Oh No!

Lacey

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Joined
Oct 24, 2011
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Location
South Dakota
Parrots
Reno~Umbrella Cockatoo
I am so worried at this point... I just went to a page that someone suggested to me about Toos. I am in a complete state of panic! I seen some of the most horrifying pictures of Toos that self mutilate and pluck. How do I prevent this? How do I ensure my boy never starts this? How do I keep him happy? I am having a hard time distinguishing between what I need to do and not to do. I know I need to spend a lot of time with him (which I do) but how do I get him playing instead of trying to cuddle with me (which I was told not to let him do anymore due to mate bonding issues) I am glad I read the information on the page, but now I am just bawling! I never want my angel to go through that:( Please any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
The greatest teaching tool you will ever have is your self. When you get or make a toy set down in front of Reno and play with it. At first it will be hard and seem strange but when our birds see us having a great time they want to join in. If he doesn't chew wood you might want to try to find toys made out of softer wood just to get him started. Maybe a mid size toy for a conure or small amazon. Once you get him started and you get the hang of it you both will look forward to that special time together. It might take months before you can set back and enjoy watching him tear up a $50 toy in 30 mins. (In my way of thinking is $50 well spent lol) Phonebooks paper towels yep the whole roll, calculator paper washed butter bowls with treats and shreded paper and the lid on it. The list goes on forever. Most bird people can see a toy in almost anything. Sometimes it is the oddest things they love the most. Yesturday my girl got a small box with the ends cut off and she never made a sound for about two hours to much fun shreding it to nothing to worry about what everyone else was doing. Just like a child that we teach how to do things we have to teach our birds how to do things they will enjoy.
 
I really don't know anything about Umbrellas.. I have a Corella, bare eyed cockatoo... Corellas are ground feeders, so he always liked to be on the ground... I would play with him, throw toys for him to chase.. Here's a little video:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKh_5CHzJSk"]Cory 2 - YouTube[/ame]
 
Thanks for posting the video. What a fun little bird you have! Mine won't lay on his back for anything, but it may just be my favorite thing to see a bird do.

As for the mutilation, there are many good articles which address this issue and there are diet and environmental changes which can help to stop/prevent this mutilation; however, you still have the cases where a wonderfully, loved and cared for cockatoo just plucks for no apparent reason. I think we know less about plucking than we think!
What we do know is it doesn't seem to occur in the wild, so one has to assume that something they don't have in captivity is the precursor. Since there are many captive paired up birds who pluck themselves or their mates in captivity, I believe it has something to do with wild birds spending all their time foraging and food searching. Despite this natural behavior, many captive birds may spend 10 minutes crying for food, and then we bring them a bowl (I AM GUILTY)! This is where the environmental changes can come into play such as foraging toys and food puzzles though they are not the only kind of toy that will give a bird a "job."

Some birds clearly pluck for stress reasons. I have heard stories of cockatoos and other species which will pluck or chew feathers while their owner is away on the yearly vacation, and then they stop. I should say if you are lucky they stop! Feather mutilation is addictive much like people who are nail biters, so even if we remove the precursor, the behavior may continue :(

What I have said is by no means exhaustible on the subject, and I hope some other users can recommend some articles and give you advice.
 
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OH I LOVE THE VIDEO!!!! Thank all of you so very much for the wonderful advice! I am starting to feel a bit more an ease! I am still really nervous as I don't want anything to happen to him, but I got some ideas that I am going to do now!
 

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