eee they're too adorable :3

Probably one of the biggest reasons I want to visit australia....

Because I am a crazy bird lady

and I must be surrounded by birds at all times

We get hundreds of cockatoos in our area. Families everywhere ^.^ they are mmyfavorire birds as well as owls.

Eeeeeeee! Such adorable babs!

The are so beautiful... and so destructive... X3 I don't think people realize that yes they are pretty and sweet and great family members... but in their home land they are pests... A 'friend' of mine lives in Aussieland too and her home got ransacked by a flock of 'Toos. She ended up with dozens of holes in her roof and had to replace six window frames. And their wicker chairs were destroyed. She had a Goffin 'Too inside and apparently he was going crazy when the "attack" happened and he destroyed his own feathers in fear in his cage. She took pictures of the damage to the house. It looked like a tsunami hit it, not birds. And they aren't the worst offenders. Go meet a Kea, but keep anything shiny and all cars away from them. X3 They are known to take vehicles apart piece by piece.

Ehhh, destructive yes, pests no XD I don't see them as such, they are native and we share this land with them haha. I grew up in the bushland where flocks would strip everything in sight as is their natural behaviour. But luckily we built in a way that didn't get effected by them much (that and the native trees and bushes in the backyard kept them happy and away from the house itself mostly.)

Kea and kaka are actually two of my favourite species of parrot. I had the pleasure to go see them on my last visit to NZ. I think one thing that causes people issues with birds like the cockatoo and Kea, is they are extremely intelligent and so, inquisitive in a way that they like to push their boundaries. In doing so they push into our comfortable tidy bubble and remind us, that we are not the only ones inhabiting the space we consume so entirely XD

As for cockatoo species as pets, living here and spending half my life helping people with "problem" birds, and re-homeing others that have suffered unintentional abuse and neglect has made me believe that many larger species of parrot REALLY need restrictions of some sort. Or at the very least require new owners to take a course in how to care for such a intelligent, social, needy, loud, and time consuming pet. I don't think most people are up for it!

Oh yes, I am very much aware of their intellegence. I am just glad Crows and Ravens don't have the powerful beak and feet that parrots do otherwise they could be quite the problem in populated areas.

I have rehomed my share of parrots because others could not handle them. I worked at a (rare, but extremely reputable) pet store. But we never liked calling ourselves a pet store because we didn't sell pets, we homed family members. We often fostered/housed birds when people went on trips. We rarely got in Too's because of their high needs and attention that the staff and owners of the store couldn't give. But we got lots of people leaving their Too's (and other birds, but mainly Too's and Tiels) in our care. Whenever a Too came in we had to make sure we kept to it's home schedule. We bent over backwards to make sure every bird that was boarded/fostered with us would at least have the same routine, even if it was a stranger invading their cage space. It was far less traumatizing for them.

The store I worked for made sure that every person that came to buy an animal knew exactly what they were getting into. We were trained to walk them through how to potty train their puppy in a week or less. We taught people how to tame birds, and teach them tricks to learn how to bond and communicate. We taught them to avoid plastic toys, look out for anything that can cause metal poisoning (including their own cages) and so on. We turned away many, many people that weren't ready for a dog, cat, bird, fish, anything we sold. If they didn't have the right sized cage, they didn't go. If they didn't have proper heating and care, they didn't go. If they didn't have a steady environment, they didn't go. People often tried to buy puppies on the weekend, but no one would be home during weekdays to handle the puppy, so often we had people buy or put a deposit on the dog or animal they wanted and they came in and visited until their home was suitable or their family was ready. Often when we were selling animals that need companions, like Rats or song birds, we gave a discount or the second animal free just to make sure they had good homes. It was the closest we could do to keeping things strict for those coming to buy an animal.

