Having a pet cockatoo means having a companion for life, as it These little animals can live to be 80 years old! To achieve this, a lot of care is needed for this bird’s quality of life.
With large, beautiful feathers and a very characteristic forelock, cockatoos are very intelligent and can socialize perfectly with humans and other animals, creating a strong bond of friendship and dependence, especially with their favorite owner.
If you intend to buy a cockatoo, it is important to understand that it is a wild animal, which will require special care in addition to food and hygiene.
Read our content about the care you need to take with a pet cockatoo. Let’s go? 🐦
Physical characteristics of cockatoo
Originally from Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and some islands in Oceania and Southeast Asia, cockatoos are exotic animals in the Americas.
Adapted to high temperatures and humid environments, the birds always like to be accompanied (in pairs or in flocks) and are excellent flyers. With tapered and rounded wings, the size of adult cockatoos is between 40 cm and 50 cm, while they weigh between 500g and 900g.
These birds belong to family of Cockatooidae, the same as cockatiels, and they are birds psittaciformes, order that includes more than 360 species.
It is common to confuse them with parrots, mainly due to their resistant, hook-shaped beak, widely used to break down very hard foods in nature, such as seeds, nuts and fruits. However, cockatoos differ in their varied plumage colors and crest.
Cockatoo behavior
Cockatoos are great companions and love good doses of affection, especially around the head. As they are very attached to their owners, they can be very cunning and ask for attention many times a day.
They are very intelligent and learn everything very quickly. Proof of this is that many cockatoos are able to open their own cage! See the video below:
Cockatoos cannot verbalize like parrots, but they imitate and reproduce sounds and melodies. In fact, they are excellent dancers, bobbing their heads to the rhythm of the music.
To know a cockatoo’s mood, just look at your forelock. When lying down, the bird may be tense or insecure. If the forelock is raised, the cockatoo is in a state of alert. When he is relaxed, know that the pet is happy and relaxed.
The animal has a docile behavior and can socialize with children (as long as they are accompanied by an adult), very large families and bird lovers.
Pet Cockatoo Species
Did you know that there are more than 21 species of cockatoo? Unfortunately, many are under threat of extinction, and others are only found in Oceania and part of Asia. See some of the most common cockatoo species.
White cockatoo
It is the most common type of cockatoo here in Brazil. Also known as the white cockatoo or umbrella cockatoo, it is a very docile, faithful, affectionate species and very attached to its owners and residents of the house.
Its charming white down joins the yellowish on the back of its wings, creating an unusual contrast and beauty. Get ready to spend many years with this companion, as she can live up to 80 years of age!
The feet of the white cockatoo are black, as is the beak, which in some cases may be more grayish in color. The bird can reach up to 60 cm in length.
Pink cockatoo
It’s impossible not to fall in love with such a complex color scheme of the pink cockatoo: its entire body is salmon and white, while its crest is all pink and yellow, with 16 very long feathers curved forward. A real charm!
It is a medium-sized cockatoo, reaching 35 cm in length, which may also be known as Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo.
Noisy, playful and mischievous, birds of this species do not do without good doses of fun, affection and massages. Furthermore, they tend to like company, as in nature it is common for them to walk in pairs.
Yellow-crested Cockatoo
The sulphur-crested cockatoo can reach 50 cm in length and weigh around 900 grams (believe me, that’s pretty heavy for a bird). The color of its plumage is more discreet, but charming: white on the body and yellowish tones on the crest.
When well cared for throughout its life, this species of cockatoo can live up to 80 years old! Therefore, invest in good food and frequent exams and visits to the veterinarian.
Black cockatoo
Black cockatoos are no exception when it comes to beauty: their feathers are all black with details in red, orange and gray.
The species, which can live up to 50 years, is also known as the palm cockatoo or red-tailed black cockatoo and presents sexual dimorphismthat is, males and females have different physical characteristics.
