Rose Breasted Cockatoo, Wild Wild Rose Part 2 by Sam Foster

Wild Wild Rose - Part 2

by Sam Foster

This article is reprinted from The Grey Play Rountable with permission from the author.

The continuing challenge to provide an optimum environment for our companion parrots and breeding pairs is best undertaken from a perspective of contemplation, investigation and imaginativeness. In order to positively provide for the physical and emotional needs of our feathered charges, it becomes necessary for us to understand their fundamental nature. Yet, the acquisition of that knowledge is only the initial step on our journey to create an attractive atmosphere offering activity, security, diversity and serenity. When armed with knowledge and understanding, we often find it requisite to modify our own conceptions of ‘when’ our birds are happy and ‘how’ to achieve that purpose.

Relative to this statement, the question of cage size and layout is certainly one of most unaddressed issues in aviculture. Many people entering a pet shop or breeding facility as prospective bird owners are unaware of the importance of providing appropriate housing for their avian friends. Unfortunately, employees of these facilities sometimes themselves do not fully understand behavioral and personality variances, or the long-term consequences of their recommendations for caging and a positive healthful environment.

How often has someone in such a position of influence taken the time to reliably detail the natural instincts and behaviors of the species you have chosen, and then proceeded to discuss appropriate cage selections, sizes, cage materials, set up for perches and toys, food dishes, water dishes vs. water bottles, swings vs. boings, ladders, cage covers, safety precautions, placement in the home, etc.? I fear that in the past this type of information has been more the exception than the rule.

Alarmingly, a high percentage of the pet cockatoos I encounter with behavioral problems are in cages of unsuitable shape and size, as is also the case with many companion grey parrots. It is my belief that this component of our birds environment, their home within our home, can be instrumental in the prevention of many human/avian conflicts. When overlooked or unaddressed, this element may be a source of ongoing, sometimes severe, emotional trauma or conflict. With some species such as Rose-breasted Cockatoos and African Greys, the standard cage configuration may actually increase this risk.

Try to think of it in this manner...When sitting in your living room at home, have a good look around. Visualize yourself spending the majority of the day and each night within the confines of these walls. Is it a spacious room offering limitless activities to keep you entertained and busy? Is it colorful and visually intriguing? Are there various levels with ample room for walking, running, swinging and even hanging upside down if you choose to do so? Is it bright and airy? Do you have a window allowing natural sunlight along with an interesting view? Can you see or hear other family members from this location, confident that they are close by? Does this haven successfully protect you from unexpected disruptions, unwanted intrusions or physical harm? Ultimately...Do you feel at peace, safe and content to be in this environment?

Although the human thought process is more complex, the analogy is the same. Concentrating specifically on the Rose-breasted and the African Grey parrot, if we consider their natural instincts and activities in the wild, the confines of any cage or aviary may seem totally aberrant. When I watch a happy well-adjusted Rose-breasted busily pushing a favorite toy across the floor, running in circles with wings outstretched, skipping and hopping from floor to a favorite basket to a piece of furniture and then back to the floor to begin again, or attempting to burrow under a rug or towel, I wonder how we can possibly feel that the cage we provide is adequate, regardless of size.

Yet, realistically we must accept that we have chosen to have these creatures in our lives, and therefore should embrace the opportunity to realize their needs, to the very best of our ability. The question then becomes, just how do we accomplish this?

I would like us to focus on the definition of what I think is a more appropriate word. Perhaps utilizing the human concept of ‘housing’ can help broaden the approach of parrot enthusiasts. This housing should be an ever-changing arena offering new opportunities for exploration and learning, filled with an interesting assortment of bright colorful toys and fitted with perches of different textures, sizes, and materials. Ladders or boings should be part of this environment to encourage the natural action of maneuvering up and down. Diversified areas for eating should include opportunities to forage or dig. Although many companion parrots are out on a playgym or interacting with their human flock for periods of time during the day, our goal should be for them to actually enjoy being in the cages, feeling both comfortable and relaxed, when it is necessary for them to remain there.

In my opinion there is no such thing as a cage that is too large. It is very distressing to hear people making cavalier comments such as, “a cage really only needs to be large enough for a bird to stretch its wings”, or giving random recommendations for putting birds in smaller cages to help maintain ‘control’ or to resolve an ‘unacceptable’ behavior. Based on my personal experiences, I cannot agree with these outdated attitudes.

