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My first 'too

Birdy888

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If you had told me yesterday morning that I was going to be gifted a Goffin's cockatoo I would probably have wondered what you were smoking lol. It turned out that a friend of mine had a brother who recently passed away and was looking for a home for it. I volunteered and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

My friend thinks she's 35 or 40 which I keep reading is about their average life span. I haven't owned a cockatoo before but I have been around them before as well as several other larger birds. I have also kept and tamed cockatiels so I have bird experience.

She was owned by a smoker and has a small cage, probably meant as a travel cage. I am getting her a larger one and I might even build her one. She will get plenty of time outside her cage. In fact she has been out of her cage more than in since I brought her home.

Kyliegh (her name was "Skeeter" but she needs a name that is as beautiful as she is) is molting. She already lets me "preen" her but I can tell she is a bit nervous still which is to be expected considering she just got here. My wife just got 2 budgies tonight as well. She is the one who got me into birds.

We also have a cat and a dog. The dog is about 12 and the cat is about 5. I will have to be majorly on guard especially with the cat but so far so good.

I will make some egg for her tomorrow. In fact I will make some birdy bread for her (and the 'keets) later today. Of course I will use good bird safe foods in it. I want to help her new feathers grow in nicely and for her to exercise.

I believe she got out of cage time with her previous owner but not enough to really exercise or to provide mental stimulation. Kyliegh will get plenty of both if I get my way. I am going to make her perches to fly back and forth between and out of the reach of animals. There will be plenty of toys for her too. Some I will make for her and some I'll buy her.

I would love to hear about others' Goffin's 'toos and their ages. If any of you have had yours or had one live past 40 years old I would love to hear about that also. I already love Kyliegh a ton. If she were to pass tomorrow I am glad that she was in my life for even that small amount of time but I am hoping she has at least a decade or two left.
 

Zara

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@sunnysmom and @faislaq both have Goffins :) (I´ve tagged them so they´ll receive an alert for your thread once they log in next ;) )
 

faislaq

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What a lovely old lady. :xflove: We've got two goffins girls, but they're pretty young yet. Luv Bug is 10, and Puffin is only about 8. :Ninny:

@sunnysmom's Elvis and @iamwhoiam's Keno are closer to your Kyliegh's age. And @macawpower58's Sweden is in her mid 20's, I think?


Your Kyliegh is already adorable and she will only become more beautiful and healthy in your care. feeldaluvsmiley.gif
 
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Birdy888

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I did more research that says they can live as long as 65 to 70. No matter what I love her dearly and she will be spoiled. ❤
 

macawpower58

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What a sweetie, thank you for taking her in. :)
Be careful, Goffins are masters of escape. Make sure you can lock the dog/cat out of her room.
It's not if she'll escape, but when!
Goffins are also active, very very active. ;)
They can get into all types of trouble, but are such fun to be around.
You are going to have a blast with her. Mine is blessing and a demon all in one.
Not much biting, but a royal pain in the butt with wanting attention NOW!
I wonder if she's wild caught or bred in the US?
 

faislaq

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Luv Bug actually likes the dried fruit bits in their dinner mix more than the seeds. And Puffin loves protein in any form and is obsessed with peas! o_O

Both girls (and the macaw boys) like fresh fruit & nuts, especially in the shell, but the goffins girls either need easier shells like pistachios or almonds or pre-cracked. :) I'm a big fan of post-Christmas nut sales and anuts.com (cheaper than nuts.com & always great quality so far. :tup: )
 

Birdy888

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I was also wondering if she was wild caught. If she is 35 she was born around the year I graduated high school. Yup I just dated myself lol. She has a strange looking leg band that looks almost like a metal washer. It isn't a solid ring though so it could be taken off. Something tells me she was wild caught. Knowing the date exports were banned in Indonesia would help solve the mystery.

I do know Kyliegh likes mozzarella cheese from pizza (it will be a fairly rare treat). Hopefully she'll enjoy fresh veggies/chop.

My wife and I are going to help our friend get the food out of her brother's house today since it is a rental house. Thankfully the landlord is working with her. Hopefully Kyliegh won't scream too much while we're gone. I will make sure both cat and dog are shut out of the room before we go. For that matter if I am not with her I'll make sure they aren't either whether or not I leave the house.
 

Birdy888

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Faislaq quick question. Do you think pecans would be too hard for them? I know walnuts would probably be where the line is drawn.
 

macawpower58

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Never give mozzarella or provolone.
It does not digest, and many birds have had to have a cheesy lump surgically removed.
The cheese that is safest (still not good to give) is natural cheddar, and only tiny amounts.

My Goffin loves opening almonds in shell. They are about the only ones she's able to open fully herself.
Other nuts I 'crack' for her, if there's an starting crack, she can usually get to the nut.
 
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Birdy888

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Good to know. I gave her very little mozzarella thankfully. Today I'm going to get some veggies for her and make her some egg food as well. Hopefully that will help her with her molt. I'll also look into a molting seed mix for her. She has a lot of pin feathers and many of her feathers are not in the greatest shape. Thankfully she doesn't pluck though she overly preens. I want her new feathers to come in nice and healthy while they are still developing. I also want her to have the energy reserves she needs.
 

faislaq

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Faislaq quick question. Do you think pecans would be too hard for them? I know walnuts would probably be where the line is drawn.
It might depend on the size of the bird. Our girls are pretty small, 220g and 249g, but I've read that goffins can weigh up to 390g! :shocked2: They love to pry pecans and walnuts out of their shells, but we do have to crack them first. Pecans are easy enough if you just squeeze two together one will crack. Same with walnuts, but they're harder.
 

MommyBird

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I was also wondering if she was wild caught. If she is 35 she was born around the year I graduated high school. Yup I just dated myself lol. She has a strange looking leg band that looks almost like a metal washer. It isn't a solid ring though so it could be taken off. Something tells me she was wild caught. Knowing the date exports were banned in Indonesia would help solve the mystery.
My Goffin Sunny (300g) has been with me over 37 years. He was wild caught so I put his age at 38 now. I don't remember what his band looked like.
I have a 52 year old Orange Wing Amazon. She was wild caught and has a band that sounds similar to your description.
(My 43 year old Blue-crowned Conure passed a few years ago. The lifespan you usually see online was 30. )

Sunny has no problem with almonds or walnuts, and brazil nuts take a couple days of work.
Since you have budgies you will probably have millet spray around, and a small section could fascinate Sunny for maybe 15 minutes. They like detail work.
He likes bananas with the peel on, and papaya especially the seeds. If I have plain bagels getting old I dry it and give him half as he likes to just tear it up and grind to powder.
Get a hanging food skewer for making foods become a toy.
His favorite pellets are Caitec Oven Baked and Zupreem Pasta Shapes medium (unfortunately only the orange shape but a huge favorite)

Escape artist. Good heavens BIG YES.

He likes foraging toys (with smaller toys inside, not food) and much enjoys chewing up the Stacker from TNT Toys and really most anything that comes apart.
 
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sunnysmom

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She is lovely. I will type a response tomorrow. I don't like typing long messages on my phone.
 

faislaq

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Does anyone know how old @Danita's Coco is? I think she's one of our older goffins, too. :pinksmile:
 

Sparkles99

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Welcome! Where are the budgie pictures?!
:starscfe:
 
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