SAILING my new buddy Scully. ADOPTED

[SailorTroy]

So, as an avid Animal lover. I've raised Dogs, Cats, Squirrels, Snakes, Chickens and Cattle. Animal behavior is almost an obsession!

I've kept, and bred all of the above. Adding only Fish and Coral Fragmentation for domestic distribution.

Today I live in an RV, in the North Valley of California, and San Francisco 50/50..

My aim is my Sailboat., but my 16 and 19 year old dogs keep me on the Farm for now.

SO.. I've ALWAYS wanted a Cockatoo.. They are by far my favorite Parrot. So loving, and affectionate.

I own a 34 foot Sailing Yacht I plan to live aboard. Unfortunately Finding a Slip in California is VERY difficult. So I switch from SF BAY, to a Farm in Butte co. nty California. 50/50..

My sister is a Hospice nurse. She has a patient with Cockatoo, who has a VERY over grown beak. Obviously loves his current (dying) owner. �� AND has a completely split lower beak.

Poor old mister Scully is mine. The family recognizes that I will find him a great life. The agreement to adopt him is done.

The questions from me are flooding into mind..

I've already discovered that Scully can handle lower temperatures (Thank god!).

Obviously he needs a beak trim..

Unfortunately his lower beak is supposedly split to the quick!!

Can anything be done to restore this obvious tragedy?!?!

 

[bug_n_flock]

Hey there, welcome. Have you ever had a bird before? I honestly (don't hate me) don't see this as being a good setup for a successful situation. The bird you are describing would do best in an experienced home, Cockatoos can be VERY difficult birds. And contrary to the image of a pirate with a parrot, I don't know that your back and forth and eventually out to sea life would be a great one for a very sensitive parrot like a too. Good on you for wanting to adopt, but perhaps start with something more manageable. I am not saying it can't work, and we are here to give you advice and support and the like, but it will take work and commitment. A LOT of it. They are argueably more demanding than a child. And even beyond work and commitment, it still may not work. Has the bird ever met you before? been on a boat? Where will you take the bird for vetwork? Will you have access to the fresh fruits and veggies the bird needs to eat daily? What happens if the bird screams really loudly in your ear? Or just constantly like some toos are known to do? What about when the bird bites you? Has a medical emergency when you are nowhere near your usual bird vet? What if he flies off the boat? Will he be wing clipped? He can still fly off the boat with clipped wings.



Etc etc etc


I don't want to rain on your dreams, I just want you and Scully to succeed. Because if you fail it means a dead bird in most cases.





This unbearable buzzkill sent to you from my phone, please forgive any typos or misspellings

 

[Scott]

Welcome to the forums, thanks for joining and seeking advice!

You'll find some of your experience is transferable to parrots, yet they are unique companions. Cockatoos are extraordinarily challenging due to personality, traits, and size. I'd encourage a bit of experience working with large parrots before formally accepting Scullly. Perhaps a rescue or refuge may be of interest even if for a brief period.

Scully ought be examined by a certified avian veterinarian. Skilled evaluation of the beak necessary to diagnose and treat. Beak overgrowth can be attributed to illness or overall health. They can be trimmed by qualified vets using Dremel tool or similar.

If you plan the boating life, extreme caution is necessary even with clipped wings. You'll need a simple and repeatable method of safeguarding against hazards.

 

[ChristaNL]

Aviator when above deck and/or a safe (large enough) cage that is burglarproof (some people in ports are idiots, even more so than the landbound ones), has sun/windshelter etc.etc..


Hmmm, that beak should be (partly) fixable (is that even a real word?).

** Maybe contact that great team that is working with the Vasa with the missing limb atm - they seem to like a challenge...


Oh and get a first-aid-for-birds course before you set sail at all.

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

I can't even begin to imagine the logistics of trying to set sail with a parrot, let alone a too, so I'm not even going to try.

However, from what you describe, I'd imagine that working with a good certified avian vet the beak would be close to fixable, but may take multiple visits over many months to correct it properly. Not to mention Scully will need to have diagnostic work done to see if there is an underlying medical cause of the beak overgrowth to be addressed.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Betrisher]

Cockatoos are *wonderful* birds, and congratulations on choosing one!

I know local vets here in Newcastle have done some pretty awesome bill repairs on birds as widely different as a pelican and a great petrel, so I hope something can be done for your Scully. A lower mandible repair could be hairy because bird bones are very light and fragile. The mandible has to take quite a bit of pressure when the bird cracks (or tries to crack) hard food like nuts. However, if Scully has been managing OK up till now, surely they can improve his situation.

