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 #2066696


Futurevettech725
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 Cockatoo

I have an umbrella cockatoo and she is doing some kind of nesting behavior where she’ll go in the corner and shread up wood and stuff and if you try and go near her while she’s over there she’ll get agressive with you she puts her umbrella up and puffs up and hop chases you, is there anything I can do to prevent this, we’ve tried blocking the corner, she just gets agrivated and screams. There are no mirrors or anything that has reflection. No egg shaped toys.
09/02/09  02:16pm

 #2068730


Kimforster
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   Message To: Futurevettech725   In reference to Message Id: 2066696


 Cockatoo

I’m not really sure what relevance you may think mirrors & egg shape toys have but it’s nil.

Covering up the corner is a must if you want this behaviour to stop. Just because she screams & carries on, you allow her the corner back. That’s taught her to scream annoyingly to get what she want’s. Cover up the corner & ignore her screams. Wear earplugs if you have to.

She is acting like a normal healthy cockatoo, spring or autumn (depending on where you are) is here. territory behaviour is common, she’s protecting her nesting spot. Avoid allowing her to get to corners. Is the corner in the cage or out the cage? If it’s in the cage then allow her out for at least a few hours a day. Keep her occupied as much as you possibly can to distract her from wanting to breed with loads of toys, toy box, human interaction, chew toys & branches etc...give her plenty to do all the time. Place water & food around other places of the house. Scatter toys. If a particular spot has toys, food, water she can see it as perfect breeding & nesting grounds as she has everything at hand. This can also cause her to become territorial, so spread things out.
09/07/09  08:27am

 #2068774


Futurevettech725
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   Message To: Kimforster   In reference to Message Id: 2068730


 Cockatoo

The Bird vet I saw said that mirrors can cause her to think their is another bird around to breed with and egg shaped toys can trigger her to bare eggs. She is out of her cage almost all day long, she is nesting outside of her cage. We have tried covering up the area and putting a bbay gate around it but she just chews through the gate and chews on what ever has covered the corner. She has even used the chewed particals as her nesting material. When she does this we, tell her to get on her cage and clean up everything she has started to use. She has tons of toys that she just chews up. I’ve even went as far as giving her baby toys (If it’s safe for a baby, it’s safe for a parrot) We don’t allow her to sit with us because we have great danes that don’t realize they can hurt her. But she does like to climb on top of the amazon parrots cage, they talk back and fourth to each other all day long. But that corner she loves and will not leave it alone. She gets a great variety of food, cheese raviolli with no sauce is her favorite. We’re not worried about the behavior, we know it’s natural, it’s the agressive hoping and hising she does when you come near her corner, and even then she’ll listen to woman when they say get back on your cage, just not men. Don’t know why that is.
09/07/09  10:56am

 #2071135


Kimforster
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   Message To: Futurevettech725   In reference to Message Id: 2068774


 Cockatoo

Cheese & ravioli aren’t a good diet for any bird...Cocketoos need a leafy green, veg, sprout, pellet & seed diet.

The mirror & egg shape thing isn’t necessarily so with all birds. It can be an individual thing. Cockatiels can become aggressive with a mirror but cockatoos prefer human attention more. The egg shape thing, well if that were the cage then any cockatoo would be breeding at the sight of anything egg shape. Hormones & time of the year or a time that is suitable, that is what brings them into wanting to breed, nest & lay eggs.

Cockatoos are chewers & will chew through anything. what ever you use you need to keep covering the corner until she gives up. She will never give up if she knows you will give up. She has claimed the corner as her territory for nesting & you simply need to persist in her not claiming it. If you have to, stack the corner with things. If you can’t do this, then let her have that corner & stay away from it.

You should allow her to sit with you, even if it means removing your great danes for an hour or so, so she can have at least some time sitting with you.
09/13/09  08:32am

 #2071191


Futurevettech725
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   Message To: Kimforster   In reference to Message Id: 2071135


 Cockatoo

Ravioli is just a snack she gets once a week........ it’s not like thats the only thing I feed her. She also has fiesta macaw diet that has all kinds of stuff that is good for her.She gets frest peaches, pears, apples, exc. She is a very picky bird because her previous owner didn’t feed her much but seed, ravioli, and strawberry oatmeal. So getting her to eat somethings are difficult, as far as veggies, the only ones she likes are corn, green beans and brocolli.

The bird vet is the one that said the stuff about the mirrors and egg shaped items.

I know they are chewers, you should see the molding, We put her cage in front of the corner and that seemed to get her to stop. We didn’t just give up... we tried everything, even going as far as putting a box there (she is scared of boxes) she just tore it up for material. So putting the cage there was our last option and it worked, we’re now thinking of putting her next to the couch where the yellow headed amazon is and moving him where she was. The only thing we’re worried about is that she taunts the one dane by throwing her toys at him and doing bianca dance of terror at him and he is really annoyed by her.



09/13/09  12:19pm

 #2073158


Kimforster
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   Message To: Futurevettech725   In reference to Message Id: 2071191


 Cockatoo

All species of parrot have different dietary requirements. A macaw pellet mix is specifically made for macaws. A cockatoo pellet would be better for your cockatoo as it will have the exact dietary vitamins & minerals she needs.

Broccoli is VERY good for her so she should get it daily. Cockatoos dietary needs consist of leafy greens, sprouts & some veg. Fruit is not healthy for them but OK as a snack or reward treat. Cockcatoos are not built the same as some other parrot species, they don’t need fruit or sweeter foods as energy, they live off grasses, weeds, seeds & other greens in the wild.

Yes I know how hard it is to convert a re homed fussy eater who only knows seed. I also know it isn’t impossible, it may take a year or 2, but it can be done with a great deal of patients & persistance. Their are a number of things you can try like mashing the greens & mixing them in with her seed so she has to consume some greens to get to her seed. 99% of cockatoos also LOVE sprouts. They’re a natural living food with enzymes, vits & mins tehy need. They’re also a healing food & most parrots know to eat them. Getting them to eat then is the same as what I just wrote. Mash them & blend them with the seed. Once they get a taste for sprouts they will usually keep wanting them.
09/17/09  11:16pm

 #2074974


LizaB2008
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   Message To: Kimforster   In reference to Message Id: 2073158


 Cockatoo

I’ve been doing alot of reading and research, talked my friend who has a bird rescue and is a vet tech at the bird exibit in the zoo. Every last bit of it has said umbrella cockatoos diet consists of mainley nuts and berries in the wild, but the best diet in captivity is to give the a variety of fresh fruits, nut, veggies, and a pellet mix. None of them, not even one stated that greens and sprouts were the best diet for them, Now I have a male and a female umbrella cockatoo, seperate..... The female is really picky about what she eats, the male will eat anything.
09/22/09  01:20pm


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