Continued from page 2Big Moluccan Myth #1
Moluccans are considered by many to be total love sponges. While many of them are sweet and cuddly, it takes a tremendous amount of work to keep them that way. In general, Moluccans are far less trusting than their smaller cousins and need constant reassurance in order to remain social. A Moluccan who is moved to a new location must be handled and removed from his cage immediately or he may become cagebound. It is critical to remember that the cuddly 16 week old fluffball that you gather up at the breeder will not seem like the same bird a year from then, or two years from then, or five. This is a great truism for all parrots, and it is the gospel for Moluccans.
Moluccans need rules. They need to step up, stay put and quiet down when told to do so. They need to come out of their cages when you let them out and not when they want to, and to return in like fashion. Moluccans are flock animals and as they mature, they learn flock rules, schedules and hierarchies. Gradually, they may learn enough to lead the flock and will go through the processes necessary to occupy the top branch of the tree. Now how do we, as the sole teachers of our companion animals (I hate the word "pet") prepare them for leadership? We don't. Hell, since we're just beginning to have a clue as to how to properly instruct them to be happy as companion animals, they certainly aren't ready to be head of the household. (As if I am?) Frankly, I am yet to see anything more miserable than A Moluccan cockatoo that is in charge of his own life. They don't know how to do it, we don't know how to teach them to and probably wouldn't want to if we did.
Rules are not bad or punishment. Birds love and want rules. Rules are security and predictability. A happy parrot is one who does not feel threatened. Prey animals crave this above all else.
Have I made my point here?
It has been my experience that Moluccan cockatoos that are (1) raised by a knowledgable and experienced breeder, (2) given rules, (3) loved and never threatened, struck or mishandled and (4) given a good diet are exceptional companion animals, not overly dependent and not unbearably loud. But this is only part of the story.
Because of some of these difficulties, we saw quite a few Moluccans at the Parrot Placement Center and an inordinate amount of the calls I get as a behaviorist concern these birds. Placing them was always a challenge because it is that much more important to find a situation that will facilitate the acclamation of that particular bird. There was some guessing involved there, but we were pretty successful. I remember an 18 year old, wild caught, tame Moluccan named Sam. His family couldn't keep him because of allergies. Like most Moluccans, he really didn't show his true personality in the setting of the Center. (Macaws take a few days to settle in, conures a week or so and amazons, about twenty minutes.) Of the hundreds of applications we had on file, I narrowed it down to three. One of the people simply didn't show me enough enthusiasm; and then there were two. Finally, it came down to the fact that Sam had been with a family that had a small child, so we went with the family that had kids. It came down to that.
Early Socialization and Myth #2
Cockatoos need to be taught their most important lessons early in life. These lessons are trust and independence. They need to be taught not to fear hands, baths, strangers, change, other birds, new foods, toys and how people look first thing in the morning. And in order to become independent and self-confident they need cuddling and guidance.
I am so sick of people saying not to spend too much time with a baby bird so you don't spoil them. What crapola. In the wild, baby birds receive constant attention, preening, cuddling, protection, reassurance and instruction. This goes on past fledging and food independence until the time when the adolescent bird leaves his parents. We take babies from the breeder, begin "weaning" (which generally takes the form of starving them until they are forced to eat something else) them and force ourselves not to pay attention to them. Talk about "Dumb and Dumber". Your baby Moluccan needs you to guide him through his new world and show him that everything is okay. He needs you to show him that the toy that he has today is not the only toy in the world and that what he will get tomorrow is fun, too. He needs you to share your meals with him and, even after food independence, to feed him some hot, wet morsels every now and then. He needs you to make sure that he sees lots of new people and these folks know how to handle him and won't do any scary stuff or give him cooties.
Controlling your bird in a loving, non-threatening manner is a very tough line to walk. Moluccans have even less margin for error than most other birds and you should always err on the side of loving. Cockatoos do not take well to threatening environments. I would much rather work with a bird that has too much control of his life than one that is phobic.
Early socialization is too broad and worthwhile a topic to try to handle here, but it is an understatement to say that it is important for Moluccans, who tend toward over-dependence and phobia. As keeping a Moluccan can be more work for us, socializing them is more work for a GOOD breeder. But the results are well worth the effort and the price.
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