Goffin Cockatoo--Pitiful whining
Michael Fulmer
Can you offer any suggestions to help my pitiful, whining Goffin cockatoo?
He whines while alone in his cage, he whines while I play with him in my
lap, he whines while on a play station or wandering on the floor.
Dexter was born March 18, 1996; I got him from the breeder at 8 weeks of
age, and hand-fed him three times a day, reducing gradually to once in the
evening over the next 4 weeks. He refused to eat the Kay-Tee Rainbow
pellets or veggies that were always available, though he played with the
pellets and even crunched them up.
The vet said he was healthy and of good weight for his size and age. He is
an affectionate, playful bird, but whines a LOT--a sort of low growling
whine, often soft and pitiful, and sometimes it wanes to pitiful squeaks.
He sounds as though he's incredibly unhappy or in pain. I thought it was
hunger, so I tried to feed him when he whined, but he would usually eat
little or no squirt food.
At the vet's suggestion, I consulted a bird behaviorist, who suggested that
Goffins just whine a lot, and to "abundance-wean" him by offering a
tempting wide variety of solid foods. He continued to whine, and didn't
wean.
A local pet store owner who has two Goffins of her own said that they just
hate pellet foods, and the vet's advice to the contrary, the only way to
wean him was to add seed to his Rainbow. It worked! He began refusing
even the evening feeding, and switched to seeds and veggies (mostly seeds,
unfortunately).
She didn't have any advice about the whining, though; her birds don't
whine. Dexter continues to whine often during the day. Sometimes he
starts at dawn, then quits for a while; sometimes he doesn't start until 7
or 8 a.m.
He whines while alone in his cage, and continues to whine when I take him
out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better than
anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch his
neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful, and it
sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
When I'm out but anyone else is at home, they tell me he really doesn't
whine. Is he bonded irreversably to me as his "mother" because I
squirt-fed him before he was weaned?
I am very distressed about his behavior; the whining is so disturbing, I
don't think I can bear to keep him if it continues. Can you offer any
suggestions?
Thanks so much for your time and any advice you can offer!
Regards,
--
Michael Fulmer
mic...@realpeople.com
--
Gib Henry
* 80% of "computer literacy" consists of typing skill.
* 80% of "data processing" consists of sorting.
* Information seeks to be free.
In human terms, Einstein was wrong: the universe as we once
knew it has imploded, and is rapidly becoming a small community.
We are next-door neighbors, you and I.
ker...@csl.uiuc.edu
> A local pet store owner who has two Goffins of her own said that they just
> hate pellet foods, and the vet's advice to the contrary, the only way to
> wean him was to add seed to his Rainbow. It worked! He began refusing
> even the evening feeding, and switched to seeds and veggies (mostly seeds,
> unfortunately).
I have an aquaintance with a Moluccan cockatoo who won't eat the
pellets either. He gets fed seed, as well as fruits and vegetables.
The vet gives him blood exams, which say he is getting a proper
diet. However, he does eat mostly the fruits and vegetables, with
only a little seed. The pellets are not in any sense necessary for
proper nutrition. You just have to be more careful about exactly
which fruits and vegetables you provide, to be sure he is getting
a balanced diet. So, work on getting him to eat more of the fruit
and vegetables, but don't get too hung up thinking there is any
sort of a catastrophy.
> He whines while alone in his cage, and continues to whine when I take him
> out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better than
> anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch his
> neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful, and it
> sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
If he acts happy, and the vet says he is in good health, then I
would say he is doing fine, and that you should not be worried
about the possibility that he is unhappy. However, you should
still try to figure out how to quiet the bird down, so he does
not make a nuisance of himself.
My aquaintance's Moluccan is mostly quiet, except that he screeches
for 20 minutes a day. He occasionally murmurs "cockatoo" (a natural
sound they make; he can't talk), mostly to try to get someone to
come over and pet him. When being petted, he sometimes clucks a
bit. In his sleep, he sometimes makes a sound that sounds like
gasping. If your noise does not sound like any of these, I know
nothing of it.
Ian Kerfoot
-------------------==== Posted via Deja News ====-----------------------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
ellen beth kessler
In <michael-2612...@dialup69.scott.net> mic...@realpeople.com
(Michael Fulmer) writes:
>
>Can you offer any suggestions to help my pitiful, whining Goffin
cockatoo?
