Cockatoos Need Love Too

August 28, 2007 by Kimberly

It is true…Cockatoos are gorgeous and popular, but you still need to give them love too…Many are under the endangered species list, and all others are considered vulnerable.

They have beautiful plumage in a rainbow of varieties, and an amazing crest on top of their head, which they can control to fan out or to lay back flat! They have big personalities and are very intelligent.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Psittaciformes
Family: Cacatuidae
Subfamilies: Microglossinae, Calyptorhynchinae, Cacatuinae

There are 21 species that belong to the Cacatuidae family. Of these 21, only 11 exist in Australia in the wild, 7 exist in Indonesia, New Guinea and other South Pacific Islands, and 3 exist in both New Guinea and Australia.

Cockatoos are under both the endangered and vulnerable species list, protected under the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. This means that it is illegal to import and export these birds, which are caught in the wild.

Endangered Cockatoo Species:
* Goffin’s cockatoo, Cacatua goffini
* Red-vented Cockatoo, Cacatua haematuropygia
* Moluccan Cockatoo, Cacatua moluccensis
* Yellow-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea
- includes the subspecies, Citron-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua sulphurea citrinocristata
* Palm Cockatoo, Probosciger aterrimus

If you are interested in adopting a cockatoo for a pet, make sure you are buying from a reputable dealer that has not partaken in the illegal trade of wild cockatoos.

My Story:
When I moved to Perth, Western Australia, about 13 yrs ago, the 1st day I woke up, I went for a jog. I was flabbergasted at the teeming wildlife just in my neighborhood. I made a few turns and ended up jogging through a park, where I found the most amazing site.

The trees were all pink! (Photo: This is what I saw! I wish I could find my photos to show you!) What I mean is, that they were absolutely full of pink cockatoos! Absolutely one of the most amazing things ever! Literally, there was no branch left open. What a treat to get up in the morning for your dull jog, and be graced with this beauty on a regular basis. So special!

It was so normal for the locals, they didn’t really see what the big deal was, and certainly did not want to go jogging with me…LOL Coming from Canada, this was a real eye-opening experience.

How beautiful, I thought. How terrible that they are all either endangered or vulnerable now, 13 yrs later.

* Tip: If you have any respiratory diseases, problems or sensitivities, a bird for a pet is not a great idea, as it can irritate and aggravate your respiratory problems further. (When we owned 2 budgies, when I was young, they lived to be about 10 yrs old. My mother seemed to have chronic bronchitis throughout the year, and it would be aggravated to pneumonia come winter time. When our Misty and Sky passed away, within 2 wks of each other, Misty’s heart was broken, my mother’s respiratory problems cleared up spontaneously. She has never had these problems since. She had a serious sensitivity to the bird plumage and dust that resulted from them living in the house. On the other hand, me, my sister and my father did not have such a sensitivity to our budgies.)

If you are blessed enough to have a cockatoo as a pet, it is important to make sure they are being fed properly, so they will live to be your companion for many years to come. Check out this great article I found to help you do just that!

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How To Give Your Cockatoo A Balanced Diet
By Jessica G Harrison

In the wild, Cockatoos eat whatever they find. For this reason, you should include a variety of things in their diet to stay as close to their natural diet as possible. On the other hand, your cockatoo can eat most of the things that you eat.

They mainly feed on seeds, berries, fruits, nuts and flowers. Sometimes, they can thrive on the basic diet of seeds and pellets alone. They don’t require any particular food but need “particular nutrients”. You should add more vegetables and fruits to your cockatoo’s diet. These are sources of additional nutrition.

The growth of your cockatoo depends on nutrition. Apart from that, reproduction, temperament and longevity also depend on nutrition. So, a good balanced diet becomes very essential to mould a lovable, healthy and a life-long companion.

To put it briefly, a cockatoo’s “balanced diet” should have equal shares of pellets, seeds and vegetables with a small quantity of fruits, nuts, proteins, cooked rice, bean mixture, and table food like cheese, corn, cereal, pasta, meat etc. It should have it all (that’s why I said they can eat most of the things that you eat!).

Pellets
Pellets can make as much as 60% of your cockatoo’s food. In fact, some cockatoos thrive on a pellet diet. You should keep pellets in their food dish all day and night. Pellets are a must as they provide your bird a balanced diet.

Seeds
Most cockatoos favor seeds of Eucalyptus tree, Casuarinas, Native trees and Marri seeds. Apart from these they also eat bull banksias seeds and occasionally feed on Angophoras, Hakeas, Acacias and fruit seeds (fruit seeds are toxic to some cockatoos, so make sure your new pet is not in that list before you feed it with fruit seeds). If the bird is fed only a seed diet on a daily basis, it will lead to deficiency in vitamins. So, a supplement of vitamins may be necessary in that case.

