New and overwhelmed

[sultrypickle]

Hello all! I joined today because everyone here seems to have a vast amount of knowledge that I'm sure will be crucial for me in the near future. I recently adopted a sulphur-crested cockatoo from a lady who due to health reasons is no longer able to care for her animals. I Am the second person to take her in and I'm looking forward to working with her. That said, she comes with many more issues then previously anticipated and I am a novice at raising large birds so I am feeling very overwhelmedwith everything I have to work on. I look forward to reading through the forums and learning from all of you.

 

[Kentuckienne]

You do have a challenge in this bird, but with ParrotForums all things are possible. Can you find any details about the previous life? Kept in the cage, not handled, lived with dogs, kids, or cats...scared of sticks or hands, was there another bird or cage mate, diet...anything you learn might be an important clue.

The cockatoo forum is a great place to start. The I Love Amazons” thread in the Amazon forum is widely applicable to most parrots.

In addition to the detective work, a visit to an avian vet is crucial. Full blood work including heavy metal poisoning. You want to get a good diet plan in place. Our macaw loves Harrison’s pepper formula above all else, and we keep trying to sneak fresh foods in. There was a recent post by SillieN who has good luck treating pluckers. She gets little home made sweaters on them, and sometimes a wide ribbon collar, to make it hard for them to pluck, nd she also feeds a supplement because they need to produce keratin protein for the feathers.

Thank you for taking this little bird into your heart and home. They seem like a very resilient species, and you may be rewarded with an entertaining and loving companion. Good on both of you!

 

[Flboy]

Hang in there!

 

[bigfellasdad]

Hi and welcome, good on you for taking him in As for being overwhelmed, I can appreciate that, i remember the first few days with my african grey, it felt like the first time you bring your first child home from the hospital and thinking...'now what'! Im sure you will soon start bonding and understanding each other. So good luck and im sure you will get a huge amount of support from the forum, everybody has helped me out enormously.

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, kudos for giving this bird a chance! Large cockatoos are supremely challenging but can be incredibly rewarding. Equal measures of knowledge, patience, and love are helpful!

Please post specific issues and questions; we've all been in your shoes and know it is easy to feel overwhelmed!

So many applicable threads to sample, here are a few:
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/17694-owning-cockatoo.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/general-parrot-information/49144-tips-bonding-building-trust.html
http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

 

[wrench13]

Welcome and be welcomed. Taking in and loving a parrot like yours excuses quite a few sins, when you face the big guy. The cockatoo people on here are very nice and really knowledgable!