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FAQ About the Hiking Cockatoos

Chapter 7 Feathers and Why does he not fly away?

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Feathers and Dust

Cockatoo feathers constantly give off a white powder, which functions as a built in dry clearing service. Even with an air cleaner it coats everything near his cage. The built-in cleaning action of the dust makes Spaghetti sauce stains disappear in a day or so. The feathers are replaced in an annual cycle of "molting", where the worn feathers fall out and are replaced with new feathers. The molting seems to come in three periods each year. We will notice a gradual increase in the number of feathers that fall out, especially when large tail, wing or crest feathers are falling out. This does not seem to cause them any pain or discomfort. The feathers are molted in patterns that make sure that there are always enough to protect the body and remain capable of flight. If a feather is damaged it can take up to a year to replace it. As the new feathers emerge they slowly protrude from the skin and are wrapped up in a sheath that looks like cloudy thin plastic. They will encourage us to rub and scratch these new feathers to break out the sheath so the feather body can emerge. As the new feathers emerge you can see the blood present within the hollow quill (main shaft). These are known as "blood feathers" and breaking one can result in a lot of bleeding. First aid treatment for such an injury is to pull out the remaining portion of the shaff and apply styptic powder (just like for a razor cut) to stem the bleeding ASAP. As it emerges, the blood retreats, leaving it empty. In the case of the wing feathers we clip, the feather cannot be clipped until it has completely emerged and the blood has withdrawn from the quill.


What Keeps Them from Flying Away?

For the most part they remain with us because we are their companions. Cockatoos grow very dependent upon their human companions and do not want to be separated from them. But having said that, it should be noted that a frightened bird will automatically fly away from danger. Inside a house, that can be lethal, the bird can injure itself on walls and ceilings. Flying is dangerous indoors we don't want them to risk getting hurt by flying into walls and windows. Companion birds, no matter how tame, when frightened will fly up and away to avoid the scary situation. They just go. Then they can become disoriented or lost, and only luck will bring them back. The flight feathers are kept clipped for that reason. We have read about free flying Cockatoo companion birds but there are risks associated with that practice, one of the most significant is that of attack by hawks. Thus, 6 of their main flight feathers are clipped so that they can glide but not fly.

With regards to "wing clipping": we are not talking about surgery nor amputation. The wings themselves are not clipped, nor are they pinioned. We are talking about cutting some of the large flight feathers. Feathers, once grown out, are like hair and can be clipped without pain or bleeding. The feathers fall out and are regrown over the period of a year. Normally, 4-6 of the outer flight feathers are kept clipped short so that they can glide to a safe landing but not fly. Like his older brother Mozart, Amadeus cooperates with the clipping, holding his wings out to allow us to do what is necessary. Kaipo is not cooperative and we have to wrap him in a towel for the personal maintenance tasks. The same applies for for the pedicures to keep their claws trimmed and blunted, Amadeus cooperates, Kaipo behaves like he is being murdered.

Bathing

The birds need regular showers to keep their feathers clean and their skin moistened. The powder on their feathers does most of the cleaning, but that's not enough. Both Kaipo and Amadeus both enjoy showers about once a week. Each one has distinct preferences about showering. Kaipo enjoys the flow directly from the showerhead and likes to get soaked. Once a week is enough for him, but an occasional misting with a spray bottle can remind him of how much he enjoys it. Amadeus is a bit more circumspect about showering. He likes to shower infrequently like Mozart did.

When he was young, Mozart liked to take a shower almost every day. He would accompany each of us into the shower, sitting on a plastic perch hung over the towel rack in the bathtub. When we finished showering, he would agitate to come down from the perch and sit on our arm. We would then hold a hand up to the water stream to make a misty shower over him, but avoiding the direct stream from the shower head. He liked showering so much he learned to say "Take a shower", then "Take a shower with Robbie", "Take a shower with Susie", then "Would you like to take a shower with Robbie". He finally shortened it to "Take a Shrobbie" or "Take a Shrusie". In the last few years, as he started destroying his large feathers, he stopped showering, and acted as if he was being tortured when offered a shower. Although he was offered an opportunity every morning to shower, he only took one rarely, and had to be coaxed into taking it. If he was "in the mood" when the misting with a sprayer was started, he would enjoy the opportunity.

Conclusion

We hope that you find these pages informative, we've tried to summarize what we think to be important about Cockatoos, especially if you are thinking of obtaining one for a companion. When we adopted Mozart we did not have access to this kind of information and had to learn it the hard way. We do not pretend to be "experts" about Cockatoos, we learn new things about them almost daily and the questions from our readers keep us thinking. Unfortunately Mozart died when he was 14 years old. A digestive tract obstruction was the cause, though we don't know why it happened. Since that time we have added two new cockatoos to our family and will be writing about them in these pages.


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