Cockatoo Question any ideas

mchat · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 45

Has anyone heard of protien defiencies in Sulphur Crested cockatoos and how to remedy them? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I know a cockatoo that has been pulling its feathers and drinking its blood from the feather end. The bird is eating dog food on a daily basis, plently of fruit and veges and seed and is about to be introduced to meal worms. The vet is pretty sure that protien defiecency is the problem so I am just wondering if there is a supplement that anyone knows of or perhaps something to add to its diet that would help it to absorb the protien more effecently?

Mel.

mchat · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 45

No ideas of any form? Websites that might help? I'm clutching at straws a little bit here for some information.

Mel.

charmedagain · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 2249 Location: uk

My avian vet suggests giving the bird foods that are high in protien such as boiled eggs, Pasta, Brown Rice. You can also give him a egg food which is designed for handfeeding and weaning of baby birds this is full of vitamins and minerals this can be along with his regular diet, It can be given wet or dry. Here in the uk its called EMP or CeDe.

Also cockatoos are knwon foir feather picking as they get bored very quickly and easily so they need to kept occupied at all times.

If i can find out anymore information i will let you know.

Mike

mchat · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 45

Thanks Mike,
He is currently being fed meal worms, hard boiled eggs with the shell on, puppy food (high in protien apparently) and his diet is going from seed and fruit to parrot pellets (recommended by the breader he was brought from). It's apparently not feather plucking as he/she is actually s**k the juices( sounds gross and is really weird to watch) out of the quills. He seems to be perking up on the new diet and stopped the feather plucking a bit.

Mel.

charmedagain · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 2249 Location: uk

Glad to hear he/she is doing better hopefully the problem with resolve itself and the bird will be back to normal soon.

Keep us posted of his/her progress

Mike

mchat · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 45

The cockatoo went on a bit of a holiday and seemed to be better. He/she spent 3 weeks at a 'boarding place' where they looka fter 'problem' parrots that have been dumped. Not sure why but he/she stopped pluckng but now that he/she is home again its plucking away and just yesterday ripped a hole in its chest. The new thought is the the bird is so in love with one of its owners that's its plucking as it only plucks when that person is around. The only option that we can come up with is to get it a partner. Hopefully this will help.

Mel.

charmedagain · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 2249 Location: uk

Sounds very strange, Getting a mate may help but may also make the problem worse which is what you dont want.

Have you asked the boarding place what they fed him/Her on and what her daily routine was That way you can try and do exactly the same see if this helps.

Sorry i can not be of more use on this one.

Mike

mchat · Member Joined: 28 Nov 2004 Posts: 45

They were given a routine to follow with him/her when they got back and they have been doing that including 'training time'. One of the differences is that he was socialised with outher cockatoos while he/she was there on a daily basis and after some initial argro became friends with one of the cockatoos. They did suggest getting him/her a mate before he/she reaches sexual maturity but not leaving it too late or he/she would be un receptive/anitsocial to another cockatoo.

See how it goes at the moment he/she is wearing a collar to help the chest heal for a little while.

Mel.

jelyb · New member Joined: 21 Dec 2004 Posts: 6

Hi, It is my cockatoo that mchat is talking about. The feather plucking has been a problem for a while, it started around june. We have tried every option so far with our vet, diet, drugs, blood tests everything. When he went to the boarding school, I was told that his feather plucking had stopped. The only difference between now and when he was down there was the amount of other parrots around (other sulphurs, macaws, black cockatoo, small parrots). i have cockatiels and they chat back & forth, but my cockatoo seems lonely. He is attached to my partner (who works long hours and is rarely home) and only seems to damage himself when he is around and not paying him any attention (we do not pay him attention when he plucks) Getting a partner for him is one of our last options. His diet is fruit and veg evey morning, pellets every night, seed once a week. He has training to stimulate his brain twice a day every day. He is in a large aviary outside, which has tree branches, gum nuts, toys, swings, perches and an area to hide. He goes to bed before 7:30pm and isn't uncovered until 7:30am. I am completely open to suggestions as to fixing this problem. I am aware that getting him a partner may make it worse, it may make him not like us either, but it is very upsetting to watch him pluck and want to fix this problem. He still has his collar on even though his sore has healed, we are letting the new feathers completely grow to discourage any plucking.

charmedagain · Moderator Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 2249 Location: uk

Hi, Well other than what has been suggested i am not sure what else can be done.

Since he stopped doing it whiel with other birds sounds like he is lonely.
Does he interact well with the cockatiels and would he be fine being out with them as this may help him settle.

I personally do not know how cockatoo's deal with other birds in the same are as in being able to touch them.

I thin getting him a mate may help but like i mentioned in my last post it also may make things worse.
As with all new birds putting them together for the first time there is going to be some bickering and squabbling but this usually passes once they settle to each others company.

But it does sound to me like a lonely thing.

Mike