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CUDDLY COCKATOOS
Everyone
has his or her favorite species of bird.
Admittedly, nothing beats an African Grey or perhaps an
Amazon for
talking ability, and for color and size the Macaw is obviously the bird
of
choice. But, if you
are looking for a
cuddly, snugly love-sponge, there's only one answer -- a
Cockatoo.
This
fabulous family of birds can not be overrated as
regards their love of affection. A
hand-fed baby Cockatoo comes home on adoption day and immediately
considers
itself a bona-fide member of the family, ready, willing and eager to
engage in
any activity with anyone at hand. While
other species may be shy of children, or may develop into
"one-person-birds," the Cockatoo will happily hop on any available
arm, climb up onto the couch, and/or expect his own place at the dinner
table
just for the pleasure of being in the company of his/her human, with
the
obvious motive of being petted, talked to, and played with.
No shrinking violets, these birds. If you're not in the room,
they'll seek you
out.
When
clients ask us to advise them as to a first bird for the family, we
always
suggest a Cockatiel, an apparently distant cousin of the Cockatoo. If they are looking for a
first large bird,
or any large bird for a family
pet, there is simply no other choice, it
has to be a Cockatoo.
Unlike
other species of birds, with a Cockatoo there is not a
"one-size-fits-all" situation.
Cockatoos range in size from the impish little Goffin's
Cockatoo
(smaller than a Congo African Grey) to the Sulphur Crested Cockatoos
(such as
the Triton) and the majestic Moluccan (as large in body as a Blue and
Gold
Macaw, but without the long tail, of course).
In between
sizes include the Lesser Sulphur Crested, the Umbrella, and
the Eleonora (erroneously A.K.A. Medium Sulphur Crested).
Well
intentioned writers frequently do these marvelous birds and their
potential
owners a great disservice by exaggerating two factors concerning
Cockatoos: 1/
their need for attention, and 2/ their ability to make noise.
Taking
these two factors in order:
As
described above, there is absolutely no doubt that Cockatoos want, and,
if
indulged, (as no parrot, or other pet, for that matter,
should be) will
demand attention. But,
we have many
Cockatoo owning clients who work, who raise a family, who keep up an
active
social life, and still have happy, contented Cockatoos as pets. Like other animals,
Cockatoos are creatures
of habit that adapt readily to a routine.
If that routine means that no one is home during the day,
they will content
themselves playing with their toys, hanging and swinging from their
perches,
swings or cage tops, eating, and taking their midday naps.
But, there are steps that the
Cockatoo owner (any bird owner, as a matter of fact) should take to
make a more
enjoyable day for his pet, such as placing his cage near a window (not
in
direct sunlight please) to give him the fun of "rubbernecking" the
neighborhood, and putting a timer on the TV giving him an hour or two
(all day
long is a bit much) of audio as well as visual stimulation. (Yes, they do see in
color.) As with any
species of bird, or any pet for
that matter, that is home alone all day, try to compensate with extra
attention
in the mornings, evenings and on weekends.
And, by all means, provide "home alone" birds with 1/ the
largest cage possible, and 2/ toys of all description to chew up, to
fight
with, to preen and to hang from (and replace them from time to time
with new
ones). Above
all, remember that when
you come home (return to the nest) that Cockatoo of yours wants nothing
more
than to come out and be with you, to be fussed over, cuddled, snuggled,
petted,
and played with.
The
second injustice done these birds is characterizing them as
uncontrolled and
uncontrollable screamers. Make
no
mistake about it, Cockatoos, like other large birds such as Macaws, are
capable
of producing very loud, very annoying screeches and screams. (Is it live, or is it
Memorex?) Yet
surprisingly few Cockatoo owners tell us
that they are having a problem with their bird being noisy. Either Cockatoo owners as
a group are
totally insensitive to loud, screaming birds in their homes, or there
just
aren't that many loud, screaming Cockatoos out there.
The latter
conclusion seems the most logical.
If
you anticipate owning a Cockatoo, however, you should anticipate a few
periods
of the day, perhaps five to ten minutes at a time, when your bird will
sound
off, either at the height of
his
excitement at play, or to greet the family when they come home, or when
the
crowd cheers on the TV football game, or when you are "snuggling"
your ear to and "talking to" the telephone.
These periods of "noise" are normal;
if they sound
like something you (or your
neighbors, especially in apartments and condos) will have trouble
tolerating,
don't buy a Cockatoo.
But
everyone has heard at least one story of a Cockatoo who is a
"screamer" -- not the bird who is making noise in the excitement of
playing, or greeting the family, but one who splits the air and
eardrums with
frequent, prolonged periods of obnoxious screams.
Chances are good that such a bird was wild caught. Problem screamers are
found to a much lesser
extent among domestically bred, hand-fed birds.
Bear
in mind that these cases are the exception and are far from common. Furthermore, it is totally
unfair and
inaccurate to characterize the Cockatoo family based on a few screamers. Not only is it labeling
(indeed, libeling)
all Cockatoos (many of which are superb family pets) for the behavior
of a few,
but it is also ignoring the fact that those few Cockatoos that do
become
screamers became so for some reason.
It
is not normal behavior; something is wrong.
Look to the bird's environment, not the bird itself;
something is
causing the bird to behave this way.
Does he have food and water?
Is
his cage too small? Does
he have enough
toys? Does he play
with them? Is he
too isolated from the family? Does
he get enough attention? Has
someone moved out of the family
"flock," or into it? Does
he
get out of his cage enough? Is
he being
neglected? Does he
have to compete with
a large number of family members to get attention?
Has his routine been disrupted?
Is he bored? And
perhaps most
important of aIl, is someone unintentionally reinforcing the screaming
by
giving him food or by yelling at him or talking to him in an attempt to
quiet
him down when he screams? It
is beyond
the scope of this article to discuss all the ramifications of bird
behavior and
behavior modification. [For
further
reading on this, we suggest you obtain a copy of A Guide to a
Well-Behaved
Parrot, by Mattie
Sue Athan.]
Suffice
it to say that the screaming Cockatoo is the exception, not the rule,
and that
most likely there is a discoverable cause for it that needs to be
rectified. Don't
deprive yourself of
the joy of ownership of one of these phenomenal creatures for fear that
it will
become a screamer. With
a Cockatoo, if
you are conscientious about his care and keep his needs in mind, you
can have
one of the closest bird-human relationships possible.
A
frequently asked question: "Which of the Cockatoos makes the best
pet?" Our
experience is that there
is no clear answer to this question.
There seems to be little if any species specific
difference as regards
temperament -- whether its playfulness, intelligence, snuggle-ability,
mischievousness, cuteness, or cleverness, the entire Cockatoo family
ranks
high. There is
probably more of a
difference between individual birds of the same species than there is
between
the different species. Most
of these
individual differences arise from their owners and environments rather
than
from innate tendencies of the bird.
Encourage any
one or more of these positive traits in your bird and he
will meet you more than half way.
As
to their "talking" ability:
Cockatoos are not known to be proficient mimics of the
spoken word. This
does not mean that they won't
"talk" at all, but rather that their vocabulary will be limited to a
few words or phrases, and that when they do "talk" it will not be
very clear. Don't
let this dissuade you
from working to teach your bird to mimic, however.
As always, the
more you work with him the more you can expect him
to accomplish.
Cockatoos,
like other large parrots, are long lived.
Ownership of one of these birds should not be undertaken
lightly as it
is a major, long-term responsibility, but the rewards -- in terms of
sweetness,
lovableness, beauty, and comic behavior -- are virtually endless.
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