Home · Natural History · Socialization & Taming · Nutrition · DNA Testing · Basic Care Types of Cockatoos · Biting · Our Outdoor Aviary· About Us · Links Basic Care of the Umbrella Cockatoo! No Drafts Please! Keep your pet cockatoo out of any drafts. A drafty room can kill a cockatoo! Keep heat vents, air conditioning drafts, fans, etc. on the opposite side of the room from the cockatoo cage. The best check is to hold a lit candle next to the cage. If the flame flickers it is probably too drafty. Sunlight Indirect sun is great for a cockatoo. But be sure to keep your bird out of too much direct sun. if you can't keep him in a spot in the room with no sun then cover part of the cage so if he gets hot he can take shelter in the shade. Obsticles Your cockatoo should be allowed out of his cage to roam around the house at least once a day (supervised at all times). Be sure to keep ceiling fans, halogen lights, oven burners, clear widows with no blinds, etc. in a different room or take precautions to keep the bird from being hurt. Imagine that the bird is flying around and check each corner of the room for possible hazards BEFORE the bird actually gets away from you! Water Clean water is perhaps the most important thing you can give your cockatoo. Be very careful when you go on vacation that your bird will have plenty of water and won't run out. It's always a good idea to put a couple water dispensers on the cage before you go on vacation, a backup in case one leaks. Also be sure to give your cockatoo fresh water daily. Seed Seeds and nuts (or manufactured pellets) are a staple diet of cockatoos. However, remember that seed must be supplimented with other foods and must not be your birds entire diet all the time. Other Foods Fruits and veggies should be a daily part of your cockatoo's diet. Provide a separate dish and vary the food often. If your bird refuses to eat it, just keep offering different foods and rotate the type of food. For example, for three days offer carrots, then offer apples for a few days, etc. Eventually you will find the foods that he likes. Vitamins Vitamins can be a blessing or a curse. If you feed a balanced diet you should need very little vitamin suppliments in the birds diet. Just like in a fish tank where there is a delicate balance of vitamins and minerals you don't just want to keep dumping chemicals into the tank or you will have big problems. Many people who take handfulls of vitamins every day end up with serious problems. What happens is that the extra vitamins that your body does not use ends up being used by 'bad' bacteria, which in the end will make you sick. Usually the doctor tells them to stop taking the vitamins! However, if you only feed a diet with no fruits and veggies, then you probably should use some form of vitamin supplement. I would also recommend using them if your birds are sick or feeling 'depressed', or during a change of ownership (or environment). Most vitamins are mixed with drinking water or sprinkled on the food. They are important in some cases but use sparingly! Cleanliness The best way to keep a ccockatoo healthy is to keep it's cage clean. You should offer fresh food and water in clean dish daily. You should wash the food and water dishes daily. Once a week you should soak the food and water dishes in 10% bleach for at least 30 minutes and then scrub them down with an old toothbrush. Clean the bottom of the cage AT LEAST weekly. Some recommend doing it daily but I found this to be a lot of work with a bunch of cages. If you don't have a grating on the bottom of the cage, then I would recommend daily cleaning (replacement of the newspaper or bottom material). Position the perches so the birds don't sit on one and soil the other. Also position the food and water so the birds don't put droppings in them. Trimming Nails A birds toe nails need to be trimmed at least once a year. I usually trim the nails of all my birds as I go into the breeding season. I use a regular toe nail clippers. Be sure not to cut into the vein of the nail as a bird can quickly bleed to death from loss of blood through a nail. You should have some medication that stops bleeding in birds on hand just in case you cut to close. (which is easy to do!) Click on the links below the banner at the top of the page for more info! "So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good!" Genesis 1:21 Copyright 2007 Site Posted on March 31, 2007 Site Designed and Constructed by Chris Hardwick All photographs on this site are protected by copyright law. Do not copy any photographs from this site without permission of the owner of the photograph.