Adopting a 20 year old Goffin's

[Nostromo]

Hello!

I am working with a parrot rescue to find a second bird to welcome to the family Today I went to the rescue and met one of their adoptable birds, who was an incredibly sweet and gentle Goffin's. He allowed head scratches immediately and seemed to take to me. We definitely made a connection Now, we currently have a very gentle and mild blue head Pionus who is bonded to my husband. We also have a two year old (human) child. The rescue says there is a possibility that this bird is aggressive to males, but it's not clear; he flew at a male volunteer but didn't bite, and the volunteer reacted with a great deal of alarm, so hard to suss out what really happened. We'd definitely have my husband meet the bird before deciding.

Having a human child and a bird child already, I do feel pretty ready for the level of emotional and time commitment necessary to keep a smaller cockatoo happy. That being said, I want to be realistic, and definitely want to find a bird who will be happy with what our home can provide. Please let me know what kinds of questions I should be asking and what considerations should factor in to adopting the Goffin's. He was a plucker, although the rescue hasn't seen any current plucking; it could be old behavior and the feathers simply don't grow back. He is known to be gentle and fairly quiet except when riled up. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem to be very destructive, and doesn't show a ton of interest in his toys. He is fully flighted, as is our Pi. He doesn't know how to step up but is gentle enough that he'll tolerate being pushed onto somebody's hand. He is hormonal, but not aggressive.

In the house, we'd of course cage the bird's separately, and have a pretty powerful HEPA air filter I'd station near the goffin's cage because of the dust. The goffin's would need to be tolerant enough of my husband and son not to attack them when he's out, but would not be expected to interact if he didn't care to. Certainly our Pi would be highly offended if our son ever touched her - our boy understands that birds are for looking at only

I work from home, so the goffin's would be welcome to be my little buddy tooling around in a play area on my desk. In fact, I'd love that - it gets lonely being by myself at the house all day!

Thoughts? Warnings? Encouragements? Everything & anything appreciated!

Also - I keep getting conflicting reports on the lifespan of a Goffin's in captivity. I'd ideally like to adopt a bird that won't outlive me. I'm 30, and the Goffin's is 20 - is there a ballpark of how long he'll live with good care?

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[sunnysmom]

I believe goffins can live into their 50s. I have read more, and I have read less. But I think 50s is probably pretty accurate. But just because a bird can live that long, obviously doesn't mean it will. Like a person can live to be 100 but most don't. I wish I had some fantastic and insightful information to give you. I think any time you bring a male cockatoo into your house you have to be ready for a bumpy ride. That's not to say problems can't be worked out, but I think there's a definite learning curve. And each goffin is different. So I hate to try to predict how this bird will act based on mine. In general though, goffins are super smart, mechanical and energetic. Just because a bird seems mellow in a rescue doesn't mean that's how he'll be once he adjusts to a new home. My goffin was an angel for about 10 months. I think I even have posts on here bragging about how I found the easiest and quietest cockatoo in the world. LOL. That completely changed after he settled in fully. He is the energizer bunny. He has zero desire to sit with me. Zero desire to be petted. (But he's also wild caught.) All he wants to do is fly and play Now, he wants me to be with him and play with him, but he doesn't want to like hang and watch TV with me. He has broken out of his cage so many times that I have lost count. Unscrewed feeder doors, took a part a lock, etc. So, I think you need to make sure your bird is in a really secure cage. I have 3 cockatiels. Elvis, my goffin, is never allowed out with them, but he also doesn't seem remotely aggressive towards them. He's just not really interested in them but does seem to like having them around. (I have a friend with a male goffin who routinely breaks out of his cage and then unlocks all of her other birds' cages. Elvis doesn't like my other birds THAT much. LOL.)

We did go through a bad period where Elvis was attacking my boyfriend. Some of the bites were bad. In retrospect, I think there were some mistakes we (really my boyfriend) made with him that maybe would have prevented the problem from escalating but maybe not. The solution that we figured out was Elvis could not be out around my boyfriend at all for a pretty long time. And then we slowly did introductions again. Now, Elvis can be out around my boyfriend but I still only let them directly interact for short periods of time.

