feanor06
New member
Hi, my partner and I went in to my locally owned pet store today and the owner told us about a cockatoo he was recently called on to assess/ consult on. Its history: unknown for the first 6 years. Was given to someone else, who had him for 9 months before taking him to the vet. After a few months, he was again given away to someone else. Typically, this owner had no experience with birds. She stuck her hand in, it bit her, and she stuffed it into one of those little wire cages used to transport chickens at flea markets and brought it in a cardboard box to the Humane Society.
When we saw him, he was in a somewhat larger cage (I live in a small town, the largest birds ever handled at the HS were cockatiels). The poor thing! All of his tail feathers are missing so that you can see his bare rump if you bend over and look up. His wing feathers are tattered to pieces. He even has dried blood on his head from preening under his bare area.
The pet store owner (who has hand raised two of my other birds) said its more likely that his feathers were broken from living in inadequate sized cage and he plucked them out from being broken (he has no signs of feather plucking on his breast, neck, or anywhere else).
We've had him home for a few hours now. We left his door open and he has come out, been eating some fresh green beans, apples, and a few zupreem pellets. He still doesn't like us getting too close (he hisses) but who could blame him after the trauma he's been through. Other than his ragged feathering and missing feathers, he seems very healthy. His vet records from a month ago list the only problem as "continued feather picking."
So, I have an alexandrine, a sun conure, a princess of Wales, a quaker, and an Indian ringneck. Cockatoos are new to us, but we knew we had the experience and patience to get this poor fellow into a loving environment. So, what should I know about cockatoos? Lots of interaction, attention, healthy diet, of course, but does anyone else have advise on things like showering or bathing (would love to get some of the dried blood off his head and tail), best ways to earn trust that may be different from other hook bills. For example, with my quaker and Princess of Wales, I had no fear when first handling them, because if they nipped my fingers there would be no damage any more than a little pinch, like when they test you out and see that my hand causes no harm. But this guy's beak! I guess I just have to go reallllly slow with this fellow. But please, any advice or useful experience from cockatoo owners would be much appreciated, not to mention reassuring.
I'll attach pics of him so you can see the feather damage.
Thanks a lot guys!
When we saw him, he was in a somewhat larger cage (I live in a small town, the largest birds ever handled at the HS were cockatiels). The poor thing! All of his tail feathers are missing so that you can see his bare rump if you bend over and look up. His wing feathers are tattered to pieces. He even has dried blood on his head from preening under his bare area.
The pet store owner (who has hand raised two of my other birds) said its more likely that his feathers were broken from living in inadequate sized cage and he plucked them out from being broken (he has no signs of feather plucking on his breast, neck, or anywhere else).
We've had him home for a few hours now. We left his door open and he has come out, been eating some fresh green beans, apples, and a few zupreem pellets. He still doesn't like us getting too close (he hisses) but who could blame him after the trauma he's been through. Other than his ragged feathering and missing feathers, he seems very healthy. His vet records from a month ago list the only problem as "continued feather picking."
So, I have an alexandrine, a sun conure, a princess of Wales, a quaker, and an Indian ringneck. Cockatoos are new to us, but we knew we had the experience and patience to get this poor fellow into a loving environment. So, what should I know about cockatoos? Lots of interaction, attention, healthy diet, of course, but does anyone else have advise on things like showering or bathing (would love to get some of the dried blood off his head and tail), best ways to earn trust that may be different from other hook bills. For example, with my quaker and Princess of Wales, I had no fear when first handling them, because if they nipped my fingers there would be no damage any more than a little pinch, like when they test you out and see that my hand causes no harm. But this guy's beak! I guess I just have to go reallllly slow with this fellow. But please, any advice or useful experience from cockatoo owners would be much appreciated, not to mention reassuring.
I'll attach pics of him so you can see the feather damage.
Thanks a lot guys!