Juicey tid-bits from fsusa junkies

[Madison Ave]

Those cockatoos are characters! Very entertaining but very "needy" and loud at dusk and dawn. Most of them anyway.

yep...they are...I have a moloccan cockatoo...very needy...we call her 'Satan with Wings'....she is the boss and when no one is paying attention to her...she will let you know! Although, at the same time she is very lovable and loves to cuddle....hahahaha...what an oxy-..... this response was....anyways...sorry for the highjack!

 

[KongsRevenge]

You forgot to add; The parrot may be able to take out the cat!

LOL very true. Truth be told, though, the Parrot and the Cat are best friends. I have the cutest video of them playing...really need to put it on youtube or something. The parrot will chase the cat around the house and nip at him (gently), the cat will roll over on his back and paw at the parrot...it's pretty cute! When they aren't playing, the parrot will actually pet the cat with his claws, and if he gets too rough the cat will take a little swipe at him- not enough to hurt the bird, just enough to let him know to calm down. It's weird to see, but the cat actually disciplines the bird- and has never showed even the slightest hint of aggression towards him.

 

[KongsRevenge]

yep...they are...I have a moloccan cockatoo...very needy...we call her 'Satan with Wings'....she is the boss and when no one is paying attention to her...she will let you know! Although, at the same time she is very lovable and loves to cuddle....hahahaha...what an oxy-..... this response was....anyways...sorry for the highjack!

Moloccans are adorable! At the place we got Moonshine (our parrot), they rescue birds that have been abused or are otherwise having difficulties. There is a Moloccan there whose mother, for whatever reason, bit the claws off of her feet when she was a baby...so now she can't grip anything and has to hobble around on little stump-feet...but you'd never know she had any problems if you didn't actually see her feet! She's very personable and sweet.

But yeah. The attention thing. Good freaking god. Moonshine, like most parrots, has a call that can be heard for 3+ miles away in the wild...and if you aren't paying attention to him, he will use every bit of it to remind you that he's there. I'm amazed that we've never had a complaint from our neighbors (we live in an apartment) but I suspect it's because we're really big on keeping him well socialized, which means we take him on walks and he meets the neighbors, who are invariably fascinated with him. He can be a very charming little dude when he wants to be!

 

[salemgold]

Awe! I have had 2 African Greys that were both rescues. sadly the love of my life, Lucy passed away 2 years ago. We have a Lesser Jardine that we hand raised and he is so sweet and precious. He grieved so badly for Lucy that we finally had to get another bird. We got another Grey from a sanctuary that we got about 1 1/2 years ago. The best place to get a bird or really most animals is from a rescue/sanctuary. There are so many homeless animals in shelters that I can and will not support breeders.

Sadly the cockatoos are given up frequently. People get them for their clownish personalities and don't realise the care that these animals require. I always tell people if you can handle having a 2 year old for the rest of your life you might be ready for a parrot. We have a member on this forum that does parrot rescue. She was telling me about a recent one where the tenants moved out and left 2 Greys and 2 Pit Bulls in the house that they moved out of. No cage for the birds, no food or water for any of them. Luckily the landlord fed and watered them until the 30 days was up and she could take posession. I always wanted to do some type of rescue but I don't think that my heart could handle it. I get too attached too fast. I do contribute what I can to rescue's and hopefully that helps some.

 

[ab357]

Sounds like the pets are better off without them. As is the landlord.

I really hope that doesn't mysteriously change to slumlord.

 

[KongsRevenge]

Salem- We've never had an African Grey, but I've read a lot about them and been around a couple...they are *so* smart! In fact, if you haven't seen it, search Youtube for Alex the African Grey and check it out...they actually taught the bird math. Hell, I can barely do math. It's pretty amazing.

