Help with goffin diet.

[StutterButter]

I have a 14year old goffin cockatoo (unsure whether boy or girl but assumed as boy.) My family had him for a while, but we were in a rough spot and had to give him to a friend for a while. He was very badly abused when he was younger. The owners that abused him locked him up in their basement and kept him extremely isolated. He has a lot of trust issues and it saddens me that people can do that to a bird. He also refuses to try a lot of new things. Especially food. I have not been able to get him to eat any fruits or vegetables. The only thing he eats are seeds, a few nuts, and corn. I am worried about his diet. How do you guys recommend I get him to start eating new food? I also plan on starting to train him once he gets a bit more comfortable with me and everyone else. He doesn't know how to step up. I am trying to get him to trust me before I let him use me as a perch. Thank you-

StutterButter

 

[Scott]

Kudos for accepting responsibility for Tiko, Goffins have vibrant and loving personalities once unleashed from years of neglect.

First order is establishing trust as parrots have no innate reason to accept humans as benevolent. Sadly, Tiko has good reason to be wary. Work slowly, reward with a favorite treat such as bits of almond or walnut. Excellent advice here: http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html Clicker and target training helpful teaching "step up:" http://www.parrotforums.com/training/60435-clicker-target-training.html

I've found Goffins rather receptive to new foods. A quality pellet generally preferable to all seed diet as cockatoos are susceptible to fatty liver disease. May have to experiment with several products until finding one acceptable. Not pushing Harrison's Pellets, but their conversion protocol worked for my entire flock and ought work for any brand: https://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/using-our-foods/large-bird-conversion/

Primary nutrient source ought be abundance of fresh veggies/fruits aka "chop." Easier said than done! Continue offering despite refusal, one of my Goffins ignored pear for nearly 2 decades before trying and loving! Advice for dietary improvements: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...afe-fresh-foods-toxic-food-lists-sprouts.html

Try the "chop challenge!" Prepare two identical bowls of fresh veggies/fruits, give one to Tiko. Begin eating from yours, make "mmmm" sounds, bob your head with delight. Parrots are flock eaters, you are one of the flock!

Good luck, keep us updated and feel free to ask questions!

 

[StutterButter]

Thank you for the resources! I will try to get him to start eating pellets, Ill keep you updated on how that goes! Ill also try "chop" once he gets a little more used to me. His favorite food is sunflower seeds, And he would pick it out of the seeds I give him. Again thank you!

 

[Scott]

You are very welcome, hope this helps. I love Goffins and would have a house filled with them if practical!

 

[StutterButter]

Yeah he doesn't want to try pellets! I tried mixing in a bit of pellets with his normal food, and he threw them all over the floor. I will try with the Harrison conversion instead. He also did not approach any of the fruit I put out for him. He did this dance afterward and kept saying his name. He looked very excited. He also puts up his wing for me. Does he want me to pet it?

I also am going to start clicker training as soon as hes fine with me being around a bit more. I have a few more brands of pellets to try with so Ill have to see if he eats any.

 

[Scott]

Tiko is guaranteed to choose what he perceives as burger + fries + onion rings over funny looking pellets when mixed together! Harrison's conversion and other methods isolates pellets and seeds, served hours apart. Concept is to stimulate curiosity when hungry, but never starve a bird into submission.

Buy various pellets in the smallest quantities possible as the odds of finding one acceptable from the beginning are slim. A good gateway pellet is Zupreem Fruit Blend - colorful though each taste identical. (ask me how I know!) I fed my flock Zupreem for years, though now consider the corn-based, high sugar and artificial dye product less than optimal. Just my opinion, others will disagree! Once Tiko has learned to enjoy pellets, substitutions become easier.

Honestly, the majority of "chop" ought be fresh veggies. My Goffins universally love cooked sweet potato and yams, green peas, garbanzo beans, edamame in the pod, blackeye peas, lima beans, apple, pear, banana, melon seeds, cooked whole grain pasta spirals. I offer other items that just a few enjoy in the hope they will eventually try. My 40+ year old female Goffins ignored pear for decades until trying, now loves them. Try the "chop" challenge to stimulate curiosity!

Raised wing = desire for contact. You'll hear many ideas about touching cockatoos, predominantly limited to head. With some birds touching anywhere from the head-down = sexual stimulus. All depends on the bird and your relationship. Four of my five Goffins are exquisitely hand tame and can be touched most anywhere with no sexual stimulus. (avoid the vent area) I've been cuddling them for decades with no adverse reaction. Ever. As they say, your mileage will vary so begin conservatively, get to know Tiko and his body language/actions before deviating from traditional advice.