I never say pet because here where I live, Pet actually has a different law plan than Family member for non-human animals. I think every single person should have a license to own or have any, -any-, type of animal in their homes or lives. I think everyone should know how to treat and take care of their animal both physically, and mentally. Most people never consider mentally. Like the dog owners who buy a 8 week old puppy and are gone 75% of the time, with no one to look after them between work and such. I ended up having to adopt a 3 week old kitten from a couple that took kittens from a barn cat way, way too early. I left work twice each shift for two weeks to feed her by hand, and wipe her bum to go potty. I had to get up every three to four hours to feed and clean her. Cleaning was actually far more often the first week. But I knew what to do with her, I knew how to keep her healthy, I knew all this because of my experience with cats. I was even breeding budgies when I was 14 years old. True I didn't know as much now as I did then, but I got every piece of information I could. I made sure their diet was mostly veggies, and dandelion and mixed things, with hardly any seeds. Most people at that age and even most adults nowadays have no idea that parrot diets are very very hard to keep up with. 99% of parrot owners I know don't even know that Avocado can kill their bird. So I 10000000000%x ∞ believe people should be trained and certified for birds, and indeed all animals. Especially dog owners. Birds like Too's need super special attention. I would love to have a Goffin Cockatoo because I know I could handle them. I handled them at the store, I learned about the easily stressed out stuff, I learned everything I could about birds, and found that that bird is most compatible with me. I'm on disability so I'm home all the time. I'm still young so I might outlive it. And I am mentally prepared for one. But because I don't have the financial means, there is no way I'd be irresponsible and get one. I have two parrots, 4 rats plus my bf's rat, and two cats. I have a Conure and a cockatiel, both are already a handful. One more so than the other. My tiel is diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes him "special". He is lovable, a goof, but super hard to train and communicate to because when you train a parrot, you train around their needs. If they need you to leave, use that as positive training. If they need you to pet them, or give them a treat, or attention, or anything, they will learn quickly what to do (and sometimes say) when they do or don't want something/anything. But my tiel... is a brick wall. He will want attention and as soon as you give it to him he wants something else. And when you go to do it or give it to him he ignores it and wanders away. I thought he was outsmarting me, but I learned from his previous owners that he tried to mate with his own mother while he still had pinfeathers. He courted her, and tried to court his father too. Even his siblings. He puts up with a lot of stuff, and only bites when he's anywhere at the head level. He can -never- sit on shoulders. He can -never- be perched somewhere high. Otherwise his dominance will turn him into something crazy. Both a trainer I spoke with and a vet said it's odd behaviour throughout his life that gave them their diagnosis. My conure, I can read her like a book. I know what she wants, when she wants it. I know when she's listening, I know when her eyes are pinning even though they are super dark. I know when she's upset just by looking at her. I can read everything about her. And I have looked up all sorts of tiel body language and my tiel does not display any consistency with it. I had another Tiel before as well, I bought her from the pet store I worked at because she was given to the store. The kids she lived with tormented her. She was quiet, she would step up, but she didn't like kids or noises. And the pet store was just stress to the max. So I brought her home, taught her a few tricks, and rehomed her. It was strange timing because I was being forced to move since my landlady sold her home and property. But the home she went to had a 17 year old boy and he came and visited her and she adored him. I followed up with them for a year or so, and as far as I know she's still doing fine.

I've helped many people with their "parrot problems" and 90% of larger parrot owners give up their birds when they hit puberty. Which is a real shame because they only have to put up with hormones for a few years before things calm down. And often that's the best time to adopt a parrot. I always recommend to people to get an older bird that has been through puberty. I personally have had far more success training older birds, taming them, gaining their trust, than birds at puberty or haven't reached it yet. Greyhaven, a bird sanctuary around where I live, even asked me to foster some of their birds. But I really have no way to do it otherwise I would. And I'm afraid to fall in love with a foster and take in an animal I cannot look after. Rats and cats are cheap in comparison to birds. My parrots are healthy, their proper weight, they don't have fatty liver disease (which most parrots have in captivity as my Vet likes to tell me), and best of all, they are happy, with or without my presence in the room. And they are far more costly to keep healthy than rats or cats. My cats are indoors, so the risk is less. No antifreeze, no cars, no wild animals, no fly-by cat-nappings (might sound funny but it's really devastating), and they are super happy and full of piss & vinegar X3 My rats are spoiled, but not overweight and very healthy. One has a few problems but he's in no pain, just really old and slow.

Sorry if I got carried away. I got excited. Birds, especially Too's, Crows and ravens really get me excited. And I am especially happy to see someone that agrees about restriction on birds, hopefully all animals. I have a passion for this stuff I guess you can say X3 I should end this here X3 if you wanna chat more perhaps a note? I'm sorry to leave this wall of comment here. And the picture you took was beautiful by the way X3 <3 <3 <3