Healthy Mixed Diet
A healthy mixed diet has it all…25% vitamin enriched seed mix, 25% pellets, 25% vegetables, dark leafy greens and fruits, 15% cooked rice, corn, and bean mixture, 10% table food, cereal, bread, pasta, cheese, meat etc.

Vegetables
Vegetables to be fed can be green, dark green, orange, yellow or meaty. Fresh vegetables provide the additional nutrition your cockatoo needs. So, encourage your cockatoo to eat vegetables. Some of those that fall under this category are: carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli, greens, green peppers, asparagus, ripe tomatoes, spinach etc.

Fruits
Some of the cockatoo owners-to-be have this general query. ‘Do cockatoos eat fruits and how to make the bird eat fruits?’ Fruits provide the natural supplements to your cockatoo. So, it would be a good idea to introduce fruits to your new pet. Initially, it may reject it, but later it will start eating fruits. Some of the favored fruits are apples, pears, peaches, pomegranate, bananas, berries, plums, oranges, kiwi, citrus, pomegranate, grapes, raisins etc.

Nuts
Cockatoos prefer nuts to fruits. Because of this, some nuts make ideal treats. They can crack hard nuts and should be encouraged to do so. If given whole nuts, they love to crack open the shell to extract the seed. Their beaks are specially adapted for this function and it could also be a form of entertainment.

Water
Water is equally important as food. The bird should drink water on a daily basis. Fresh water should be in the cage at all times.

Proteins
As I said earlier, it’s important that the bird gets all the necessary nutrients. And proteins are an important supplement that aid growth. The bird can be provided with food high in proteins such as legumes, cooked eggs and grated cheese. Sprouts, ripe tomatoes, cooked beans, spinach are some of the other sources. They can also be fed with freshly cooked lean beef, chicken or fish in small quantities. Occasionally, they can be given cooked meat bones.Vitamins and Minerals
If the bird’s diet has a variety of all the nutrients, then supplement of vitamins and minerals is not required. As a matter of fact it is better to consult an avian vet before giving the bird vitamin supplements because an overdose of vitamins and minerals will do more harm than good.Now having known all that you can give your cockatoo, let’s also keep ourselves informed as to what should be avoided.AVOID:
Don’t feed your cockatoo alcohol, parsley and avocados (as they are toxic to cockatoos). Seeds high in sunflower and safflower should be avoided as these are very fatty. Keep
your bird away from chocolates and caffeine. Iceberg lettuce and cabbage can cause diarrhea in your pet. Other foods to be avoided are seasoned meat or fatty processed meats. All these can cause your pet serious health problems.

Other important tips:
Keep in mind that just providing them food isn’t sufficient but you have to make sure that they’re eating what is given to them.

Too much milk shouldn’t be included in the diet as some cockatoos are lactose intolerant and could get diarrhea. You can give them tofu, low-fat cottage and hard cheeses and non-fat yogurt in small quantities.

If you aren’t including pellets/vitamin/mineral supplements in their diet, you should sprinkle a powdered bird vitamin/mineral supplement to their food once a week. This
would avoid deficiencies. Although a calcium block and a mineral block should normally serve this purpose, these birds are famous for destroying the blocks.

Don’t let fruits and vegetables stay in the cage for more than two hours.

Do not give them nuts and peanuts often, as these are very high in fat and can make your pet obese if overfed. Dry food can be left for no more than a day.

Always store nuts in a secure bin that will keep the contents dry and safe from rodents. Rodent excreta can transmit diseases like Salmonellosis.

Clean the food and water bowls kept inside the cage thoroughly every day. Disinfect them with bleach (and wash off thoroughly) every week.

Some cockatoos have the tendency to become overweight so you need to monitor their food and diet properly. Stick to a low fat diet and include a variety of greens. Don’t increase the volume as overfeeding will make them picky and they will also waste the food.

Cockatoos are famous for tipping over their bowls. Usage of heavy bottomed feed and water bowls serve the purpose just fine.

With all these tips, I believe you have all the important information on how to provide your pet with the best diet.

The above is an excerpt from the free newsletter on “All About Cockatoos” published by Geostar Publishing & Services LLC.

Here’s to a happier pet-owing experience!

Jessica Harrison
Geostar Publishing & Services LLC
6423, Woodbine Court
St. Louis, Missouri
63109, USA

http://www.all-about-cockatoos.com
http://www.all-about-cockatoos.com/gallery
Jessica Harrison is the author of the best selling eBook “All About Cockatoos” published by Geostar Publishing & Services LLC.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jessica_G_Harrison
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Give-Your-Cockatoo-A-Balanced-Diet&id=664468

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I love all of these beautiful species of Cockatoo. How gorgeous! How amazing would it be to have these beautiful birds all over the place in Canada? I truly enjoyed today’s installment of Exotic Animal Lover. Until next time…
Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards