Cotton eating cockatoo

[anna83]

Hi Guys,

Our cocky has recently started pulling threads out of his cotton rope swing, rolling them into a ball with his tongue and swallowing them. This cant be good, can it? Has anyone had a similar problem? Just wondering if its going to 'clog' him up or if its ok for him to do this.

Cockles
Loki
Abrocious

[GlassOnion]

Errr... I would definitely remove the rope and prevent him from eating.

I would suggest these boings, there is about 3-4x as much cotton as a normal boing would, wrapped very tightly that it's pretty much woven. No worries about loose cotton strands.

Greyfeather toys: http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/store/pr ... etail=true

[asifden]

I really like this subject. Could you tell me more … I would love to explore.

Motorcycles Accessories

[laducockatiel]

Yeah, it's best to remove the rope ASAP. As soon as you see the rope is coming apart, take it out and replace it,

[CrazzMc]

Errr... I would definitely remove the rope and prevent him from eating.

I would suggest these boings, there is about 3-4x as much cotton as a normal boing would, wrapped very tightly that it's pretty much woven. No worries about loose cotton strands.

Greyfeather toys: http://www.greyfeathertoys.com/store/pr ... etail=true

Omg thats expensive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wayfair.com and mysafebirdstore.com are much cheaper.

I don't know the quality of that, but before spending $70 I think you need to look at this. http://www.wayfair.com/AandE-Cage-Co.-L ... C1255.html

[bhrandy]

It is okay if you are just fine with the mess. If you aren't better remove that rope.

[Avialae]

Eating toys like this is pretty common for cockatoos, and is generally a sign that something is missing.
More socializing and more foraging opportunities is the first thing i'd do. If you don't have a very spacey cage already, i'd consider investing in a proper sized one. (Around 2*2*1 metres, min.)
Also, make sure you check the lighting, do they have access to UV light? Are you sure your lightsources are not flickering? (Keep in mind parrot eyes have much higher refresh rate than ours, some lights which we percieve as constant flicker in their eyes.) Also, of coourse, take a look at their current diet.

And, the most obvious course of action, remove the rope and replace it with some other toys.

[markgab]

Our cocky has recently started pulling threads out of his cotton rope swing, rolling them into a ball with his tongue and swallowing them. This cant be good, can it? Has anyone had a similar problem? Just wondering if its going to 'clog' him up or if its ok for him to do this.

Yes. Too bad. I too had the same problem. Just have to cope with that.




Mark
"training on the use of my best expandable baton and mastering it"

[anna83]

Hi All,

Thanks for your comments. The cotton swing/perch has been removed, so Cocky is no longer ingesting cotton. They have been replaced with natural (eucalyptus) branches. After taking the cotton out his poo had undigested seed in it (like there was a blockage or something) for a couple of days, but now everything is back to normal.

Cockles