Hello from New Jersey! New to cockatoo help appreciated

[SpazzWhoElse]

Hi everyone! I'm glad to find such knowledgable and experienced birdie parents! I'm no stranger to the aviary world having finches, canaries and parakeets, however I AM new to the cockatoo. I just got Houdini last night, and boy what a long night! After an hour and a half drive (and I talked to him the whole time), we got home and I began the setup process. First I had to take each piece of his cage and scrub it as it looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in a year..literally. I've never seen such filth and I was beyond mad. Then I had to figure out how to put it back together. After setting everything up I hung around about an hour talking to him and trying to offer a treat, just quietly talking to him. Backstory is nobody bothered with him except food and water, I was told he bites so he was feared therefore nobody played with him or took him out etc. she said she didn't have time. Houdini is 4 years old and male. He's beautiful and handsome to me. He just looks at me right now and sits on his perch. Last night he did give me a little "garble" like "beak chatter" I call it. But he also hissed, that was scary. I know this is long, I'm sorry, but I also wanted to be thorough and one day I'm hoping I can look back at posts and say "look how far we've come". Any and all advise on foods, treats, toys, behavior and what to look for, such as his crest being raised, will be invaluable to me. I'm also doing a lot of reading. Thank you so much for listening and having us here on the forum. I'm sure I'll have many questions and updates.

[Navre]

What kind of cockatoo is he?

The first thing you're going to need to do is give him some time to settle in, and schedule a visit with an avian vet.

[liz]

Welcome to the forum.

[mmeager]

Hello and welcome to the forum, We are also very new here.

Would love to know what sort of Cockatoo you have.

We are from Australia, and live in the Mt Dandenong's Victoria. Cockatoo's are native and wild here, its not uncommon to have between 10-20 wild Cockatoo's feeding on our deck. We provide food and water for all the wild birds around here. King Parrots and Rosella's are also very popular visitors. Most are very friendly and can be hand fed. Except for the Cockatoo's. The Cockatoo's are often chased away by people, and not liked due to their very destructive behaviour, which has made them very shy and wary of people. Their very favorite food seems to be sunflower seeds, they seem to choose this over everything else!
I will be very interested to follow your journey with Houdini, and wishing you the very best in your relationship together.

[SpazzWhoElse]

Thank you for the replies. Houdini is a Goffin Cockatoo. Yesterday I tried working on his cage a little, putting more toys I had etc, and trying to give him a treats. I was told he likes peanuts, but he wasn't having it. I took a piece of some kind of biscuit from his food and tried that, he went for it but a little too fast and it scared me. I don't know if it was a bite try or grab try so I'll have to work on my reactions. Today I heard some squaking, but just a couple screeches. Then a little while ago he made a sad sound if that makes sense so I went over and talked to him again. He must hate my voice because I talk so much to him, he looks at me sideways! Lol I hate seeing him scared, not knowing where he us etc, but I know that it will take time. My hubby told me get the welding gloves and just start handling him, but I don't want to rush him, and he's not as knowledgable as I am so I take it with a grain of salt lol. Ps: I leave the radio on for him

[Navre]

Don't give him peanuts. They can be very bad for him.

I wouldn't use gloves, either. You just have to take it slowly.

Goffins are very affectionate and get very attached to people, but they do seem to have a bite worse than their size would indicate.

Keep letting him see you and keep talking to him.

[Wolf]

Welcome to the forum Peanuts can have an afflotoxin that is dangerous to bird, but this is usually found in the peanut hull and although dry roasted, unsalted shelled peanuts are generally considered safe, this is not a guarantee because of the risk of contamination during processing. As a result most parrot caregivers do not give their parrots peanuts.
Most birds including our parrots have a natural fear of hands and this fear can be dramatically increased by using gloves, so it is usually not a good idea to wear them when around our birds.
Here is a link that I think that you will find useful for you and Houdini, it is all about cockatoos and can give you a lot of basic and general tips for relating with each other.
http://cockatoo-info.com/general/ This site can be read much like an online book.

I would suggest that you spend lots of time talking singing and perhaps even dancing with your new friend, but be a little cautious if you dance with Houdini while he is on the floor as many cockatoos will claim the floor as their very own and rather impolitely invite you to remove your feet from it. I would also suggest that due to the jealous nature of many cockatoos as well as their unpredictability that you always keep them at some distance from your face. Other than having a crest much of the body language that you find in a budgie will translate to the same or nearly the same with a cockatoo.

[liz]

Don't give him peanuts. They can be very bad for him.

I wouldn't use gloves, either. You just have to take it slowly.

Goffins are very affectionate and get very attached to people, but they do seem to have a bite worse than their size would indicate.

Keep letting him see you and keep talking to him.

You covered most of it.
If he can fly let him out in a parrot safe room. He will go back to the cage when he gets hungry. If he can't fly his first move will be to sit on the top of the cage which is also good.
Don't be afraid. The worst he can do it chop off a finger. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Yes keep talking to him and letting him hear your voice. It also helps to read a book aloud while ignoring him so he can get a good look at you and work on figuring you out.
Rambo is now 31 and can sing his favorite parts of a few songs.
Myrtle sings la la la but does not have a song. She likes to hum along while I sing.

[Navre]

My experience with Goffims is limited to the 4 we have at the rescue, but I've found that they desperately want affection, but after 10 minutes, or so, they get over stimulated and that's when they bite.

You may be better off working with him for short periods of time, more often through the day, until you figure out how much stimulation he can take without getting too worked up.

[Wolf]

You can use their crest to some degree to tell if they are excited as they will raise it when excited, but this will not tell you if this is a goo excitement or bad nor will it tell you how excited they are, you will probably have to use other bodily signs for that, A flattened crest is a danger signal and normally means that the bird will bite. You can often use the eyes as an indicator, but don't look for pinning or flaring ( flashing ) of them, you will need to look at the shape of the eye, much as you must with a Grey parrot. If they have that look of appearing to be scheming, then they probably are and if also excited and sometimes even flaring their tails, you may want to set them down and give them some space and time to calm down.
That pretty well sums up my knowledge of cockatoo body language today. Hope it is useful.