>He whines while alone in his cage, he whines while I play with him in
my
>lap, he whines while on a play station or wandering on the floor.
>
>Dexter was born March 18, 1996; I got him from the breeder at 8 weeks
of
>age, and hand-fed him three times a day, reducing gradually to once in
the
>evening over the next 4 weeks.
You probably weaned him too soon. He may have been ready physically,
but he was far from ready psychologically. I would highly recommend
that you start handfeeding him again...at least once a day, but
preferably twice. Make believe he is a neonate again and hug him and
talk to him before and after each feeding. Let him tell YOU when he
doesn't want to eat anymore; don't look at a calendar and say "whoops,
you're 12 weeks old, you must be weaned." If it takes five months, six
months, a full year -- continue to feed him until HE says stop.
Ellen K
John Roby
We have a Goffin that whines in the morning, only before being let out of
the cage. I though we had it bad! I am a new bird owner, so I would be
tentative about offering advise. If you are thinking of getting rid of her
however, try putting her back in her cage when she whines. Wait a few
minutes, take her out again and try some distraction like seeds or treats
to stop the whining. As soon as she stops put her back in the cage. The
idea is to deliver the message that to get your attention she needs to
whine less, not more.
Good luck!
Jack Stephens
John...@aol.com
Cherane Pefley
In article <michael-2612...@dialup69.scott.net> Michael
Fulmer wrote:
>Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 15:05:14 -0600
>From: mic...@realpeople.com (Michael Fulmer)
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Goffin Cockatoo--Pitiful whining
>
>Can you offer any suggestions to help my pitiful, whining Goffin
cockatoo?
>He whines while alone in his cage, he whines while I play with him
in my
>lap, he whines while on a play station or wandering on the floor.
>
>Dexter was born March 18, 1996; I got him from the breeder at 8
weeks of
>age, and hand-fed him three times a day, reducing gradually to
once in the
>evening over the next 4 weeks. He refused to eat the Kay-Tee
Rainbow
>pellets or veggies that were always available, though he played
with the
>pellets and even crunched them up.
>
>The vet said he was healthy and of good weight for his size and
age. He is
I am a past Cockatoo Breeder (Although I own two pairs of
Moluccans, one singel Moluccan, one pair of Bare Eyes) other
then the two pair of Rose Breast here with me.
I have gone through much of what you writing about and found
my babies who have done the pitiful act with me to have a
yeast infection.
They don't wean well, eat very little of the good foods, cry
a lot with the me (caretaker) around and I have just been
about ready to pull my hair out trying to find the problem.
I have a yeast CROP culture done, a quick gram stain from
your vet will tell him. Go down inside the crop towards the
proventricular. A mouth culture well not find this nor will
a poop culture.
If any questions, your vet can contact Dr. Tom Goldsmith in
Miami as he is the one who taught me this procedure to find
the nasty fungas.
A yeast infection will make a baby do all that you have
writen, including the lack of eating good. All healthy
babies go for any good food and when a baby starts to turn
away from food, with whinning, my ears go up as an atenna
getting tune into my babies signal. smile
Cherane
September 29, 1989, I suffered a head injury. I had to relearn to
speak, write and walk. Excuse my post with improper grammar or
spelling which I have so carelessly overlooked.
"Quality
is never an accident;
it is always the result of
high intention, sincere effort,
intelligent direction and skillful execution;
it represents the wise choice
of many alternatives."
Cherane Pefley
In article <8516611...@dejanews.com> kerfoot wrote:
>Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 23:31:04 -0600
>From: ker...@csl.uiuc.edu
>To: mic...@realpeople.com
>Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
>Subject: Re: Goffin Cockatoo--Pitiful whining
>
>> A local pet store
>I have an aquaintance with a Moluccan cockatoo who won't eat the
>pellets either. He gets fed seed, as well as fruits and
vegetables.
>The vet gives him blood exams, which say he is getting a proper
>diet. However, he does eat mostly the fruits and vegetables, with
>only a little seed. The pellets are not in any sense necessary for
>proper nutrition. You just have to be more careful about exactly
>which fruits and vegetables you provide, to be sure he is getting
>a balanced diet. So, work on getting him to eat more of the fruit
>and vegetables, but don't get too hung up thinking there is any
>sort of a catastrophy.
