Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Sulphur Crested Cockatoo Behavior
Problems Nipped in the bud.   

Your Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is much like the typical Cockatoo because they are loyal and loving and they need lots of attention.  However they are a bit different from the typical cockatoo because they can be extremely loud –particularly when they’re having fun – and they need to chew.  In fact they chew a lot. Read on to discover how to combat chewing or take a look at our Training Package which also addresses this issue.  Let’s take a look at the chewing problem first.  Chewing itself isn’t a bad thing.  It is when your Sulphur Crested Cockatoo chews on furniture, people and their own feathers.

This behavior often surfaces when they are not given enough attention. Of course there is a simple solution to this, give them more attention.  A truly excellent way to accomplish two tasks at once, (notice I didn’t say kill two birds with one stone) is to trick train your bird. 

Trick training not only gives your bird what it wants most – your attention - it also teaches them to eliminate many of the undesirable behaviors they might have including screaming which we’ll talk about next!   

I also want to recommend that you give your Sulphur Crested toys that he can chew on.  Since it is a behavior that is natural to them you cannot expect him to simply stop chewing.  If you retrain the behavior, give him something acceptable to chew on and spend plenty of time with him your chewing and feather plucking problems are likely to be solved.   

Resolving Your Sulphur Crested Cockatoos screaming problem.  The most likely cause for your Sulphur Crested’s screaming is that it is being left along too much.  They are extremely social animals and if you cannot be with them then they will become unhappy.  This unhappiness manifests itself into destructive behaviors like screaming and biting and self destructive behaviors like chewing on their feathers.   

Provide your Sulphur Crested Cockatoo with plenty of toys to keep him busy when you are not able to spend time with him.  It is often recommended that Sulphur Crested Cockatoo’s be kept in pairs to keep each other company. This can help to reduce the amount of time you will have to devote to them.  However it is important to take time every day to spend with your Cockatoo
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The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is a very intelligent parrot and in fact is often considered by avian enthusiasts to be one of the most intelligent parrots.  This intelligence means that they must be kept busy or they’ll misbehave.  We’ve talked about toys, companion birds, and spending quality time with them every day.  We also mentioned trick training.  I want to explore that option a bit more in depth. 

Trick training is an absolutely fabulous way to not only spend time with your bird but it will help to establish and reinforce your relationship with your Cockatoo.  Trick training will also eliminate negative behaviors and replace them with positive behaviors. 

For more information on trick training your Sulphur Crested Cockatoo and all of the benefits of trick training – remember we’re not just talking about teaching them to wave hello we’re talking about teaching them to not scream or bite – Birdtricks.com.  The experts at Bird Tricks have created products and free resources designed just for you and your Cockatoo’s needs.