The male weighs between 600 and 920 grams and has black plumage, with some red details and a grayish beak on the tail. The female, however, weighs between 600 and 870 grams and is all black with yellow or orange stripes on the chest and tail.
What is the price of a cockatoo?
Keep in mind that the price of a baby cockatoo, regardless of the type, will not be cheap. Some more common species, such as the alba cockatoo, can cost between R$15 thousand and R$25 thousand. Others that are rarer, such as the black cockatoo, the value can exceed the R$ 100 mil.
In addition to the cost of purchasing the cockatoo, you will also need to continually invest in the bird’s quality of life, with quality feed, hygiene items, toys, environmental enrichment and visits to the veterinarian.
Documentation required to have a cockatoo
The cockatoo is a wild animal, which can make the process of having a bird of this species at home difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to have an environmental license authorized by IBAMA and regularized by the Ministry of the Environment.
Remember that carrying a wild animal without authorization from IBAMA and other regulatory bodies can result in detention of 6 months to 1 year plus a fine, which can reach up to R$500,000.
Care for a Pet Cockatoo
To give your pet cockatoo a better quality of life and longevity, some bird care is necessary. Check out some tips to make this process simpler.
Food
When free in the wild, cockatoos like to feed on seeds and fruits. Its hard, hook-shaped beak allows the animal to break down harder foods.
From the moment they are raised outside their natural habitat, offering a balanced diet, preferably with specific feed and vitamins for the organism of these birds, becomes essential to maintain the bird’s health.
Therefore, it is essential that the cockatoo undergoes veterinary monitoring to define the type of food and the ideal amount of food for the little animal, considering its age, organism and physical limitations.
In general, your pet cockatoo’s diet should be rich in nutrients and varied. In addition to feed, a mix of seeds, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables are essential for the bird’s diet. It is common for breeders to offer extruded feed, due to the standardization of the grains, making it easier to ingest.
Cockatoo water needs to be fresh and should be changed dailyin order to avoid possible dirt, feces, food remains and bacteria that could concentrate in the drinking fountain.
Space
As they are active birds, it is important to have a large and rich environment so that the animal can explore and not feel limited and stressed. This place must have trees and plants, at the same time safe from predators and accidents.
The ideal is to let the bird roam during the day and only leave it trapped at night. Investing in a specific feeder and waterer for cockatoos is a good idea.
Whether in a nursery or cage, be sure to provide a large space that meets the animal’s physical and mental needs.
Health
Cockatoos tend to be vigorous animals that rarely get sick. This does not mean that you should give up on your pet’s health care, after all, for a long and healthy life, you need to invest time and dedication in the bird’s quality of life.
Cockatoo health begins with nutrition, as there is a tendency to obesity and liver disease. Therefore, never feed your pet foods that are outside the diet or that have not been recommended by your veterinarian.
Lettuce and some fruit seeds, for example, can be very harmful to the bird, which has difficulty digesting certain types of food.
It is recommended on very hot days to splash a little water on the cockatoo’s wings, in order to avoid drying out in the area.
A beak and feather diseasecaused by the presence of circovirus in crop secretions, feather dust and feces, they are very common in birds of the species and can leave animals weakened and having difficulty eating. In some cases, they can even lead to death.
To keep your cockatoo active and healthy, be sure to constantly clean the area where the bird roams. Avoid the accumulation of feces, change the water in the drinking fountain daily, inspect the pet’s feathers and invest in a good diet.
Toys
Cockatoos love to play, especially when they find a wide variety of items to distract them. Teethers, pendulums, ladders and interactive toys will use up all the bird’s accumulated energy, exercise its mind and stimulate its motor coordination.
Ideally, there should be toys outside the cage or cage as well as inside. Remember that these birds have a very resistant beak and they love to use it!
Investing in toys for your pet cockatoo will make him happier, active and stimulated. Tudo de Bicho’s online pet shop has a wide variety of toys and items for your friend’s fun. Want to know some options? Just click on the banner below!