The things you need to consider when getting a new cocky are housing, occupation/company and safety. A cockatoo needs the biggest cage you can afford. I have mine in a cage 2m x 2m x 1m and I do feel that's not big enough. Because they're so intelligent, cockies are dreadfully at risk from boredom and lack of meaningful work. That means we have to provide them with hours' worth of company every day as well as chewing toys and 'thinking' toys that will occupy their minds. Without constant companionship and stimulation, cockies will mutilate themselves to one degree or another. That might mean feather plucking or it might even mean actual mutilation of flesh by biting. It's no small thing and it's why experienced bird keepers will warn you very earnestly to make sure you're choosing the right bird for you.

It's a lot easier to keep a lovebird or a conure gainfully occupied than it is a larger parrot.

Having said that, if you reckon Scully's your bird, then you can start collecting for him now. You'll need access to lots of chewable things like (safe) timber, cardboard, nuts, cork, plastics. Rope is handy for cockies to play with too. They love to climb on it, swing from it and shred its ends. In fact, a couple of metres of inch-thick sisal rope is a LOT cheaper than buying similar toys from a shop! You can get a few feet of 8-gauge fencing wire and make your own boing (spiral rope-covered perch) and your cocky will LOVE you for that! Or, you can just hang a loop of rope from the cage roof as a swing. Or stretch some rope across the cage as a perch. Or just hang it from the roof with the 'down' end free. You can poke things like popsicle sticks through the rope for cocky to chomp on as well.

A bath is a good idea too. In a decent-sized cocky's cage, you'd want something big enough to hold a gallon or two of water and shallow enough so cocky can stand in it. I've got a deep stainless steel baking dish and that works really well for my Alexes. Sadly, I couldn't find one for Rosetta so she only has a pink cat litter tray. Meh! She's a girl! She loves it!

Safety is of huge concern to bird owners because there are so many things that can go unexpectedly wrong. Some choose to clip their birds, believing that a disabled bird will be easier to catch (NB. It's also a LOT easier for a cat to catch too!) Others use harnesses to restrain birds out-of-doors. Others make other arrangements. Whatever you do with your bird, you need to try and think as he does and prevent accidents before they happen. Famously dramatic mistakes include using teflon cookware (the gas produced is deadly to birds), forgetting to turn off ceiling fans and allowing a bird to have access to something containing small metal parts that may cause heavy metal poisoning (anything containing nickel or zinc or many other metals). Here at parrotforums, we don't condone the exposure of a bird to other family pets. Yes, we've all seen the photos of cats and dogs playing happily with birdie. People don't usually stop to photograph the results when puppy or ***** forgets his manners for a split second and bites.

So yeah. That's all I can think of for now. I'm not a sailor, so I have no idea what special complications there could be at sea. One thing that comes to mind is that if your bird escaped, it would almost certainly die because once aloft it would lose sight of you and have no idea which way to fly. I'd also ask your vet about respiratory issues. I have asthma and salt spray can bring me down quicker than anything else. I'd wonder about land birds at sea... ?

Will you please post photos of Scully when he arrives? We do love a photo!

PS. Oo! I'm so sorry! I got carried away and had no idea I'd written so much. Gakk!

 

[Kiwibird]

Welcome to you.

I think you really need to get to know Scully to see if the sailing lifestyle is for him. Living in an RV now that you presumably move around (?) May offer some insight how he’d do in a mobile lifestyle. Some parrots are very adaptable and love adventure, others panic on a few mile drive to the vet and need a home that doesn’t change. You will also likely need to adapt him to being on a boat. Parrots can be susceptible to motion sickness just like people!

Besides a very secure cage and NECESSARY harness training (a bird shouldn’t be outside on a boat, ever, unless on a harness), you also need to keep in mind how long you’ll be away from land. Parrots need fresh fruit daily as part of a healthy diet. I don’t know much about living on boats and sailing around, but you'd need to source fresh fruit constantly (I’d imagine at least once a week). You also can’t just take parrots to other countries without an excessive amount of nightmarish paperwork, health checks and government approval. If you just plan to sail around up and down the coast of the US, you should be ok but if you have plans of sailing around the globe or even just down to Mexico, I really don’t see a way you could take a parrot with you. They are exotic, heavily regulated animals in most places as they may be illegally poached from the wild, can spread disease or become invasive species if they get loose. Please do your due research into traveling with him before you have him seized at a port somewhere (if your plans are to sail to other countries)!