It's sad but true with Cockatoos...people just don't realize how much work you have to put in to own one...not to mention the dedication you have to have...for instance, my wife and I are both full-time graduate students who also work full-time. As you can imagine, our spare time is pretty much nonexistent. That notwithstanding, we try and spend at least a couple of hours with Moonshine every day, playing with him, taking him for walks, or even just having him out of his cage with us while we are doing things around the house...they can suffer a lot if you don't socialize them much, even getting depressed. Moonshine wasn't a rescue himself, but the place we got him, in addition to being a locally owned (and awesomely dedicated) pet store, is a rescue for tropical birds. They don't ever sell their rescue birds- they keep them and take care of them for as long as the bird lives, and they do a really wonderful job. The animals they do sell are either obtained from very carefully selected breeders who take wonderful care of their young animals, or in Moonshine's case, the offspring of the rescue animals. The couple that owns the store/rescue is so sweet- you can tell they really love their animals. They even watch Moonshine for us when we go out of town! Even if people don't want to own a rescue bird (many of them require special attention and care even beyond that normally required), I hope that anyone considering a cockatoo (or any pet, really) seeks out somewhere like this to get their new addition to the family.


And also has a good set of earplugs.

 

[debb]

yes....cockatoos often end up alone because ppl don't realize the care they need..or how loud they are...lol..we have one...we also have a grey, gw macaw, b&g macaw, and a severe macaw....that will out live us!lol

 

[vaporgalinfla]

Nice to meet you Stan! Your wife sounds like a very interesting person. I look forward to hearing some more of your stories about her escapades! I noticed in your first post that you're working on your MBA. What school do you attend?

 

[KongsRevenge]

Nice to meet you Stan! Your wife sounds like a very interesting person. I look forward to hearing some more of your stories about her escapades! I noticed in your first post that you're working on your MBA. What school do you attend?

Donna and I are both attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham. It's more well known for its medical school and medical research (the Pathology program in particular, where my wife is getting her doctorate, is one of the tops in the world), but they have a really good MBA program that has classes in the evening, which means I am able to work full-time and go to school. I've got one term left after this one, and my wife should be finished with her program in the next year or so...so we'll be elsewhere soon, depending on where her post-doctoral work takes her (since I can do what I want to do just about anywhere).

 

[salemgold]

Salem- We've never had an African Grey, but I've read a lot about them and been around a couple...they are *so* smart! In fact, if you haven't seen it, search Youtube for Alex the African Grey and check it out...they actually taught the bird math. Hell, I can barely do math. It's pretty amazing.

It's sad but true with Cockatoos...people just don't realize how much work you have to put in to own one...not to mention the dedication you have to have...for instance, my wife and I are both full-time graduate students who also work full-time. As you can imagine, our spare time is pretty much nonexistent. That notwithstanding, we try and spend at least a couple of hours with Moonshine every day, playing with him, taking him for walks, or even just having him out of his cage with us while we are doing things around the house...they can suffer a lot if you don't socialize them much, even getting depressed. Moonshine wasn't a rescue himself, but the place we got him, in addition to being a locally owned (and awesomely dedicated) pet store, is a rescue for tropical birds. They don't ever sell their rescue birds- they keep them and take care of them for as long as the bird lives, and they do a really wonderful job. The animals they do sell are either obtained from very carefully selected breeders who take wonderful care of their young animals, or in Moonshine's case, the offspring of the rescue animals. The couple that owns the store/rescue is so sweet- you can tell they really love their animals. They even watch Moonshine for us when we go out of town! Even if people don't want to own a rescue bird (many of them require special attention and care even beyond that normally required), I hope that anyone considering a cockatoo (or any pet, really) seeks out somewhere like this to get their new addition to the family.


And also has a good set of earplugs.

Oh I know Alex and Dr Irene Pepperburg. Did you know that sadly Alex passed away a few years back. It was very amazing the things that he could do. It was a very sad day when he passed away.