>
>. If your noise does not sound like any of these, I know
>nothing of it.
>
> Ian Kerfoot
>-------------------==== Posted via Deja News
====-----------------------
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Post to Usenet
Hi Ian,
I don't agree with a proper diet consist of fruits, vegies and
seeds.
Where is the complete chain of Amino Acids to come from with this
diet?
complex carbs are pretty hard to rebuild with fruits and vegies
alone. Many Avian Vets have seen a great deal of a "lack of vitamin
A" with the approved diet you have specified above, with leaving
the bird subject to upper respirtory infections, bubblefoot, plus a
few other illments and all with the diet of fruits, vegies and
seeds alone.
I have cultured some of these seeds sold to us to find a great deal
of Ecoli......to boot!
I feed my stinkers, all of them pellets, both kaytee and zupreem
(no monkey chow) with vegies including some starchy foods for the
complex carbs. I feed the fruits only three times a week allthough
they do get their vegies each and every day. Ialso make sure they
get seed (kaytee only and without vitamins coated) and a mixture of
a variety of nuts, but again fruit only three times a week to avoid
candidas or any yeast. I replace this the other days with sprouts
for more complet Amino acids and alive foods.
I make sure they get a good all around diet but the staple of all
is the pellet at least fifty percent. I do not leave seed in the
bowl all the time it is the "pellet". All my seed gets soaked in
Grapefruit extract to disinfect and soaked till it becomes alive!
I'm now trying to avoid seed to stop breeders from giving me
babies....
Gib Henry
In article <5a0lor$9...@news-c1.gnn.com>, cpe...@gnn.com (Cherane Pefley) wrote:
[...snip...]
> September 29, 1989, I suffered a head injury. I had to relearn to
> speak, write and walk. Excuse my post with improper grammar or
> spelling which I have so carelessly overlooked.
First off, congratulations on making terrific progress in your recovery!
Second, you don't owe anyone an apology, and I don't think you're
careless. Your grammar's no worse than anyone else's; we all post in
haste, and I for one am amazed at the errors I find AFTER I've posted!
And I was an English major.
And third, thanks for taking the time and interest to offer help. I
posted the original problem on behalf of my business partner, Michael
Fulmer (he doesn't have news access), and he's very grateful for your
help.
Happy New Year! Cheers,
Leigh
If he seems happy, could it be that you accidentally trained him
(by overreacting to it) that whining is the way to keep in contact
with you & sorta aware he's there? My Amazon likes to "purr"
a lot when he isn't talky. Not really a catlike purr, more of
a low trilling purr. I think it is just to let me know that
he's there, he's OK, just not talky right then.
--Leigh
>pellets or veggies that were always available, though he played with the
>pellets and even crunched them up.
>
>The vet said he was healthy and of good weight for his size and age. He is
>an affectionate, playful bird, but whines a LOT--a sort of low growling
>whine, often soft and pitiful, and sometimes it wanes to pitiful squeaks.
>He sounds as though he's incredibly unhappy or in pain. I thought it was
>hunger, so I tried to feed him when he whined, but he would usually eat
>little or no squirt food.
>
>At the vet's suggestion, I consulted a bird behaviorist, who suggested that
>Goffins just whine a lot, and to "abundance-wean" him by offering a
>tempting wide variety of solid foods. He continued to whine, and didn't
>wean.
>
>A local pet store owner who has two Goffins of her own said that they just
>hate pellet foods, and the vet's advice to the contrary, the only way to
>wean him was to add seed to his Rainbow. It worked! He began refusing
>even the evening feeding, and switched to seeds and veggies (mostly seeds,
>unfortunately).
>
>She didn't have any advice about the whining, though; her birds don't
>whine. Dexter continues to whine often during the day. Sometimes he
>starts at dawn, then quits for a while; sometimes he doesn't start until 7
>or 8 a.m.
>
>He whines while alone in his cage, and continues to whine when I take him
>out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better than
>anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch his
>neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful, and it
>sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
>
ker...@csl.uiuc.edu
> Many Avian Vets have seen a great deal of a "lack of vitamin
> A" with the approved diet you have specified above,
I believe vitamin A is the thing that my aquaintance is always
making a point of feeding the cockatoo. He gets fed a lot of
cooked sweet potato as a source of it, and I believe some other
type of food as well.