I think it's really important to keep a goffin mentally stimulated and find a way for them to burn off some of their energy. They also need a large cage. Like I would suggest a 40x60 even though they are "small". Also, it's tough to find a good cage for them because I think 1 inch bar spacing is too big for them, and finding a big cage with smaller bar spacing is a challenge. I love my goffin with all my heart. He is funny and smart and makes me laugh every day. We have a really good relationship, but we're like 5 years in. It was not always easy. I would suggest reading up on training and checking out sites like www.goodbirdinc.com or Pamela Clarke or Sugar Creek Bird Farm is offering some online classes with a really good trainer, Cassie. I wish I would have worked more on training from the get go, but I didn't because he seemed "easy". He's a really good boy for me, but I don't completely trust him with other people. If he can push their buttons and get away with stuff, he will. So many cockatoos need good homes that I am always thrilled when someone wants to adopt one but in general, they are not easy birds.

 

[Clueless]

If he can push their buttons and get away with stuff....

Congrats. You just nailed my relationship with Secret.

Hubby says the bird trained me well.

 

[Nostromo]

@sunnysmom, Thank you for this very thoughtful reply. I would worry about a period of aggression if it involved my young son. We can't have an animal in the house that is a danger to him. But, I also hesitate to decline to take the bird in just based on that possibility when he hasn't shown any clear signs of aggression so far (that I know of). Our current bird is a bit quiet and aloof but she clearly enjoys being a part of our household and she fits right in. What would be your intuition about me taking on this goffin? Do you think there's enough possibility of this bird enjoying life as a part of our family, or would the 'too be better off waiting for somebody who can go all in? I do get the sense there are more birds at the rescue by far than owners who can take them...

 

[sunnysmom]

@sunnysmom, Thank you for this very thoughtful reply. I would worry about a period of aggression if it involved my young son. We can't have an animal in the house that is a danger to him. But, I also hesitate to decline to take the bird in just based on that possibility when he hasn't shown any clear signs of aggression so far (that I know of). Our current bird is a bit quiet and aloof but she clearly enjoys being a part of our household and she fits right in. What would be your intuition about me taking on this goffin? Do you think there's enough possibility of this bird enjoying life as a part of our family, or would the 'too be better off waiting for somebody who can go all in? I do get the sense there are more birds at the rescue by far than owners who can take them...

It's hard to say. I would maybe see if the rescue has any more information on him. Like why he was relinquished, who his owners were (not specific names- but a man, a couple, etc.) I realize sometimes rescues have a lot of information about a bird's past and sometimes they have none. Like, I knew Elvis had lived in 4 other places in the 2 years before I adopted him and knew that he had bitten his last owner, who only had him for less than a year. Although I think with any cockatoo you can expect to get bit at some point. They're very excitable and sometimes don't know how to direct that energy. How long has this goffin been at the rescue?

 

[Nostromo]

It's hard to say. I would maybe see if the rescue has any more information on him. Like why he was relinquished, who his owners were (not specific names- but a man, a couple, etc.) I realize sometimes rescues have a lot of information about a bird's past and sometimes they have none. Like, I knew Elvis had lived in 4 other places in the 2 years before I adopted him and knew that he had bitten his last owner, who only had him for less than a year. Although I think with any cockatoo you can expect to get bit at some point. They're very excitable and sometimes don't know how to direct that energy. How long has this goffin been at the rescue?

So I know a bit about the bird's background. He was with one home for 10 years, and then surrendered to the rescue. At that point he was only at the rescue for a day or two before a friend of the rescue's owner took him in, along with another cockatoo and I think a macaw. Ten years passed with this new owner. Then the new owner recently became ill and surrendered all her birds back to the rescue. The rescue owner didn't remember his history from his original home, but she reported that he didn't have any behavior problems that she knew of in the home he'd been in for the past 10 years.