Not all homeless birds that live in shelters have issues. Some of them are there because they outlived their human companions, illness with the human companions, job loss unable to care for them. There are all sorts of reasons that parrots become homeless. I believe that by supporting any breeder good or bad is adding to the problem. The breeders need to be stopped really. Not just with parrots but there is an overabundance of most domestic animals and it is a huge problem. I would always choose to adopt but that is just my opinion.

Kong, please think about the relationship that your bird and your cat have. The cat is still a predator and the bird is still prey by nature. I have seen so many accounts of dogs and birds, cats and birds being best of friends but it only takes 1 mistake and it is too late to do anything about it.
Did you know that cats have a substance in their claws that is toxic to birds? Just something to think about. I understand how cute and sweet that they are together but if the unthinkable happened even by mistake there would be no going back to make a different decision. Really didn't mean to get on my soap box but hopefully you will give that some thought.

 

[salemgold]

yes....cockatoos often end up alone because ppl don't realize the care they need..or how loud they are...lol..we have one...we also have a grey, gw macaw, b&g macaw, and a severe macaw....that will out live us!lol

debb, I did not know that you have parrots. It is weird having to make provisions for your pets for after you are gone. We get so attached and so can't handle losing a pet that for years we refused to have one. Until we found Lucy (CAG). The only reason that we even considered giving her a home was because she should have outlived us. Sadly that was not the case and she passed away 2 years ago at 10 years old.

They are lots of work but so much enjoyment and companionship too.

 

[debb]

debb, I did not know that you have parrots. It is weird having to make provisions for your pets for after you are gone. We get so attached and so can't handle losing a pet that for years we refused to have one. Until we found Lucy (CAG). The only reason that we even considered giving her a home was because she should have outlived us. Sadly that was not the case and she passed away 2 years ago at 10 years old.

They are lots of work but so much enjoyment and companionship too.

so true, salem....yep we have had parrots for a long while...i used to work in a parrot store, and bred small birds for awhile...one thing with a cag you are never alone...lol..

 

[salemgold]

so true, salem....yep we have had parrots for a long while...i used to work in a parrot store, and bred small birds for awhile...one thing with a cag you are never alone...lol..

I know! Lucy would talk in my voice, my husbands and my sons! She would love it when we were in another room and she would call us and ask what we were doing. We really thought that it was the person who's voice she was using at the moment Could not tell the difference at all! Yeah, she messed around with us all the time !

Our current CAG, Buddy is also a character. He was 12 years old when we got him so he has some of his previous owners voices. Very strange but entertaining. I also have multitudes of wild life in our yard (15 acres in the country) that think that they are our pets!

I guess that it is very good that you are in the woods. I could imagine that it gets pretty noisy at your house at dusk and dawn

 

[debb]

oh yeah! and sometimes they all talk to each other...very comical...our cag has very impressive vocab. lol

 

[KongsRevenge]

Oh I know Alex and Dr Irene Pepperburg. Did you know that sadly Alex passed away a few years back. It was very amazing the things that he could do. It was a very sad day when he passed away.

Kong, please think about the relationship that your bird and your cat have. The cat is still a predator and the bird is still prey by nature. I have seen so many accounts of dogs and birds, cats and birds being best of friends but it only takes 1 mistake and it is too late to do anything about it.
Did you know that cats have a substance in their claws that is toxic to birds? Just something to think about. I understand how cute and sweet that they are together but if the unthinkable happened even by mistake there would be no going back to make a different decision. Really didn't mean to get on my soap box but hopefully you will give that some thought.

I did hear that about Alex! It was very sad to hear that he passed away. My wife had been following Dr. Pepperburg's work since before she and I met, so I learned about it from her well after it happened.

And I *totally* understand why you would be concerned about the cat and the bird- that's something we've definitely taken into consideration. The cat is declawed, which I realize doesn't eliminate all danger he could pose to the bird, but if definitely takes away a lot of potential for playtime to get too rough. In addition, we've never let them interact without very close supervision- they're both within arms reach of us at all times when they are together, and that will never change. In the two years we've had Moonshine, Pips (the cat) has never shown even the slightest hint of aggression towards the bird- when the bird gets overzealous or annoying, Pips just walks away.