He has the seed available continually, but just doesn't eat too
much of it. He will go for several days without touching it at
all, and then we suddenly see a pile of seed shells at the bottom
of his cage.
Mike Owen
Cherane Pefley wrote:
>
> I don't agree with a proper diet consist of fruits, vegies and
> seeds.
>
> Where is the complete chain of Amino Acids to come from with this
> diet?
> complex carbs are pretty hard to rebuild with fruits and vegies
> alone. Many Avian Vets have seen a great deal of a "lack of vitamin
> A" with the approved diet you have specified above, with leaving
> the bird subject to upper respirtory infections, bubblefoot, plus a
> few other illments and all with the diet of fruits, vegies and
> seeds alone.
>
Many birds do indeed suffer from a deficiency in vitamin A, but only if fed a seed
only diet, since dry seed has no vitamin A. However most green vegetables have
reasonable amounts of vitamin A, while corn, carrot, pumkin and sweet potato
contain an abundance, so any bird fed any of these 4 vegies as well as green
vegies and fruit will get plenty of vitamin A. As for amino acids, the complete
range of amino acids can be obtained if not more than 10% sunflower or some other
oil seed is included in a seed mix. Even better, give the bird some occasional
animal protein, either through cooked egg, chop bones, or cheese. Getting a
balanced diet with a seed rather than pellet base is really rather easy, with the
bonus that the birds are generally happier with seed in their diet.
Mike Owen,
Queensland, Australia
Bruce & Alicia McWatters
>Many birds do indeed suffer from a deficiency in vitamin A, but only
if fed a seed
>only diet, since dry seed has no vitamin A. However most green
vegetables have
>reasonable amounts of vitamin A, while corn, carrot, pumkin and sweet
potato
>contain an abundance, so any bird fed any of these 4 vegies as well as
green
>vegies and fruit will get plenty of vitamin A. As for amino acids,
the complete
>range of amino acids can be obtained if not more than 10% sunflower or
some other
>oil seed is included in a seed mix. Even better, give the bird some
occasional
>animal protein, either through cooked egg, chop bones, or cheese.
Getting a
>balanced diet with a seed rather than pellet base is really rather
easy, with the
>bonus that the birds are generally happier with seed in their diet.
>
>Mike Owen,
>
>Queensland, Australia
Hi Mike,
I wouldn't go so far as saying dry seeds have no vitamin A, because
some do, albeit not substantial in comparison to some yellow, red, and
green veggies and fruits. ;)
Since I haven't fallen for the marketing hype of pellets yet and
enjoy being self-sufficient, here is my opinion about feeding a
balanced diet from a variety of fresh foods, excerpted from one of my
articles.
"You can’t lose when feeding a variety of fresh foods as long as
they are offered consistently and, of course, your birds are actually
eating them! Foods are healthiest as close to nature and as unprocessed
as possible. Serving our birds wholesome foods is not much different
from feeding ourselves a healthy diet. Mixing grains and legumes
creates a high quality protein meal; nuts and seeds provide an
excellent source of protein, some vitamins, minerals, and the essential
fatty acids. The chief contributions that fruits provide us are beta
carotene, vitamin C and some minerals. Vegetables offer our birds
nearly all of the vitamins and minerals required for good health and
can supply significant protein, with little, to no, fat. If you feed
fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds and sprouts on a
regular basis, your bird is receiving all the amino acids necessary for
a healthy body. Most vegetables contain some of the essential amino
acids with many containing them all. These essential amino acids are
not synthesized by a bird’s body, but must come from a food source. It
was once commonly believed that a great deal of effort was needed to
"balance" the vegetable proteins to form "complete" protein. Most
scientists realize now that a diversified vegetable diet will supply
adequate protein for our health needs. It would be impossible for your
bird to develop a protein deficiency if it is eating a variety of
vegetable foods. Vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts and seeds contain
more than enough protein for the growth and maintenance of your bird’s
body."
