Conversation with a Moluccan cockatoo owner

[JessiMuse]

So the other day, my mom and I saw a woman with a Moluccan cockatoo on her arm. We decided to chat with her. Told her I have birds, though they're all small birds. She told us a little bit about her bird. The Moluccan waved and said "hi!". It was very well behaved, as far as cockatoos go.

She told us this story of when she was in a store. Her cockatoo apparently loves children, so he sees this little girl, and says: "You're the baby!"

The girl says, "I'm not a baby, I'm a big girl".

The cockatoo repeats: "you're the baby!"

The girl gets flustered and again says: "I'm not a baby. I'm a big girl."

This goes on a few times, with the little girl getting more and more upset. Eventually, she throws a fit, kicking and screaming, saying "I'm not a baby! I'm a big girl!"

The mom had to drag her child out, and as they were on their way out the door, the cockatoo says: "Bye bye baby, love you!"


Oh, what I would give to see that for myself. The way birds show their intelligence is in the funniest ways, sometimes.

[Chantilly]

Haha I cant stop laughing at this! So cute would have been cool if she caught it on camera

[Pajarita]

Awwwww, how cute is that?! I love toos BUT they really are a whole lot of work... much more so than any other species because, although GCCs are as needy as they are, they are not as destructive or as loud.

[JessiMuse]

Indeed. Moluccans are particularly high maintenance from what I've heard. I guess I should have added that the cockatoo was very well behaved in the store. The woman told us how destructive her bird is at home. He chewed a corner off the piano, tore the moldings off the walls, shredded the wallpaper, and some other things, but I can't remember what she said. Still, it didn't sound as bad as Paj's story about her cockatoos deciding to just chew a giant hole in the wall altogether.

Lucy's like a cockatoo in a cockatiel's body. She tends to be needy at times, and would definitely be as destructive, if she were the same size. Still, I can't imagine what it would be like to own one large cockatoo, let alone multiple cockatoos. Lucy might not even amount to them in neediness, and I'm probably overexaggerating.

Still, I would love to have a cockatoo at some point. Even with their high maintenance and their destructiveness, it seems like it would be very rewarding when taken care of correctly. I would especially love a galah, as they're one of my favorite species.

[Navre]

Awwwww, how cute is that?! I love toos BUT they really are a whole lot of work... much more so than any other species because, although GCCs are as needy as they are, they are not as destructive or as loud.

Nor as dusty

[Chantilly]

This made my brother laugh.... and he NEVER laughs

[liz]

I picture what I hear or read. Can you imagine that bird talking clear enough for a kid to understand. Then the kid considered it a being and argued with it. LOL

Toos are not the only birds that chew. Rambo was rough on baseboards but his masterpiece was the hole in the wall behind the toilet. By the time I found it he would have fit through it. I choose my battles so when I covered that hole I gave him a block of untreated wood behind the toilet.

Myrtle is every where. With all I give her to chew on she still goes for my kitchen cabinets and ceiling trim. She will also chew on my furniture. I gave her a cocoanut still in the hull and chipped it to give her a start. That is a very fuzzy cocoanut not. Tweetle Dee had a cocoanut bird feeder that he slept in and gave it a designer hair cut.

It is also happening with the cockatiels. I give them tree branches to perch on and a tree made of real branches They don't seem to play with toys. I have a screen door on their room so the big door is open and too close to their window perch. So I see that they are trying to round the corner.