Too Goffin or Not Too Goffin?

[SarahNya]

Hi everyone, I don't post a lot here but I'm having a bit of a morale dilemma a the moment and I thought I would seek advice.

Last year I got a Black Headed Caique from a breeder, when I went to pick him up he had a very tiny female Goffin Cockatoo in a small cage beside the Caique's. She had one shabby old toy and had a poor sunflower seed based diet by the looks of it. The breeder said he had recently acquired her for breeding and was looking for a cock bird to pair her up with however he did have his doubts as she was hand reared (8 years old though).

Anyway I handled her and thought she was the most adorable thing ever. She was very tame and stepped up well enough but was very listless for a Goffin as they are usually rather hyper but I suppose this was due to lack of stimulation. I thought there was no way she would pair up so I said to him there and then if it doesn't work out to give me a shout.

Well moving on, I received an email from him a couple of days ago saying he has had her in the aviary since Feb and she is scared to death of the cock bird. He is prepared to let me have her for a reasonable price and would rather let her go to me than place an advert where another breeder will get hold of her. This is pretty accurate as Goffin hens are a bit like gold dust here and plucked or no another breeder is going to try pairing her up again and sadly it's doubtful even with her sweet nature someone is going to want her as a pet because of the plucking issue.

So that leaves me with the dilemma, do I take her or not. I already have a Sun Conure, Timneh, Ducorps and Caique so I've got my hands pretty full already, don't get me wrong though I would LOVE to have her but I'm worried that because she is so afraid of other birds (well the male Goffin anyway) it might cause her more undue stress and I'd like to have her out with the others (except my stroppy Conure) once she is settled in.

Has anyone else ever took on a second hand bird similar to this before ?

[SisterBlue]

I, just yesterday, took in a baby 'tiel from the owner of my local exotic bird store. The bird was given to him, and although she's only a few months old, she was parent raised and was *never* handled, and it quite wild. He offered her to me free because he knew I'd give her a good home. All I had to do was buy her a cage. I'm working with her several times a day and I think that once she calms down she will be an awesome bird.

I also have a Goffin's, and he's so much fun...so I'm afraid you won't get much help resisting her from me! LOL

I say go for it...there's always room for one more in a loving home.

-SB

[SarahNya]

lol great thanks, more poop to clean up. I think I will get her, my other half actually seems to want her too so I'll leave it a week and give the guy a call if I feel 100% sure about it, he said he would give me time to think before he advertised her.

About the plucking though, none of mine have plucked so far so I'm a bit unsure how to tackle it. I think the first port of call would be an avian vet for a check up. I suppose from then a nice new cage full of toys and a more varied diet would be the next step.

Any other ideas? This bird doesn't use her beak to pull t he feathers out either she uses her feet and pulls the ones out around her face and ears, not her chest which is kind of odd >,<

[Tombstone]

That's right...there's always room for one more - so I would say go for it!

Just a suggestion - get her to the vet first before exposing your flock to her. You want to rule out disease - even though you already got a bird from the same aviary. You just simply never know.

Good luck!

[SarahNya]

Yeah I'm definitely going to take her to the vet first, I'd like to see if they have any suggestions to help clear up the plucking as well as giving her a health check.

I just hope it turns out okay and she gets on with the others, we had them all out together tonight while we were watching a movie and they got on fab, even my grumpy Sun didn't cause any fights.

[SarahNya]

Right, I picked her up yesterday the chap has agreed to let me have her on a trial basis to see how she fits in with my home, if it doesn't work out he will probably give her to his daughter.

I know it's early days but it's not going that well, not in that she isn't the sweetest little bird in the world (she is tiny, even for a Goffin) and has a nice nature although can nip pretty hard when she doesn't want to step up.

It's the feather picking thing that is really upsetting me, I didn't think it would get to me as much as it has

She constantly plays with the pin feathers around her face. She will start by putting her head down to be petted, scratches them quite roughly and then tugs at them with her foot, eventually the feather gives way and she pulls it out and makes this awful moaning sound.

Also what he didn't tell me is that this isn't totally confined to her face either, she does over preen the rest of her feathers and I saw her pull one of the pin feathers around her feet out.

I'm taking her to an avian vet this Friday as I have the day off but if anyone has any advice for me on how to tackle this I'd be grateful.

[seth loves parrots]

Originally Posted by SisterBlue

I, just yesterday, took in a baby 'tiel from the owner of my local exotic bird store. The bird was given to him, and although she's only a few months old, she was parent raised and was *never* handled, and it quite wild. He offered her to me free because he knew I'd give her a good home. All I had to do was buy her a cage. I'm working with her several times a day and I think that once she calms down she will be an awesome bird.

I also have a Goffin's, and he's so much fun...so I'm afraid you won't get much help resisting her from me! LOL

I say go for it...there's always room for one more in a loving home.

-SB

Comment removed for being rude by moderator

[red192]

I say go for it! There is a friend here who has a female Goffin that i'm totally in love with and want sooooooooooooooooooooooo bad! And if they ever do decide to sale her and STOP teasing me with the idea i'm getting her! Guess I need a 2nd part time job to go with my first part time job and my full time job!

[SisterBlue]

Originally Posted by seth loves parrots

well sister blue how do you afford all of that and do you parrents condone that i dont think they would like all of those birds shaame on you that poor tiel you dont evan have time for her

I'm 36 years old and work my butt off for my family. I have kids older than you. You are 12 years old, so please don't try to make comparisons to the life of an adult.

I made one very respectful post toward you, and now I find that you're attacking me in every post you make.

-SB

[Valo's Moirana]

please refrain from personal attacks on other members - if you feel the need to voice your opinions, do so in a private message but not on the open board