Each to their own opinion. :)
Alicia
--
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Alicia McWatters, M.S. Pionus Plus Aviaries
Nutrition Consultant Hand-reared baby parrots;
Edgewood, New Mexico Pionus Parrots (6 species)
Ph (505)281-5168 9am-5pm MDT African Greys (Congo & Timneh)
Fax (505)281-0751 anytime
e-mail;pio...@ix.netcom.com
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
JSKD
Despite the vet, the bird behaviorist and the pet store owner commenting
that Goffin's normally whine a lot and won't eat pellets, I haven't found
that to be true. I have two Goffin's. One is an imported male who's at
least nine years old, the other a three and a half year old domestic hen I
handfed from the age of a few weeks. Neither one of them has ever whined.
The hen weaned to pellets and soft food without any problem, although she
was about four months old when she gave up the last handfeeding. The male
converted to pellets immediately after I bought him, and he'd been on a
seed-only for at least a year before I bought him and god knows how long
before that. (I don't know anything about his earlier history except that
he came into the country in late 1988.) Don't give up on your little
cockatoo--as someone else said, he's still just a baby. Goffin's are
really delightful birds, and I think I'm blessed to have two of them in my
life.
Judy in WV
Mike Owen
Cherane Pefley wrote:
>
> I don't agree with a proper diet consist of fruits, vegies and
> seeds.
>
> Where is the complete chain of Amino Acids to come from with this
> diet?
> complex carbs are pretty hard to rebuild with fruits and vegies
> alone. Many Avian Vets have seen a great deal of a "lack of vitamin
> A" with the approved diet you have specified above, with leaving
> the bird subject to upper respirtory infections, bubblefoot, plus a
> few other illments and all with the diet of fruits, vegies and
> seeds alone.
>
ellen beth kessler
>> He whines while alone in his cage, and continues to whine when I
take him
>> out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better
than
>> anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch
his
>> neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful,
and it
>> sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
>
>If he acts happy, and the vet says he is in good health, then I
>would say he is doing fine, and that you should not be worried
>about the possibility that he is unhappy. However, you should
>still try to figure out how to quiet the bird down, so he does
>not make a nuisance of himself.
>
Ian, when you have some first-hand experience with birds, you will
realize that your above advice is incorrect. In fact, it could be
downright dangerous to the bird.
Screaming is one thing, especially in a cockatoo. But whining is
something else entirely. To me, that says the bird is lacking
something. A bird doesn't whine like a 2-year old child who doesn't get
his way; a bird whines because he is hurting. And the advice I gave
this goffin's owner is that handfeeding needs to be resumed because, in
my opinion, he was weanined much too early. Goffin's are tough birds to
wean sometimes and many will take a lot longer to wean than what the
calendar says. I know of one experienced goffin's breeder who had some
that took six months to wean.
"Trying to quiet the bird down" is a good suggestion if the bird were
screaming obnoxiously. But, again, whining is a different message from
the bird and must be looked at differently. We're talking about a baby
goffin's here, not a mature Moluccan cockatoo that screams 20 minutes
twice a day.
Ellen K
bla...@aol.com
In article <5a4caj$5...@nr1.vancouver.istar.net>, Mike Owen
<mo...@peg.apc.org> writes:
>Getting a
>balanced diet with a seed rather than pellet base is really rather easy,
with
>the
>bonus that the birds are generally happier with seed in their diet.
>
>
Do you have any evidence for this statement as a general rule? I know
many extremely happy, healthy, wonderful birds on pellet diets. I think
the choice between a diet of pellets plus vegetables or seed plus
vegetables plus vitamin supplements (no need to supplement a pellet plus
vegetable diet if pellets are at least 50% of the diet or there abouts) is
more one of convenience than the birds happiness.
-Philip J. Blanda III
PGP Public key available
Leigh
Couldn't resist jumping in...
I have no "evidence" that SOME birds are happier w/ seed, but
SOME birds definitely eat better, act happier, etc. w/ it.
OTHER birds do better on pellets. Some positively blossom on
pellets.
I do use pellets, but not exclusively. One of my gripes w/ them
is that it is another step away from learning about nutrition,
preparing complete diets yourself, & I like to learn these things.
Many others don't have the time or interest.
I'm really big on the bean/corn/rice based diets because even those
that seem to dislike pellets usually enjoy it (except 'tiels.)
It is also much cheaper than pellets. However, you have to have
the knowledge of how to prepare a good mix & the time to cook it.
--Leigh
Chase Kimball
In article <michael-2612...@dialup69.scott.net>,
mic...@realpeople.com says...
>
>Can you offer any suggestions to help my pitiful, whining Goffin cockatoo?
