When I first came here, I "met" Lara almost immediately. We have "talked" quite a bit, and I promised her I would do all that I could to make the Cockatoo forum active and would post as much as I could. That being said, I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering what to post today. You see, I just can't do it alone folks, so I'm going to need your help to keep my promise to my new friend Lara, and of course all of you.

I could do a post about Scarlet - Sun Conure - she pooped in her food bowl today...no, that isn't a cockatoo.

I could do a post about Jasper - Jenday - he feeds something under his wing and does it every year - have no idea who he thinks he is feeding, but he feeds someone - ooops, no, that isn't a cockatoo.

I could do a post about Sam - Orange Wing Amazon - he is in a new cage, and really likes it. He spends a lot of time flapping, and his "talking" which is a series of grunts and squeaks..darn, that isn't a cockatoo either.

AH, Sheela - G2 - well, she is molting and has a ton of pin feathers. I don't know if the feathers I'm finding on the bottom of the cage are dropped feathers, or pulled feathers as she is a bit of a plucker with naked little legs, and naked under her wings, and a bit naked on her back, and a patch on her chest. She won't come out when she is molting which drives me crazy. She likes me to preen her, but she perches on her top perch, so I have to reach in and up and around to get to her, but I do, because she loves it.

There, that is my cockatoo story for the day.

Now, it is someone elses turn to post something about their cockatoo and anything they did, or didn't do today.

Come on, step up to the bat and help us make the cockatoo forum active and "the place to go" for cockatoo information.

Ask a question, tell a story....something...help me out here!

Hi there,
I havent been active in a while but here ya go.

My G2 Afa, is moulting and hormonal. She's been pulling toys down into her food bowl and running circles on them. Nesting perhaps. She bites screams, and wont cooperate anymore. It seems someone stole my sweet little girl and replaced her with an angry too! Now that its warm out we let her have breakfast in the yard with us on weekends. She loves to hop on the glass table and scream "Hello allo! Hi ooooooin!" Now the next comment is not to offend anyone who may be visually challenged. For anyone who has seen the classic movie Helen Keller with Patty Duke, you may understand why we call her Little Helen at breakfast. She runs plate to plate and ruins our meals. Scattereing our food all over the table. We say, "Oh Helen!" Us old folks should be able to appreciate that one!

Alex my RB2 had sweetened the most and became my cuddle buddy. See Alex the Pink Shark Monster story for reference on him! Anyway, its been a few months, but he's back to the practice of being "THE AMPUTATOR!". Boy did he get me good the other night. Then went on to ask for kisses. Sure, Ill kiss ya after that.

Thats all Ive got!

Okay, well here's my story for the day. My 'too, named Izzy, is a regular houdini when it comes to figuring out how to get out of her cage. I now have a chain and padlock on the entry door to her cage and that works fine. But now I am really struggling with her escaping through her side food doors. She has totally mastered twirling the disc that holds the door shut -- she has learned to flip the disc and push the door to get out.

So I drilled a hole through the disc and door and put a screw through it. Now let's see her get out of there!!

When I got up this morning and serviced her cage, there she sat on her perch inside the cage holding the long screw in her foot and gnawing on it!! I guess she got so caught up in having gotten hold of the screw that she forgot to escape as the disc was in place and the door was shut. I could not for the life of me figure out how she got the screw out of the door from inside.

So I put the screw back in place and then hid to watch what she did. What a stinker!! She took about 3 minutes to unscrew the thing with her beak and then stuck her foot through the bars and jostled the screw out of the hole, took it in her foot and brought it back inside the cage with her!!! Can you believe it?!?

So I have now screwed the screw in on an angle so it is basically jammed in the hole and she has not been able to remove it. I've been working from home today and have been able to keep an eye on her. She is just too smart for her own good!

Stizby - sounds like you have a Kings Cage with the disc over the food door. Lover Boy (M2) also has figured out how to open them. Because of the way they are made, you can't get a padlock around them. Maybe a chain and padlock, but boy what a pain in the butt that is. We went and bought brass slide closures - you know what I mean, sort of like a little deadbolt - wish I could think of the right name. Used to see them on screen doors - just a little slide bolt. Anyway, we mounted them, one on the door, and the other on the cross bar beneath. The little disc is still on the top and the slide bolt on the bottom. He can't get at the little slide, so he hasn't been able to open the door anymore!
They will make you crazy with the things they do won't they!

Leighrivera - I feel so bad when Sheela (G2) gets hormonal. You can't touch her without her panting and quivering from the top of her head to the end of her tail. This is when she is most likely to pluck her feathers - nesting behaivor. Sounds like your girl is trying to make a nest also. One of our U2, Gabby, has a box in the bottom of his cage that he fills with paper and wood chips and pieces of rope and any other odds and ends he can get. He is the most hormonal of all the 2's in the house. The other ones who also have boxes in their cages, use them as caves and go in there and hide and play - I cut a door in the side of the box for them. I know what you are talking about with the frantic running and darting here and there..they are so darned funny.
Wonder what made Alex go from Amputator, to buddy back to amputator again.???

Oh you guys are scaring me with the hormone stories! Yikes!

Tallulah U2, Tullah for short, isn't at that point yet. She is also a Houdini and a dish dumper. Yes folks, I said it...Tullah is a dish dumper. I tried everything and now her food dishes are bolt on crocks and her water dish has a stainless chain and lock rigged up to keep her from dumping it.

Quigley MM2, has decided that his brand new birdy muffins are not going to eat HIM! Yeah! He's my picky eater so I'm sneaking veggies in via muffins, lol. After giving them the evil eye for a whole day, he decided the fresh ones I put i were okay to eat. Finally!

Oh, and both of my Toos are total boosts to my ego....Tullah says "Hi Cutie" and Quigs gives me a wolf whistle and says "Woot Woo!". Who knew I was that hot before breakfast and tooth brushing, lol?

I took a picture of the food door lock on LB cage but I don't know how to post it...sometimes I'm so challenged. I'm going to send it to Lara and ask her to post it for me.

Hormones aren't always so bad. My youngest is Ollie (U2) and he is 12, so I know he is sexually mature, but he is his same old same old all the time. Lover Boy (M2)who is somewhere around 27 (I'm gonna figure out everyone's age here shortly so that I'm not always guessing) is calm 99% of the time. Sammie (M2) - maybe 19 or so???? - never displays his hormones either. Mikalia (U2) 13ish - only shows his hormones on occassion, but when he does, you have to just leave him be - no aggression, just all wound up. Gabby (U2) 14 or so - is the only one I REALLY have to watch during hormone time. Merlyn (U2) somewhere in his mid to late teens (geesh I'm gonna have to ask his owner - he is in foster care with me for the last 4 years) - that poor boy, doesn't even know what hormones are! Sheela as I said, is a mess during her season - quivering and shaking and plucking - breaks my heart to see her.

I've recently started sprouting for the birds again, and until they adjust to having sprouts again, they carefully eat all around the sprouts, and they are left in neat little piles in the bottom of the food bowl. I think I'm going to try making muffins for the birds - I haven't baked for them in a really long time.

Jan, are you talking about the picture I have attached?

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DeadBolt%20Latch.gif (7.3 KB, 4 views)

Shane - what a great guy you are! Yes, that is the type of latch we put on LB cage, but when we put it on the cage, we put it going up/down and not side/side. The one we use - when you slide the bolt into the other end, then you slide the slider head, down into - oh, heck, I'm gonna send it to shane and ask him to post it. Lara mentioned yesterday her internet wasn't working