At the same time, identifying and addressing the needs of the individual bird is critical. There are exceptions, such as a bird with a specific physical disability or emotional handicap, who might potentially harm him or herself as the result of a fall or becoming panicked. Tragically, there are birds who are so insecure or timid that they only seem at ease in a smaller confined cage where every inch of space is familiar and they can feel totally in control.

There are specific instances where making modifications to the ‘standard’ cage may not only be recommendable, but necessary. For example...

*Rose-breasted Cockatoos... Galahs are natural grazers, spending much time on the ground foraging for food, digging and playing. For this reason, Rose-breasted Cockatoos do much better in a cage that is wide (I recommend a minimum of 4 feet for a pet), with the bottom grate either removed or covered to provide a flat walking surface. According to research done by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, African greys are also occasional ground feeders. As such, they also often prefer wide cages without a bottom grate, which acts as a deterrent to their natural feeding and playing patterns.

Actually, many companion cockatoos (not just the Rose-breasted) relish playing on the floor and cage bottom when there are things to keep them busy and entertained. It is unfortunate that many cage configurations do not encourage this type of natural behavior.

An alternative that I prefer is to furnish a walk-in aviary inside the house. In this ideal setting, bowls of food and water, as well as toys and fresh tree branches can be positioned on the floor of the aviary/cage in addition to having these items at various levels and hanging from the top. When young galahs are introduced to this type of habitat, they often spend many energetic and contented hours playing, rolling over on their backs, racing back and forth from one end of the cage to the other, displaying their enchanting dispositions occasionally combined with the trademark galah ‘tantrums’. In the past I have used thick layers of sand mixed with fresh dirt in aviary flights for cockatoos, and found that the Rose-breasted Cockatoos in particular were very fond of running their beaks through this, often digging quite far down, possibly looking for insects, roots and other potential food sources.

*Young birds, particularly cockatoos and African greys, can have difficulty learning to walk confidently on a grate. Keep in mind that the bar spacing of grates used in large cages is often 3/4" or 1". There are far too many cage related injuries in these young birds as a result of falling, including broken legs or toes, keel bone injuries, broken and cracked beaks and even broken wings.

While some of the cages designed for large birds, as well as many aviary type cages, are made with 1/2” bar spacing, most are 3/4”-1” or wider. For ease of climbing, my preference is a combination of vertical and horizontal cage bars. This can also help avoid injury from wings getting caught between cage bars. Having experienced the trauma of a severe wing fracture in a treasured companion Major Mitchell’s Cockatoo that nearly cost her life, this is one design element I now look for in a cage.

I would generally suggest that any young or adolescent cockatoo or African grey have a soft cushion placed over the grate of the cage until their coordination and agility minimizes these risks. (This totally depends on the individual bird. It may be 5 months or 8 months). Positioning perches that are easy to grip at various levels in the cage, beginning fairly low will also assist our young birds as they experiment with their navigational capabilities. An extra long boing that extends from the top of the cage to the bottom is a wonderful learning tool.

*Birds who have a physical impairment...With birds who have experienced injuries or birth defects such as broken or missing limbs, the inability to maneuver properly (perhaps from neurological disorders), blindness or even hearing loss, there may be reasons to have a cage set up with either a flat or padded surface on the bottom to reduce the risk of further injury or trauma. In such circumstances, it may also be advisable to use a wider (shallower) cage, to create a more protected environment.

*Birds who are extremely phobic, feather pluckers or self-mutilators. . These birds obviously need special consideration in many areas. One of the ways in which we can help guard them from further physical injury, as well as from emotional trauma or the fear of being hurt, is to arrange the environment in such a way that if they do fall the risk of any further injury is negligible.

This is especially true of birds suffering from extreme phobias, who might panic and flap as anyone approaches the cage. Falling hard to the bottom or thrashing into the side of the cage can result in broken toes or legs, wings getting caught in the cage bars or grate, or broken blood feathers. In these instances, it might also be advisable for perches to be lowered. Providing a setting that offers these particular birds the opportunity to hide or retreat to a perceived safe distance should also be a primary consideration.