>He whines while alone in his cage, he whines while I play with him in my
>lap, he whines while on a play station or wandering on the floor.
>
>Dexter was born March 18, 1996; I got him from the breeder at 8 weeks of
>age, and hand-fed him three times a day, reducing gradually to once in the
>evening over the next 4 weeks. He refused to eat the Kay-Tee Rainbow
>pellets and even crunched them up.
>
>The vet said he was healthy and of good weight for his size and age. He is
>an affectionate, playful bird, but whines a LOT--a sort of low growling
>whine, often soft and pitiful, and sometimes it wanes to pitiful squeaks.
>He sounds as though he's incredibly unhappy or in pain. I thought it was
>hunger, so I tried to feed him when he whined, but he would usually eat
>little or no squirt food.
>
>At the vet's suggestion, I consulted a bird behaviorist, who suggested that
>Goffins just whine a lot, and to "abundance-wean" him by offering a
>tempting wide variety of solid foods. He continued to whine, and didn't
>wean.
>
>A local pet store owner who has two Goffins of her own said that they just
>hate pellet foods, and the vet's advice to the contrary, the only way to
>wean him was to add seed to his Rainbow. It worked! He began refusing
>even the evening feeding, and switched to seeds and veggies (mostly seeds,
>unfortunately).
>
>She didn't have any advice about the whining, though; her birds don't
>whine. Dexter continues to whine often during the day. Sometimes he
>starts at dawn, then quits for a while; sometimes he doesn't start until 7
>or 8 a.m.
>
>out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better than
>anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch his
>neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful, and it
>sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
I have a Bare-eyed Cockatoo, and they are very similar to Goffin's. Curly
whined constantly for about the first year we had him, it really bugged me
sometimes. After about a year he stopped, and I don't know if it was
gradual or not, I just noticed one day taht I hadn't heard him whine in a
while. I weaned Curly on to pellets, and he eats them without complaint,
along with a few nutriberries in the morning. I chop up vegetables for him
to eat while I am at work, his favorites are corn on the cob and bananas,
but he will pick at the stringbeans, carrots, adn broccoli I give him as
well. At night he gets crazycorn. I don't agree that Goffin's don't like
pellets, but I wouldn't recommend a solid pellet diet, boring!!!
--
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+Chase Kimball (ch...@aros.net), nom de plum "Lord Brancaster" +
+ +
+My heart in hiding stirred for a bird, the achieve of, the mastery+
+of the thing! "The Windhover" Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. +
+ +
+Visit my home page at http://www.aros.net/~chase to view the +
+virtual gallery of fantasy art of Jesse Allen, and the home site +
+of the Wasatch Avian Education Society. +
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rick Jordan
With Reference to Goffin's Cockatoos and "whining" in general, I would like to offer the
following:
1. It is not true that Goffin's do not like pelleted diets. I have 17 breeding pairs of
Goffin's and I raise a lot of babies each spring. In my experience, these little
cockatoos will eat spray millet before eating almost anything else offered during
weaning. Once weaned, Goffin's are not picky eaters and will usually eat almost anything
offered. The smaller the better as they are detail oriented.
2. It should NEVER take 6 months to wean a psittacine of any sort. There is a big
difference between need, dependence, and desire to be hand-fed. Baby Goffin's do love to
be hand-fed! They may squat and fluff their feathers each time you enter the room, while
they are young, but they should not whine to be hand-fed once they have been weaned for
a few weeks or so.
3. I will say the following only as information, and not as a direct attack on anyone
in particular. Cockatoos in general do whine to be fed. Once weaned, they should stop
that crying for food. If they continue it is a good idea to have your vet pull blood to
check for PBFD as this disease does create little, crying, sad babies. Many years ago I
worked in a facility that had a huge problem with PBFD. One of the most prevalent
symptoms of a sick bird was a slow crop and peristent crying. In the early stages of the
disease, there are few outward signs and thus, the vet may have given the bird a clean
bill of health. I hope this is not the case, but I would certainly check into it.