 

[StutterButter]

Very exciting! I was sitting with Tito (my green cheek) And Tiko climbed down his cage and walked to me. I thought maybe he learned to step up, and I put out my hand and said step up. And then he did! I think the other family taught him step up and other things. Weird that he came to me so suddenly, probably because of Tito. I have no idea why he suddenly was okay with me stepping-up. I put alot of fruit and was sitting with him for a good portion of the day with him just giving me a grumpy look, so to just have him switch like that is fine by me. He was eyeing Tito so I put him next to Tito and they just stared at each other. Then Tito went and nipped his foot and Tiko flew back to his cage. Weird first encounter.

- StutterButter Btw I have bought some pellets so I am going to test and see.

 

[Scott]

Nice to see progress! Hopefully Tito inflicted nothing more than warning bite.

Good luck with the pellets, curious to see how they are received. Patience... may take a while!

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

After Smokey ( A Timneh Grey) passed away after 28 years with Amy and I ( Blue Fronted Amazon) I adopted a 20-something year old Goffin from my then-girl friends brother DJ..not to bad mouth DJ,but him having 'too's for almost 30 years ( he also has Pooky,a 30 y.o. M2) and IMHO he doesn't care or want to know how to treat or take care of either of them. This may be not "appropriate" to post,so if a moderator wants to delete it,I will totally understand!

He also had Scooter,a U2,and housed him with Pooky. One day Scooter was feeling..ummm..."frisky" and tried to mount Pooky,a known female. When Pooky rejected Scooter's advances,Scooter lunged and bit Pooky,ripping her left eye right out of its socket!! Pooky was rushed to her CAV with her eye hanging out and the CAV had to remove it.
When DJ returned home,he put Scooter in a small cage,took him outside and attached a HOSE from his car's tail pipe to the cage! Scooter passed away in a few minutes:15:
When I asked why for pete sake he just didnt rehome Scooter he said he was too "unpredictable and dangerous" I no longer associate myself with him.

ANYWAY..getting back to the subjest..I took Jonesy (the goffin) in since I have had two fid's all my life. Jonesy was on just a seed diet and an occasional piece of banana or grape. A "treat" was a piece of pizza crust or some sort of pasta/noodles/shells.

He didn't want to eat anything new no mater how hard I tried. It took Amy to convince him there were other food's around. One day I found him and Amy on Amy's playtop. Since Amy loves other birds,no mater what they are,I cautiously watched them interact and it seemed like Jonesy like Amy.
So I watched as Amy munched out of a bowl he has on his playtop as Jones looked on. AS if to say "c'mon..try it!" Amy moved aside and Jonesy helped himself to everything! walnut pieces..chunks of corn on cob..peppers..peas..he ate like he never had eaten before lol.
After that, just about anything that went into his own bowl he'd at least give it a try.
So..patients..and like Scott mentioned..make a fuss! let him see/hear you "enjoying" your share..he'll come around eventually. Good Luck and please keep us posted.
Just a side note here..I had to rehome the "beady eye'd so-and-so" ( nicname I gave him) because one day something snapped with him and he turned into a dr jecyl/mr hyde and one second he was so lovey and then the next he was ripping flesh off my hand making blood squirt everywhere and screaming from before sunrise to well after sunset.

Jim

 

[StutterButter]

I am very sorry for what happened to you. It must have been incredibly traumatizing to have your bird just snap like that. Also the story about scooter is very strange to me.

He had ripped out her eye?! Im glad you did stop talking to him though, because hooking up his exhaust to kill a bird is just awful. What did happen to pooky? Is she still

homed with the DJ?

Also sorry for not updating too much.

Tiko is still not really trying new things. Though he took a pellet, Im rather sure he grinded it. I left it out for a little while longer he didnt touch it. I put out the zupreem

pellets, and he ate some of them (progress!) but still was very stubborn. I am going to use Zupreem for the conversion method. He is very.. extreme? I dont know another

word for it. One second he will be dancing and singing and talking and being happy, then as soon as it starts he bes a grump. Also Im rather sure that tito is either scared

or messing with tiko, as tiko never approached tito and just stayed very calm. Either way I think they like each other cause when tiko is screaming in the morning, tito

screams with him. Its cute -sidenote I walked on Tiko doing some things with his toys. Dont know how to feel about that.

 

[Scott]

After Smokey ( A Timneh Grey) passed away after 28 years with Amy and I ( Blue Fronted Amazon) I adopted a 20-something year old Goffin from my then-girl friends brother DJ..not to bad mouth DJ,but him having 'too's for almost 30 years ( he also has Pooky,a 30 y.o. M2) and IMHO he doesn't care or want to know how to treat or take care of either of them. This may be not "appropriate" to post,so if a moderator wants to delete it,I will totally understand!

