Billy the Goffin

[ShreddedOakAviary]

So I wound up with another rehab cockatoo today...

Billy is a wild caught male goffin cockatoo. His previous owner have a female goffin as well (who is now missing a leg thanks to Billy). The story keeps changing, so I'm not sure under what circumstances Billy got ahold of their female. Either way they decided they couldn't keep him. So he came to stay with me for a while so I can assess his behavoir and the roots of his aggression.

I worked with Billy for a couple hours before bed and came to a couple of conclusions...

1. Billy is a traditional spoiled Goffin who is accustomed to getting his own way
2. He is incredibly trainable.... He now steps up, lays on his back, and allows me to grab him around his body (all accomplished in about 15 min. Tomorrow I'm gonna teach him to play parrot basketball, and I am gonna teach him his colors and shapes over the next few weeks. I also think he'll make a wonderful free flight canadate, so I will start work on that slowly. He is a bird who is way too smart for the average home, and needs to live with someone who has time to teach him new things all the time. Billy is the kind of bird who needs puzzles, not toys.... He is not a canidate for breeding... ever. He needs someone who will teach him and interact with him all the time.

One last thing.... owning 2 cockatoos of opposite sexes and not breeders is a TERRIBLE idea, and in some cases a recipe for disaster.... one bird always winds up jelous or frustrated to a violent point...

Either way, I will train Billy and then begin the long process of finding the RIGHT home for him.... wish me and Billy luck

 

[Remy]

I'm glad he's in capable hands.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

We'll see....

I get a lot of 'toos through my doors, and birds like Billy are really hard to place in an appropriate home, so he may be here for a long time....

By the way I found out today that Goffins have been moved to Apendix 1 of the CITES list... when did that happen?

I'm not suprised as Island birds have such a small range that they tend to have all sorts of habitat problems....

Although I'm not sure how much area the Tanimbar Islands actually span...

Either way, Billy has quite a bit by way of manners to learn... and I know somewhere out there is someone who would love to have such an intelligent bird.... Billy will find his home when the time comes, they all do.

 

[suebee]

awww well done an not sure if my nerves will hold when faced with a too's beak lol an hope billy finds a good home

 

[oled]

pleace kepp us informed and good luck!

 

[osnyder]

You sound like a true bird whisperer-- Billy is a lucky guy. How old is he, abouts?

 

[Cisco]

Billy has a open band; meaning he is wild caught. The imports stopped in the 80's, so at least 30 years old. Who knows when he was actually caught and how old he was then... so our best guess would put Billy at about 40ish!!!

 

[QuackQuack]

Any info on the band to help you narrow that number down?

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

It's not USDA, so he was quarantined at a private facility. The series of the three letters starts with O so he went through a facility in California, but since it was non USDA I don't know which facility the F indicates and the trail stops there.

 

[stolle]

I am found of parrots... I want to know that from where can I get the best birds..
I want to buy a couple of parrots...!

 

[Amber]

Sounds like a very interesting bird! Keep us updated on him, I'd love to hear more! Sounds like a similar temperament to my jenday, always needing to learn (though, not as capable cognitively of complex things as a goffin is) and an aggressive streak, so I wouldn't mind to hear about your progress with him so I can implement some of the activities you might use with my little pain in the butt! They look a lot like the little corellas to me. And on the plus side, even though they are endangered in the wild (and thats really sad ): ) at least they breed readily in captivity so the species should be secure in aviculture for the foreseeable future.