--
Rick Jordan
Hill Country Aviaries @ http://www.upatsix.com/breeders/hill_country/
"The beauty and the genius of a work of art may be reconceived though its
first material expression may be destroyed. A vanishing harmony may yet again
inspire its composer, but when the last individual of a race of living things
breaths no more, another heaven and another earth must pass before such a
one can be again." William Beebe
Tami Underwood
Someone wrote:
>>> He whines while alone in his cage, and continues to whine when I
>take him
>>> out and play with him. He loves having his neck scratched better
>than
>>> anything else, and will sit in my lap all day as long as I scratch
>his
>>> neck...yet he whines while I'm doing it! It sounds very pitiful,
>and it
>>> sounds as though he's very unhappy, or in pain, yet he acts happy.
>>
Someone replied
>>If he acts happy, and the vet says he is in good health, then I
>>would say he is doing fine, and that you should not be worried
>>about the possibility that he is unhappy. However, you should
>>still try to figure out how to quiet the bird down, so he does
>>not make a nuisance of himself.
>>
On 29 Dec 1996 19:06:03 GMT, ebk...@ix.netcom.com(ellen beth kessler)
wrote:
>
>Ian, when you have some first-hand experience with birds, you will
>realize that your above advice is incorrect. In fact, it could be
>downright dangerous to the bird.
>
>Screaming is one thing, especially in a cockatoo. But whining is
>something else entirely. To me, that says the bird is lacking
>something. A bird doesn't whine like a 2-year old child who doesn't get
>his way; a bird whines because he is hurting. And the advice I gave
>this goffin's owner is that handfeeding needs to be resumed because, in
>my opinion, he was weanined much too early. Goffin's are tough birds to
>wean sometimes and many will take a lot longer to wean than what the
>calendar says. I know of one experienced goffin's breeder who had some
>that took six months to wean.
>
>"Trying to quiet the bird down" is a good suggestion if the bird were
>screaming obnoxiously. But, again, whining is a different message from
>the bird and must be looked at differently. We're talking about a baby
>goffin's here, not a mature Moluccan cockatoo that screams 20 minutes
>twice a day.
>
>Ellen K
>
Ellen,
Normally I would agree with you, however not in this case.
It has been my experience with Goffin's that they whin. A LOT. And
nothing can change it, it is something they just outgrow.
If the Vet check shows everything is fine, and the bird is maintaining
his weight without handfeeding, then I would not resume the actual
handfeeding of formula. This just seems to encourage them to whine
more. I would however "hand-fed" him other foods.
Sometimes you just have to find a food they are happy with, and work
from there.
I just looked at my records...5 of the 9 Goffin's babies to date have
been whinners, some more than others, and some that start out whinny
have actually stopped much earlier than I have expected, and some that
did not start out as whinners have turned out to whin.
There is no ryhme or reason to the whinning. This is something I have
looked closely at. In clutches of 2, I have had 1 whinner, and 1 not.
I have had clutches of 2 that never whinned, single whinners, and
single non-whinners.
I have tried pulling from the nest early, pulling from the nest late.
I have tried "forced" weaning (not something I would recommend!:)
I have tried "abundance" weaning. I have tried hand-feeding for as
long as they want it, and so on.
It is extremly frustrating, and in my own personal experience I have
not found a way to stop it.
So, if I have a whinner, and the vet check is ok, and the bird is
maintaing weight. I simply ignore the whinning, and continue to rear
the birds as any other species. This is what has worked the best for
me.
Tami Underwood
ta...@kellnet.com
ellen beth kessler
(snip)
>
>Ellen,
>
>Normally I would agree with you, however not in this case.
Tami, you're breaking my heart <G>. But since you ARE an experienced
Goffin's breeder (and I just have two of the brats) I will gracefully
bow to your experience.
P.S. Where the heck have you been?
Ellen K
Tami Underwood
On 2 Jan 1997 00:11:38 GMT, ebk...@ix.netcom.com(ellen beth kessler)
wrote:
>(snip)
>>
>>Ellen,
>>
>>Normally I would agree with you, however not in this case.
>
>Tami, you're breaking my heart <G>. But since you ARE an experienced
>Goffin's breeder (and I just have two of the brats) I will gracefully
>bow to your experience.
>
>P.S. Where the heck have you been?
>
FEEDING BABIES:)
I am ALWAYS here, I just tend to stick with E-mail :)
BTW, How are your Goffin's doing? Any luck?
Tami Underwood
ta...@kellnet.com
Djaco...@yahoo.com
Thanks for your helpful words.
just want to give her the best care