 

[Marcy]

Bella is a little beauty!! I too a drooling on my keyboard. So so wonderful that you can give her a happy home too. Looks like she has beautiful fids to play with. 😃

Minamommy, I wanted to thank you for your post! Thank you for seeing through what I said that she has a happy home!! She indeed is! And she loves her friends! All my fids are treated with royalty! I have a daughter with special needs and they are our lives! Its difficult to do things outside our home, so our hobby, fun, enjoyment in life is our parrots! We make bird toys every day because it means so much to her to make something for them then watch them play with it. Also, when shes doing therapy and in so much pain, the birds entertain her, carry on, do flips, do tricks, anything they can to get her mind off of it! Its unbelievable how they know! What a blessing!! Thank you for your post!

 

[Marcy]

I do have some photos of MMs, Marcy, I'll have to find them, they're not exactly clear. I saw three in a bush when we stopped for fuel at a remote stop on the Nullabor Plain and got reasonably close to them, but only had my phone camera.

MMs are around AUD700-1000 here, for hand-raised birds, only slightly cheaper than eccies. According to my friend from last town, they're not especially easy to breed and despite great successes with other species, his MM pairs hadn't given him very many chicks. Some years they didn't even start breeding in the sense of building a nest and courting, and he'd go out of his way with regard to feed and finding nice hollow eucalypt logs.

I'd imagine you'd fine acacia bushes/trees over there, Marcy. They are also known as wattle, one of our iconic native Oz plants with gorgeous yellow flowers. Specialist plant nurseries would carry them, I'm sure. Cockatoos also like the leaves- galahs would come into the trees near my office and strip leaves off by the hundreds. Not an especially good tree for a suburban garden as they shed branches in the wind a lot.

Our "zoo" had just been added to, I brought 5 cockatiel chicks inside to hand-raise yesterday. The other birds have to be kept away, of course, and we already let them out in shifts due to "interspecies conflict". The most interesting one perhaps, from your point of view, would be the princess parrot, Kermit. They are rarely seen in the wild, in fact their natural range is not far from where I live now in Western Australia.

OH MY GOODNESS I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS!!!!!! I just can't imagine seeing them! We do have Bald Eagles, Blue Huron Cranes, & Red Tailed Hawks on our land, and they are beautiful, but I have never seen a parrot in the wild! I would just love to! I just purchased the 4 DVD "World of Parrots" of Australia, from World Parrot Trust because I want so badly to watch them in the wild! I cant wait for it to come!

I will for sure check to see if nurseries carry the Acacia bushes! Thank you! I have read several places that the MM2s are very hard to breed! I wondered how they did, thank you for letting me know. I have a CD from Bella's breeder of her baby photos, oh my gosh they are adorable!

I have NEVER seen a princess parrot!!!! Their coloring is beautiful! What other parrot would you say they are similar to in size? How awesome for you to have one!!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Marcy]

From 2002-2004 I lived in Weipa, which is a bauxite mining and port town around 500km north of Cairns, on the Gulf of Carpentaria in far north Queensland. The house we lived in had a fair number of paw paw trees, and as they ripened we'd get flying foxes (fruit bats) coming at night and sulphur-crested cockatoos during the day (they'd be after the seeds mainly, but it didn't stop them "opening up" a ripe-ish pawpaw). Funny thing was, if I walked outside, they'd move to the back of the tree, thinking I couldn't see them Pawpaws are hardly "big & bushy" for concealment, especially when half a dozen birds are trying to "hide" on one tree. We got very little fruit from those trees! I don't actually like pawpaw much, but my wife is fond of them.

That is awesome!!! How amazing it would be too witness that! I have never heard of pawpaw. I love that they hid at the back of the tree! adorable. Thank you for sharing! Amazing!

 

[Marcy]

Bella is quite the exotic beauty! That crest is breathtaking. What's Bella's personality like and how old is she?

Thank you so very much!!! I always say the exact same thing about her crest! Bella is 3 years old. Still a baby.

 

[Mike17]

OH MY GOODNESS I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS!!!!!! I just can't imagine seeing them! We do have Bald Eagles, Blue Huron Cranes, & Red Tailed Hawks on our land, and they are beautiful, but I have never seen a parrot in the wild! I would just love to! I just purchased the 4 DVD "World of Parrots" of Australia, from World Parrot Trust because I want so badly to watch them in the wild! I cant wait for it to come!

I will for sure check to see if nurseries carry the Acacia bushes! Thank you! I have read several places that the MM2s are very hard to breed! I wondered how they did, thank you for letting me know. I have a CD from Bella's breeder of her baby photos, oh my gosh they are adorable!

I have NEVER seen a princess parrot!!!! Their coloring is beautiful! What other parrot would you say they are similar to in size? How awesome for you to have one!!! Thanks for sharing!

I'm still looking for the photos, Marcy. I'm thinking now I took them on my nice (but old) film camera, it was 2007 and I still had some film left, I think.

We came by our princess by accident, in a way. It was the last survivor of a clutch of three, the parents rejected it on first hot day of spring last year (October). The breeder (our friend from last town we lived at) gave us two birds, plus Kermit to raise for him, but didn't want him back when he discovered the deformed beak wasn't improving- and he can still only eat pellet paste, greens and a little hulled sunflower. The paste is made up twice per day, so it's a bit of work. He's a real character, we love him dearly. They are a little bigger than a cockatiel, and heavier across the chest, and with a much longer tail. They are beautiful in flight as the tail fans out and shows the pink underneath. I go up to his cage and talk to him and he comes right up close and looks me right in the eye! He doesn't do this outside the cage and hates being touched except on beak and gently stroked on the breast. There are pics of him in the forum.

 

[Birdman666]

My ex-fiance had a BP2. She passed away a few years ago. Her mother couldn't bear to part with that bird. My daughter will inherit it someday...

I am more a macaw and amzon person than a too person.

 

[Marcy]

My ex-fiance had a BP2. She passed away a few years ago. Her mother couldn't bear to part with that bird. My daughter will inherit it someday...

I am more a macaw and amzon person than a too person.

I am so sorry! That is so sad!!

You would like my Spectacled Amazon (WFA) then!

 

[Marcy]

The most interesting one perhaps, from your point of view, would be the princess parrot, Kermit. They are rarely seen in the wild, in fact their natural range is not far from where I live now in Western Australia.

Mike I just realized, the 4 DVD set I just bought features the princess parrot!! I bought it because one DVD has MM2's on them, and actually has a photo of the MM2 as the cover. I just read again the details of the DVD's and it specifically says that it may be the only video captured of the princess parrot! I just had to tell you after reading that!