I expect that a cockatoo would bite me or other people trying to handle him at some point or another. What wouldn't work for our family is a bird that flew after our child to attack. Our son never interacts directly with the birds. We couldn't provide a good enough quality of life to a bird that could never be safely out of the cage around our children. I'm not sure it's a guarantee for any bird that they will never become aggressive in that manner, though. I don't think that means we shouldn't still try to bring a bird into the family that needs a good home and stands a chance of really thriving with us. I just don't want to take on more than I handle with a cockatoo. There is such a discourse online of making them out to be virtually impossible to live with. The rescue owner thinks the goffin could be a great fit and doesn't think he would be difficult to live with. She is very knowledgable about parrots but obviously she's not psychic so she can't know for sure.

 

[Emma&pico]

So I know a bit about the bird's background. He was with one home for 10 years, and then surrendered to the rescue. At that point he was only at the rescue for a day or two before a friend of the rescue's owner took him in, along with another cockatoo and I think a macaw. Ten years passed with this new owner. Then the new owner recently became ill and surrendered all her birds back to the rescue. The rescue owner didn't remember his history from his original home, but she reported that he didn't have any behavior problems that she knew of in the home he'd been in for the past 10 years.

I expect that a cockatoo would bite me or other people trying to handle him at some point or another. What wouldn't work for our family is a bird that flew after our child to attack. Our son never interacts directly with the birds. We couldn't provide a good enough quality of life to a bird that could never be safely out of the cage around our children. I'm not sure it's a guarantee for any bird that they will never become aggressive in that manner, though. I don't think that means we shouldn't still try to bring a bird into the family that needs a good home and stands a chance of really thriving with us. I just don't want to take on more than I handle with a cockatoo. There is such a discourse online of making them out to be virtually impossible to live with. The rescue owner thinks the goffin could be a great fit and doesn't think he would be difficult to live with. She is very knowledgable about parrots but obviously she's not psychic so she can't know for sure.

I don’t have a cockatoo in fact first one I met in person was 2 Sundays ago my dads looking after for his neighbor I know I only spent 2hours with her but I fell in love
one thing I will say they are loud a lot louder than I thought and a lot louder than watching @Xoetix videos sound I actually jumped when I walk away to sit down and she screamed hubby couldn’t cope with noise haha

I may get shot for this and again take what I say with a pinch of salt as I know zero about cockatoos
But reading how you write about him makes me think you are willing to try and have a little soft spot for him
I personally think you aren’t going into things lightly and are aware of what’s to come
@Xoetix shocked us when she got Isadora she jumped straight in and even though she will admit herself the queen can be hard work I know she wouldn’t go back and do any different and look at their bond
I think you should follow your heart and listen to your head but I think you are willing to give him a go

and I think it’s honourable you are willing to give this boy a second chance at being in a loving family

 

[Emma&pico]

Or any rescue bird that’s lucky to come home with you

 

[Nostromo]

Or any rescue bird that’s lucky to come home with you

Thank you your kind words mean a lot! In truth I've always been one to commit myself 100% and I tend to not regret or change my mind after I've made it up. We got our Pi despite people warning us all the time that a parrot was a mistake and she's been an absolute joy. Also as a mom of a young child I do feel like I have an idea of what it means to make an absolute life changing commitment. I'll keep getting to know this sweet fellow and see if we all click together. Right now I am smitten but I want to make sure I can keep any promises I make to him.

 

[Emma&pico]

Thank you your kind words mean a lot! In truth I've always been one to commit myself 100% and I tend to not regret or change my mind after I've made it up. We got our Pi despite people warning us all the time that a parrot was a mistake and she's been an absolute joy. Also as a mom of a young child I do feel like I have an idea of what it means to make an absolute life changing commitment. I'll keep getting to know this sweet fellow and see if we all click together. Right now I am smitten but I want to make sure I can keep any promises I make to him.

I am same all or nothing kind of girl so I get you
Well I am wishing you all the best in whatever you decide

 

[Xoetix]

Did someone say jumping into the deep end

I am bookmarking this to reply more tomorrow, but in short, I say if you’re ready for it, then you should do it