A slightly different method we discovered after a good bit of trial and error is to actually raise the grate. This allows a bird to perch high in the cage and maintain some degree of self-assurance, while offering protection from a fall. Unfortunately, not all cage designs allow this to be done safely.

*This also applies to a bird who has had an incorrect, or too severe, wing clip and is unable to flap and break a fall.

*There are instances where some birds may be frightened or threatened by the grate itself and never venture to the bottom of the cage. In such a scenario, by removing or covering the grate, this fear may be eliminated and some birds (who were previously disturbed by something ‘unidentifiable’) may show a positive change in behavior.

As to whether I advocate the use of a grate, I feel it depends on the situation and environment. Of our flock of five avian companions, four have grates and one does not. The ones who do have their grates scrubbed daily with a steel brush and Oxyfresh solution.

These four birds spend a good bit of time on the bottom of the cage playing, particularly our male umbrella who spends at least 50% of his time on the cage bottom bouncing around, running marathons, or ‘hiding’ a treasured piece of wood or favored bite of food in one of the large ceramic bowls placed on the cage bottom. The grates on the other three cages have very narrow bar spacing, 1/2” X 1/2”, which allows easy mobility. In these instances the grate offers some advantage for cleanliness.

In the one cage that does not have a grate, for Bud-Bud (Rose-breasted Cockatoo), I simply change the newspaper 2-3 times a day. By stacking several layers of paper on the bottom of the cage each morning, I can easily roll up the top pieces and pull them out, leaving a clean piece below).

While there may be pro's and con's to both, I would leave it to personal preference and the habits/behavior of each individual bird. Physical safety and emotional security should always be the first concern, followed equally by the ability to keep the cage clean and sanitary.

I am frequently asked just what is the best type of ‘housing’ for a galah. My response to this question is guarded. I have indeed seen what I feel to be an ideal habitat for Rose-breasted Cockatoos kept as companions. However, this is not the type of setting that the majority of us are able to provide, either from the perspective of available space or safety.

The memory of a particular day in late January 1995 is still vivid in my memory. We had a rare opportunity to visit the aviary of a highly respected breeder in northern Australia who is of the most knowledgeable and compassionate aviculturists I have had the honor to meet. His first hand experience with Australian parrots and cockatoos would be unmatched by all but a few, and his application of this wisdom had a lasting impact on my personal perspectives of environment and behavior.

There are too many wonderful details to delineate and I could not do justice to his efforts. What I will never forget is walking up a steep incline to a large outdoor flight filled with several dozen Rose-breasted and Greater Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Long-billed and Bare-eyed Corellas. These were all ‘pet’ birds who cohabitated harmoniously within a natural setting, filled with an abundance of native trees and plants. Within this approximate one-half acre, they enjoyed the warmth of the Australian sunshine and were exposed to the same climatic variances as their wild counterparts.

Many of these birds were fully flighted, and those who were not ‘hopped’ or climbed merrily through the canopy of lush foliage, or across the ground which offered unlimited opportunities for grazing. One of the most enlightening moments came when the door into the wire-covered enclosure was opened and we entered this enchanting world, surrounded by feathers of white, pink and grey. The perception might be that these birds who received little human attention would instinctively flee, or possibly feel the need to defend their territory from intrusion.

What transpired was just the opposite. We were welcomed with a raucous fanfare and it then became a test of avian artistry to determine who would receive the first cuddles and hellos. Experiencing the obvious joy of this extraordinary group of birds interacting positively both with humans and other flock members filled me with a sense of optimism for the future of aviculture.

If similar surroundings could be duplicated knowledgeably, securely and with forethought to parrots native habitats and lifestyles, I feel strongly that the frequency and severity of many behavioral ‘problems’ we currently see would be greatly diminished. In an upcoming issue, we will discuss the impact of the physical environment, including housing, on various behaviors.

As the field of aviculture matures and expands, we must continue to observe and identify both the positive and negative consequences of human influence upon parrots in captivity. One emerging realization is that there are some species who appear more adaptable, even forgiving, to life within our limited and very ‘un’natural environment. Two of those who need continuing exploration are the Rose-breasted Cockatoo and the African Grey.