He also had Scooter,a U2,and housed him with Pooky. One day Scooter was feeling..ummm..."frisky" and tried to mount Pooky,a known female. When Pooky rejected Scooter's advances,Scooter lunged and bit Pooky,ripping her left eye right out of its socket!! Pooky was rushed to her CAV with her eye hanging out and the CAV had to remove it.
When DJ returned home,he put Scooter in a small cage,took him outside and attached a HOSE from his car's tail pipe to the cage! Scooter passed away in a few minutes:15:
When I asked why for pete sake he just didnt rehome Scooter he said he was too "unpredictable and dangerous" I no longer associate myself with him.

ANYWAY..getting back to the subjest..I took Jonesy (the goffin) in since I have had two fid's all my life. Jonesy was on just a seed diet and an occasional piece of banana or grape. A "treat" was a piece of pizza crust or some sort of pasta/noodles/shells.

He didn't want to eat anything new no mater how hard I tried. It took Amy to convince him there were other food's around. One day I found him and Amy on Amy's playtop. Since Amy loves other birds,no mater what they are,I cautiously watched them interact and it seemed like Jonesy like Amy.
So I watched as Amy munched out of a bowl he has on his playtop as Jones looked on. AS if to say "c'mon..try it!" Amy moved aside and Jonesy helped himself to everything! walnut pieces..chunks of corn on cob..peppers..peas..he ate like he never had eaten before lol.
After that, just about anything that went into his own bowl he'd at least give it a try.
So..patients..and like Scott mentioned..make a fuss! let him see/hear you "enjoying" your share..he'll come around eventually. Good Luck and please keep us posted.
Just a side note here..I had to rehome the "beady eye'd so-and-so" ( nicname I gave him) because one day something snapped with him and he turned into a dr jecyl/mr hyde and one second he was so lovey and then the next he was ripping flesh off my hand making blood squirt everywhere and screaming from before sunrise to well after sunset.

Jim

DJ, what a monster. Hope Pooky manages to stay on his good side.

 

[Scott]

Tiko is still not really trying new things. Though he took a pellet, Im rather sure he grinded it. I left it out for a little while longer he didnt touch it. I put out the zupreem

pellets, and he ate some of them (progress!) but still was very stubborn. I am going to use Zupreem for the conversion method. He is very.. extreme? I dont know another

word for it. One second he will be dancing and singing and talking and being happy, then as soon as it starts he bes a grump. Also Im rather sure that tito is either scared

or messing with tiko, as tiko never approached tito and just stayed very calm. Either way I think they like each other cause when tiko is screaming in the morning, tito

screams with him. Its cute -sidenote I walked on Tiko doing some things with his toys. Dont know how to feel about that.

As mentioned, Zupreem Fruit Blend a good choice for pellet intro. You can also try sweetening them with a bit of apple juice. (natural without extra sugar added) Tiko may prefer certain colors - mine hated purple. Yeah, parrots can be stubborn with food. Stick to a plan unless you know it is failure, ensure he gets sufficient nourishment during conversion.

Goffins are clowns and literally change mood in seconds. Dancing or "twirling" and hopping are common. No particular meaning, just part of their personalities. Be careful with Tiko and Tito, ensure their contacts are fully supervised. There's a natural curiosity but also significant size differential between G2 and GCC. They may become good buddies outside the cages but never house them together. Three of my Goffins lived in a room uncaged with various sized birds including a Moluccan, Citron, and Timneh Grey. They mostly ignore the Timneh keeping safe and respectful distance.

Guessing Tiko is masturbating his toys? Rather common and not a cause for alarm. Just ignore without drama. Often they will try with human hands and arms, simply place him elsewhere for a break in fixation.

 

[StutterButter]

Ok about the toy thing. I haven't had him try to do it on me yet, but has happened with my dad. Tiko really likes him, and will be very happy whenever my dad is around. I got

Tiko to eat the absolute slightest of cucumber, but that was the only veggie he would try. I tried the chop challenge and he started jumping around and singing instead of

eating anymore of the veggies I put out for him. Another thing- He really likes daft punk lol. Especially around the world, though Tito was annoyed by it. I'll definitely add

apple juice to the pellets, as he only eats a little bit at a time.

StutterButter.

 

[Scott]

Progress with parrots is often a long wait followed by a few steps forward, one backward. Patience is key, keep offering with powerful rewards with advances. Small pieces of almond or walnut are loved by most birds. Doesn't take much, don't want to give too many high-fat nuts! Even an exaggerated "goooood bird" or other verbal reinforcement is helpful.