![]() I find that behaviour so interesting because, as far as I know, the only cockatoos that use tools in the wild are male Black Palm Cockatoos. Some will even use large, shed feathers as back scratchers. From talking to other cockatoo owners, I’ve learned that many cockatoos will do this. However, if no one is around to scratch his head for him, he’ll take a Popsicle stick or he’ll bite a piece off of a wooden perch or wicker basket and scratch his head and back with that. Like many cockatoos, Mitri loves having his head scratched, and he will even allow strangers to scratch his head for him. ![]() Mitri is a fascinating character, and I am sure that many readers with cockatoos will have seen some of the interesting behaviours he displays in some of their birds. However, in the end, since we had a good idea of what cockatoo ownership is like, and since we had been handling Mitri just fine - and rather enjoy his company - we decided to adopt him. I also have to frequently replenish his supply of chew toys. Mitri needs to be let out of his cage for at least a few hours daily, while he can be supervised. And, as all the cockatoos we have had staying with us have demonstrated, they are also incredibly high-maintenance animals to keep. This is because taking on a cockatoo is a huge commitment, as a cockatoo like Mitri can live as long as a human can. However, this was a decision we did not want to make lightly. ![]() Of course, the thought of adopting Mitri occurred to Quentin and me. Mitri receives sunflower seeds as training rewards, but I do end each training session by giving him a good head scratch. Target training an animal involves teaching him to touch a target stick - such as the end of a spoon - when it is presented to him. I taught him to repeat a few sounds and raise his foot on cue, and I target trained him. I started clicker training Mitri and found that he is a very fast and eager learner. Older cockatoos sometimes take a long time to adjust to a new home, so I was very happy with Mitri’s fast progress. His outgoing, showy personality manifested itself within a week as he started following my husband around the house, dancing and bopping to music, and chewing and playing with his toys with gusto. However, he recovered from this shock quickly, and within two days he was requesting head scratches from me, and a good shower left his tatty-looking feathers clean, bright and soft. He was likely stressed from being moved from his old place, to the rescue director’s place, to the veterinarian’s office, and then to my place. He mainly just clung to the back of his cage to avoid human contact. Fergus was adopted by a great home after a few months with us.įergus was anything but shy, while Mitri, as we named our new foster bird, appeared very anxious and disheveled upon arrival at our place. We jumped at the chance to foster this bird, who would be the second Lesser Sulphur we have fostered, the other being another male named Fergus. My husband, Quentin, and I have been fostering or bird sitting parrots for a few years, and last year the director of a local animal rescue asked if we could foster a seventeen-year-old male Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. The Big Decision: To adopt or not to adopt. Living with a Lesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo I’ve had Mitri for two years now and he’s still doing great! It’s a shorter, slightly modified version of a longer article I posted on this site. Webmaster’s note: I wrote this for the June, 2009 issue of “ Parrots” magazine. After he was put back in his cage, Mitri just popped the door open again, so my husband had to hold the door shut for the rest of the ride. I then noticed that he was perched on the seat between my husband and me. He was in his travel cage talking to himself and he suddenly went quiet. He did this when my husband and I took him to a parrot club meeting. Mitri can also easily escape from his little travel cage. My husband had to replace all the regular nuts and bolts in Mitri’s cage with lock nuts that Mitri can’t get off. Mitri is also very proficient at taking nuts and bolts out of his big cage. ![]() He dislikes all the parrot play stands I’ve gotten him, so he has a spare cage downstairs he can hang out on. His main, big cage is upstairs, but he spends a lot of time downstairs. MyLesser Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Mitri, can easily open the door from his spare cage downstairs. Cockatoos have reputations for being escape artists, and various padlocks and clamps are often needed to keep them in their cages.
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