need some help...

[ann]

hi i dont want to throw the whole thing off ballance by suggesting a different bird, but if you two cant decide between M2 or macaw, then maybe you could meet in the middle. maybe you should look into goffins cockatoos. they look like little maluccans and are supper cuddle and sweet. they also are real clowns like macaws, and they are alot smaller which is good for your kids! however they are still toos and need tons of attention and care and are also loud. good luck with whatever you choose !

 

[ann]

heres a pic of a goffins. this is not my hand or my bird its just a pic off google

 

[MikeyTN]

Also the reason that you probably hear about more Cockatoo horror stories is because Cockatoos are very sensitive birds and are more often than not mishandled. They are great to have in the right environment, but if in the wrong one they don't simply put up with it, they act out (biting, shredding, plucking, screaming...etc.). Sooo many people just simply don't understand how to handle a Cockatoo or meet it's needs. When the bird acts out its often easier for people to blame the bird than it is for them to accept that they were the ones that caused the negative behaviors in the first place.

This is very true!!! But I see you said you had yours for 5-6 weeks? Had any prior? I've been around Cockatoos for 16 years....

 

[MikeyTN]

Ann, goffins is a great choice actually! Better then a Moluccan actually. But Moluccan is my top choice if I were to ever have a opportunity to have another bird.

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

I'll do my best to keep this short...
I just got my first bredding pair of Mollucans 2 days ago. (I've had lots of rehabs here though so I am fairly familiar with "horror stories" and the "truth")

Imagine two birds crossed (a goffin cockatoo and and umbrella cockatoo)...

Umbrellas are best described like this..... one more treat mommy, five more minutes of cuddle time mommy)... they bond hard to an owner and have an intense affection. If an umbrella too could crawl into your skin and live there it probably would... they require detailed understanding of their behavoir.... (which is easy for some and impossible for others). They live for your affection and approval.

Goffins are best summed up with a story.... Years ago I use to open my friends bird store on occasion. Curly would fly to the counter grab the keys and put them on the nursery roof before I had even flipped on the light switch. Goffins are also intense birds... intensly funny, clownish, and mischeivious, and incredibly animated in all that they do.

A mollucan is a big peach and salmon colored cockatoo with the emotional makeup of both a goffin and a umbrella (best way I can think to describe them). They feel emotions intensely like any 'too (a lot like an umbrella, and are cuddle monsters like umbrellas.... but they are really animated and prone to trouble (like a goffin).

Ten years ago you could find lots of mollucans for sale, now there are not nearly as many bred in this country.... About 7 years ago a handful of breeders just stopped breeding them (it became a little known theory that mollucans just fail to acclimate well to captivity as a whole)...I don't entirely agree, but I do believe that few people are really equipped mentally to deal with a mollucan.

In breeding situations they were more prone than any other species to mate killing. (I've met 3 mollucan hens personally in my life time that were missing their upper mandible (beak), because the male tore it off... I've seen on with a missing leg her mate tore off.... so you need to carefully consider that if breeders are having that much serious trouble with breeding them, what does that mean for the pet owner?

I'll add this... the pair of mollucans here aren't even my birds, they are a breeding pair that my friend owns... she felt that it was better for their (the birds) safety if they went to an aviary where someone would have a close watch and could separate them if they seemed to be acting out toward eachother.

A mollucan can be a VERY rewarding and wonderful bird, but be EXTRA careful with children...


Additionally, if you decide a M2 is right for you, GET A FEMALE! Females are less prone to excessive violence when they reach sexual maturity. (They are however a bit more prone to plicking from sexual frustration at that age, so NEVER PUSH DOWN AND STROKE HER BACK. This will help avoid her pair bonding and thinking you are her mate.

As with anything, I am not an expert and my opinion is based on 26 years of bird experience.

(We all know individual birds can differ (but not nearly as much as people would like to believe.)

Good luck

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

My husband with Adam (the male breeder Mollucan)...
The second photos is of both (notice the plucked female?

But as you can see they are cuddle bugs also.

 

[dissident]

Well I may surprise her and go with a Goffin. I found a 6 month old that comes with his cage for a very reasonable re-homing fee. This one has already been around a house full of children so the transition should not be too bad.

Do you think that 6 months is a decent age for the rehoming?

I figure a Goffin seems like the right one to "get our feet with" when it comes to toos.

 

[kerry]

Yes, 6 months is nice & young.

 

[MikeyTN]

I agree as well!!!

 

[dissident]

Our little boy Tilly is now in his new home right here with us. Thank you to everyone for the help your provided.

Here is a link with some photos, I posted them in a new thread in the cockatoo section:
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/12085-our-new-child-tilly.html#post91475