A Wonderful Rescued Cockatoo - Dobie

We recently adopted Dobie froma rather unfortunate past and he is slowly recovering and is just a pure, sweet, doll.

Oh, pardon the mess in the background, we're in the midst of reorganizing and entire section of the house.

Anyhow, try and be nice with the comments, remember, we rescued him, and he is getting better every day.
We're so lucky he still gives humans a chance after what he's been through. When I met him, I was told to stay away from his cage because he "bites visciously" He was only scared and just needed someone to give him the time.

The owner that was going to have him killed put him on consingment instead and bought a Moluccan cockatoo, since Dobie, an Umbrella was too loud....*insert hysterical laughter here* Maybe the Moluccan will be up for adoption soon too. : /
She didn't think anyone would buy him since he was so "mean" so I got him for $500!! She only put him on consingment because the vet begged her to do so, instead of having him killed.
He was then locked in a cage with a single perch and a strip of leather, for a toy and a seed diet. ( They said couldn't afford to feed their birds more than that and fruits and veggies were totally out of the question...)
He bit several people, badly, in his months at the store and was therefore condemned to live his life locked in a cage,
He still has certain triggers that set him off and he becomes really paniced and scared. But it's getting easier and easier to calm him down. He's learning he doesn't get hurt now. Not all the triggers makes sense, but who knows what happened to the poor baby?
I mean, he has TWO tail feathers! The rest are usually no more that 1" long Who does that to a bird? Thankfully he's motling and should get his beautiful plumage back soon.
He was also housed next to two B&G macaws so he picked up a lot of Macaw quirks and sounds. He's a riot. Really, really playful for an umbrella. More so than most I've met. But of course, he's stilll a super cuddle bug. :)
If you have any questions about this amazing, miracle bird, please ask. Let's keep negative comments down, thank you. Hope you enjoyed Dobie's short intro video and my first video ever on YouTube.
Some more notes about his health when he first came home. Un his wings there were absolutly NO feathers, at all. Just very dry, itchy skin. He didn't preen where he was being kept and I assume that was just depression. He also was mosrlt nude on his rump as well. His skin was is such terrible shape I worried if we could get it back but his recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. As you'll notice in the video, his feathers are growing in nicely.
He also had one, full length tail feather that was broken and could spin almost 360degrees. It would get caught everywhere, even under his wings or feet and it was painful to the touch. We gently taped it in place to keep the pain down until fell out. Thankfully it came off about 5 days ago. (Dec. 9th?) So he now has only two full length tail feathers. The rest are only about 1" long. They don't look cut, they look broken and torn. What on EARTH happened to his tail?? That's a disturbing mystery to me.
He now preens and eats vehemently. It's such a joy to see. He has needed quite a few baths. 1) to assist in getting his feathers healthy again and 2) to assist in the molting. I went ahead and got special cockatoo spray and use that with regular water but I massage thar into his "problem" areas. Like under his wings and where there are large clusters of pin feathers. He really seens to enjoy this and will "preen" me while I preen him lol. ( He preens my hair.)
His nails were also dangerously long and I worried about just cutting them because I knew the quik had growns as well, so every couple of days, I file them down a bit further. He will actually stand in front of me noe and hold his foot out for me to manicure him. :)
He's learning that cages aren't evil prisons anymore too. At first I would have him in his cage for an hour, then out for an hour, so that he would learn that he will be let out and that the cage can be a cozy place. When he was out, he used to climb down and close the cage door! lol I guess he thought if he did that I wouldn't be a ble to put him back in. Now he gets him cage opened and the morning and only goes in for naps, bedtime, or if I have to leave the house. He's just not gotten to the point where he'll go in his cage on his own free will. He knows it's no longer a prison.
Dobie now knows love and is learning to trust again. He just lights up my life, every single day.
I'm so sorry for what he has gone through but I am so thankful he came into my life.
Thank you for reading!

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• umbrella
• cockatoo
• parrot
• rescue
• sweet
• cuddle
• dobie
• great
• white
• avian
• bird lover
• former abuse
• training
• kids
• and
• birds
• large
• handfed
• rescued
• umbrella cockatoo
• parrot rescue
• bird rescue
• utoo
• U2
• great white cockatoo
• parrot adoption
• sweet cockatoo
• parrot care
• amazing bird
• beautiful parrot
• broken feathers

[zjnbss]

I am very touched. Recently I met a umbrella cockatoo for the first time in person when I was taking a walk by the beach. She was very friendly, reached out her claws to me, stood on my arm, nudged my chest , staring me in the eye. I came home and did some research about the bird, and was surprised that so many parrots were abandoned. I am looking for bird sanctuaries near by that I may possibly volunteer for. Again, great video, and best wishes for Dobie. Please post more videos about him!

[mookmjk]

@zjnbss Thank you!

I keep getting errors when trying to leave a decent reply, so I just sent you a message. :)

[abitscinny]

I just read the full story, omg, you are a saint and so is he. Keep your eye's peeled for the next cockatoo! Rescue him even if you cant house him. People like that should be put down.

.

[abitscinny]

Wow how can somebody try and put him down. God bless you both! My Tooey talks but usually cockatoo words, she says hello and awww and mmm. I'm sure she says mm cos I say it on the phone. She has loads of Tooey talk though. She can talk any language she wants as long as she's happy.

[mookmjk]

@TravellerFellow Indeed I am! In fact, I've done a couple, I just need to sit down, go through and pick the next one. They're mostly just of him playing and being a goof ball. :)

[birdlady423]

@mookmjk I am connected with the Gabriel Foundation on facebook! They seem great! I did not know they are in Colorado.

Good luck with your mission to promote rescue!

Take care of yourself!

Linda Kershaw

[mookmjk]

@mookmjk

Scratch my last, I've seen some of Peaches videos. :)

[mookmjk]

@TravellerFellow You're right about the rehab too. I have rehabed many, many birds in my life, usually to help them get a new home after bad experiences. It's always possible and always worth it!

Dobie is loud but that comes with the package, period. It doesn't bother us. But his fear is what we're helping him through. He's just so open to trust again, he's amazing. His progress is incredible.

I am so happy to hear about you Peaches too! Do you have video of her?

[mookmjk]

@TravellerFellow

Exactly! How could you not be aware of something as basic as that? Basic facts, cockatoos = cuddly and loud, almost always! But it happens over and over again. I can only assume these are people with money to spare and make lots of impulse buys from pet stores or breeders that don't bother teaching the buyer about the bird. I simply don't understand and it's heart breaking how often it happens.

[mookmjk]

I know, I worry about that Moluccan too. Too many people buy these birds because they can. Slap down the money, then blame the bird when things go wrong.

I've seen it too many times. :(

Anyhow, I'm going to try and keep a video journal about Dobie. ( He does have some 'PTSD' amd has certainly seen some serious trauma but he's getting better everyday.)

Thank you again for your kind words!