Like I said, I totally understand how you feel about this- honestly, we had the same concerns initially which is why their interactions have always been closely monitored. It should encourage you to know that my wife is a huge animal lover and advocate- in fact, when she started working at her current lab, she took it upon herself to re-write all of the animal care and testing protocols, and has been commended on several occasions by the agency (at the moment, I forget the name) that oversees the way test animals are kept in scientific labs. For as little patience as my wife has with humans, she has infinite compassion and love for animals, and has a way with them that is impossible to explain without seeing it for yourself. She's the girl that can calm down and ride the wild horse, or pet the aggressive dog. I promise you, our little cockatoo could not be in better or more loving hands.

 

[salemgold]

I did hear that about Alex! It was very sad to hear that he passed away. My wife had been following Dr. Pepperburg's work since before she and I met, so I learned about it from her well after it happened.

And I *totally* understand why you would be concerned about the cat and the bird- that's something we've definitely taken into consideration. The cat is declawed, which I realize doesn't eliminate all danger he could pose to the bird, but if definitely takes away a lot of potential for playtime to get too rough. In addition, we've never let them interact without very close supervision- they're both within arms reach of us at all times when they are together, and that will never change. In the two years we've had Moonshine, Pips (the cat) has never shown even the slightest hint of aggression towards the bird- when the bird gets overzealous or annoying, Pips just walks away.

Like I said, I totally understand how you feel about this- honestly, we had the same concerns initially which is why their interactions have always been closely monitored. It should encourage you to know that my wife is a huge animal lover and advocate- in fact, when she started working at her current lab, she took it upon herself to re-write all of the animal care and testing protocols, and has been commended on several occasions by the agency (at the moment, I forget the name) that oversees the way test animals are kept in scientific labs. For as little patience as my wife has with humans, she has infinite compassion and love for animals, and has a way with them that is impossible to explain without seeing it for yourself. She's the girl that can calm down and ride the wild horse, or pet the aggressive dog. I promise you, our little cockatoo could not be in better or more loving hands.

I am so glad to hear that! Your wife and I would get along very well. I am exactly the same. My love for and patience with animals many times outweighs what I show to humans. I actually only buy cage free eggs if that tells you something. I just had to say the things that I did because not everyone out there is aware of the potential risks. I am the ones that trys to speak up for the animals. Especially the ones that are not able to speak for themselves

 

[KongsRevenge]

Oh I completely feel you on that, Salem. I would say the vast majority of bird owners have absolutely no idea what they're getting into when they buy the animal- when we take Moonshine on walks or to the pet supply store so he can pick out toys, we have people coming up to us all the time asking about him and of course they are always fascinated and talk about wanting one just like him...when that happens, Donna and I are quick to point out the less glamorous aspects of having a tiny, feathered mental patient living in your home- being especially clear on the point that a bird who does not get a *lot* of attention and care is going to be miserable, not to mention unhealthy.

Moonshine does a pretty good job speaking for himself, though...sadly, thus far, his opinions on everything are either "hello", "I love you", or "go poo-poo!"...so hopefully he will broaden his horizons in the future

I could have sworn I heard him mutter a "roll tide" during the 'Bama game today, though it may have just been wishful thinking on my part. On the plus side, we've discovered that he absolutely loves James Brown, so he does take after his daddy at least a bit. He and Donna were having a james brown dance party in the living room today while I cooked dinner.

 

[salemgold]

Well if his opinions have to be few at least they are good ones so far! Funny thing that I have learned is that they will say what they want to say and when they want to say it. Try and take somebody in there by either of my Cags to show them how well they speak and they would clam up tight

 

[TexasT]

My love for and patience with animals many times outweighs what I show to humans.

Well, I know that statement isn't accurate. I think you are just an all around really fine person and I'm proud you're my buddy!

 

[ab357]

So what vape juice do the birds like most?