# Sulphur-crested Cockatoo



## Ersatz (Nov 5, 2009)

Just wondering if anyone has had or still does own one of these birds as a pet. One of my friends has had one for around 10 years, and he loves his birdy. I know his experiences with it have been great, but I am wondering if anyone has had any bad experiences with these birds?


----------



## beardy_boy_6 (Nov 5, 2009)

yea we used to have 3 of em we only have 1 now. tame as. one of the males we used to have took a nip on mum finger. not bad but i heard they can take off a finger??


----------



## Ersatz (Nov 5, 2009)

Yeah, I've been looking around, I saw a few in pet shops, thats what fueled my curiousity. The birds there looked like ****, can't imagine the lack of care they are given in those shops.

My friend's has been with them for so long he is like another member of the family. Sometimes they put sugar in a pot on the dinner table and it occassionally nibbles at it. VERY noisy though.

I would guess though that if they really tried they could take a finger easily.


----------



## wranga (Nov 5, 2009)

had one years ago. nothing bad ever happend, but the can be distructive if bored. they can also live for around 50 years


----------



## antaresia_boy (Nov 5, 2009)

they bite well  I had some nibbling on my finger when we were camping a few weeks ago. wild birds but very tame..they got a bit carried away a few times 
lovely birds, but i couldn't keep them unless i had a massive aviary and could devote alot of time to them...it would be wrong to have them cooped up and bored


----------



## Sarah (Nov 5, 2009)

they are a little too loud in general for suburbia especially if you have close neighbours they like to call out in the morning and late in the afternoon, they are super destructive , if they dont have anything to keep their beaks busy and it doesnt take them long to demolish anything lol. They love a cuddle and can live to 100 years not 50.They are definitely need a very big cage if not an aviary .


----------



## jacorin (Nov 5, 2009)

wranga said:


> had one years ago. nothing bad ever happend, but the can be distructive if bored. they can also live for around 50 years


 

lol wranga....50yrs makes them early 30's.... buggas live to over 100yrs old,well some of them any way ha


----------



## Brown_Hair (Nov 5, 2009)

Yeah i have one. LOVE HIM (i beleive he is a he). Mine (and i beleive most) will bond very strongly with one person in particular. When he wants to he will happily tolerate the rest of the family, but when he dosent want to lol watch out. He loves to sniper ya from the tree. Our's has free range of the backyard as his back tail is buggered he will never be able to fly. 

Of the morning we just open up the cage or put him in his tree and he is quite content. If its a warm night we can leave him in the tree or to sit ontop of his cage without having to worry. Lol our german sheperd is just over a year old (so very playfull and curious) and only tried to get close to the bird a couple of times untill she figured out who runs the yard. 

Couldnt reccomend a more loyal, playful, intelligent and fantastic bird!


----------



## babba007 (Nov 6, 2009)

I had a cocky a few years back. Great pet, but only if you can give them lots of time and affection. If you don't they get bored very easily and screeeeeech !
Unfortunately mine got egg bound and died.....very upsetting. Considering getting another one, now that I have kids. Would be inundated with love and attention.


----------



## wokka (Nov 6, 2009)

There are five which frequent our place. A pair is breeding in a large gum tree outside my office window. They are quite annoying when they decide to destroy and i dont know why they do it . In their last rampage they bit off lillipillis at ground level which were as thick as a broomstick.


----------



## -Peter (Nov 6, 2009)

If you want to keep a long lived parrot then think about it long and hard. They will probably outlive you. Then what happens. Your kids just let it go and it ends up being picked up by a well meaning rescue group who either cant find a home for it and have it euthanaised or send it for rehab and release to the other side of the great divide where it heads for the first sign of human habitation and gets shot by a farmer or joins a huge flock that gets culled because its devastating crops.
Make sure your bird has a life after yours.


----------



## melgalea (Nov 6, 2009)

Cockatoos are a fun and amazing bird to keep. i have a 2 year old boy, whom i love dearly. people need to remember that they must be treated as part of the family. they need constant attention and constant love. mine has bonded with me, however he will still let my hubby pat him and scratch him, but if my 8 year old daughter goes anywere near him he hisses and carrys on at her. they are very intelligent and pick things up quickly. i shower with my boy once a week and then take him outside to sit in the sun to dry, if its cool outside he quite happily allows me to blow dry him with the hair dryer.
my boy has a large cage in the house, but he is never ever locked up in it. it has a large open top and that is were he spends his time. he never hops off the cage, but when he wants to he will hang up side down, wings spread and screech. lol. and then i go and he jumps straight onto me. they are a great bird. everytime we watch a movie he sits with me and lays on my lap or along my chest and spends 2 hours getting cuddled, kissed and scratched. in all honesty he is very quiet. only screeching every now and then for maybe 5 mins a day, which i read means there happy. he never makes a sound in the morning when the sun comes up and he never makes a sound of an evening when the lights go out. all in all he is perfect. 
if u have alot of love to give and can treat the bird like one of ur kids then they are a fantastic companion for life. 
cheers
mel


----------



## antaresia_boy (Nov 6, 2009)

beautiful bird! if i didn't move between houses weekly i would definately get one.


----------



## melgalea (Nov 6, 2009)

anyone considering buying a cockatoo should hav a look at this website..... it may make u think twice about purchasing one. cheers

About.com: http://www.mytoos.com


----------



## shamous1 (Nov 6, 2009)

*Yes*

I had one when I was a kid. It died when I was around 30. I had him stuffed and still have him today. He did everything and was an amazing animal.

I also had another one recently but he became quite noisy. He now sits at Brian Barnetts and greets all the customers. He is much better off with Brian looking out for him and I still get to see him from time to time,.


----------



## vrhq08 (Nov 6, 2009)

my boyfriends dad has one and it is the scryest thing ive ever seen in my life, joe loves bfs dad but every1 else he attacks and chases. hes loud and annoying and lucky me because my bf is going to be getting him if his dad dies before the bird.


----------

