Post by msmelissa on Feb 13, 2007 15:48:48 GMT -5
Hi!
Yes, Sivin is definitely right!!! Cockatoos can be very aggressive and territorial birds. Nick's family refused to take Pancho because he was the master of his old home and would attack anyone's feet within his reach. My sister in law has scars on her hands from him biting her when she was a small child. People would have to sit with their feet up off the floor when visting Mary and Aldi because of Pancho's aggressive behavior. HOWEVER, Cockatoos are so sought after because they LOVE their owners...hence the protection when visitors are there.
Pancho was not a BAD bird, he was just misunderstood! Mary and Aldi had a small cage for him that you and I would probably consider a large cockatiel cage but Pancho was never in it unless he was sleeping. Therefore, the entire house was his "cage" and he felt the need to protect it from intruders. This was why he attacked everyone but Mary and Aldi (including me!). When Nick and I got him, we bought him a HUGE cage that has become the only place he feels the need to protect.
He also used to scream constantly when there was any disruption to his routine, or he felt lonely, etc. I don't know if any of you have ever heard a Cockatoo scream but it can be heard from blocks away. When he came here, he slowly quit screaming partly because I run a daycare and there is never a dull moment and partly because he has a territory that is only his. No one ever goes into "his" house anymore. We can now trust this bird to sit quietly on the arm of a 3 year old child (under supervision, of course) and no one has to pick their feet up off the floor when visiting my house. Pancho has thrived under our roof and seems to genuinely like the children.
Other Cockatoos may be highly aggressive toward kids because they are usually a one or two person bird. Pancho is the exception, not the rule.
:)Here are some cute things Pancho does:
:)If we say "run around" he'll run in tight little circles until he's dizzy then walk around like he's drunk!
:)He loves color crayons and will put one on his back and walk around "pretending" it's not there until it starts to fall, then he'll reach his head under his wing (lightning fast) and catch it as it falls off.
:)He will hang upside down off our fingers and swing himself back and forth while making "jungle noises".
:)If he is out playing in the house and he needs to go potty, he will return to his cage and "go" and come back out when he's done!
:)When we take him to the vet for trimming, he usually rides there on the steering wheel.
:)He loves to get in boxes, bags, anywhere hidden and make little noises until someone "finds" him.
:)He chases dogs.
:)He loves to come outside in the summer when it's 90 degrees and "play" in the yard. He usually ends up digging a huge hole with his beak, or pulling all the petals off the flowers. Last summer, my neighbor's cat was stalking him and he was pretending not to notice until the cat was only about 10 to 15 feet away, then Pancho turned around and chased the cat up a tree. He then proceeded to sit under the tree and holler at the cat.
If I would say one thing about these birds, it would be that they are VERY VERY VERY smart. And with any creature that is so intelligent, he requires a LOT of attention. (Thank God for the 9 children in my home to entertain him all day!)
One last thing for you all...
This past winter over the Christmas break, we put my mother in charge of the birds and went out of town for 4 days. Pancho got out on day 3 (he's a Houdini) and spent the entire day pulling the little glass bulbs out of 300 icicle lights, climbing a vaccuum cleaner cord up to the counter top and pushing all the papers up there onto the floor, shredding a brand new roll of wrapping paper into confetti, pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree and just having a jolly time!
Melissa
Yes, Sivin is definitely right!!! Cockatoos can be very aggressive and territorial birds. Nick's family refused to take Pancho because he was the master of his old home and would attack anyone's feet within his reach. My sister in law has scars on her hands from him biting her when she was a small child. People would have to sit with their feet up off the floor when visting Mary and Aldi because of Pancho's aggressive behavior. HOWEVER, Cockatoos are so sought after because they LOVE their owners...hence the protection when visitors are there.
Pancho was not a BAD bird, he was just misunderstood! Mary and Aldi had a small cage for him that you and I would probably consider a large cockatiel cage but Pancho was never in it unless he was sleeping. Therefore, the entire house was his "cage" and he felt the need to protect it from intruders. This was why he attacked everyone but Mary and Aldi (including me!). When Nick and I got him, we bought him a HUGE cage that has become the only place he feels the need to protect.
He also used to scream constantly when there was any disruption to his routine, or he felt lonely, etc. I don't know if any of you have ever heard a Cockatoo scream but it can be heard from blocks away. When he came here, he slowly quit screaming partly because I run a daycare and there is never a dull moment and partly because he has a territory that is only his. No one ever goes into "his" house anymore. We can now trust this bird to sit quietly on the arm of a 3 year old child (under supervision, of course) and no one has to pick their feet up off the floor when visiting my house. Pancho has thrived under our roof and seems to genuinely like the children.
Other Cockatoos may be highly aggressive toward kids because they are usually a one or two person bird. Pancho is the exception, not the rule.
:)Here are some cute things Pancho does:
:)If we say "run around" he'll run in tight little circles until he's dizzy then walk around like he's drunk!
:)He loves color crayons and will put one on his back and walk around "pretending" it's not there until it starts to fall, then he'll reach his head under his wing (lightning fast) and catch it as it falls off.
:)He will hang upside down off our fingers and swing himself back and forth while making "jungle noises".
:)If he is out playing in the house and he needs to go potty, he will return to his cage and "go" and come back out when he's done!
:)When we take him to the vet for trimming, he usually rides there on the steering wheel.
:)He loves to get in boxes, bags, anywhere hidden and make little noises until someone "finds" him.
:)He chases dogs.
:)He loves to come outside in the summer when it's 90 degrees and "play" in the yard. He usually ends up digging a huge hole with his beak, or pulling all the petals off the flowers. Last summer, my neighbor's cat was stalking him and he was pretending not to notice until the cat was only about 10 to 15 feet away, then Pancho turned around and chased the cat up a tree. He then proceeded to sit under the tree and holler at the cat.
If I would say one thing about these birds, it would be that they are VERY VERY VERY smart. And with any creature that is so intelligent, he requires a LOT of attention. (Thank God for the 9 children in my home to entertain him all day!)
One last thing for you all...
This past winter over the Christmas break, we put my mother in charge of the birds and went out of town for 4 days. Pancho got out on day 3 (he's a Houdini) and spent the entire day pulling the little glass bulbs out of 300 icicle lights, climbing a vaccuum cleaner cord up to the counter top and pushing all the papers up there onto the floor, shredding a brand new roll of wrapping paper into confetti, pulling ornaments off the Christmas tree and just having a jolly time!
Melissa