Good News

I'm trying out a temporary nesting box for Baubo. Took her a few days but she is taking to it finally.

No More Cooking

I'm making spaghetti. I can make spaghetti in my sleep. The sauce is simmering in the pot and Baubo stares blankly out the window because her nesting spot has been taken away. My wife and I are refinishing the counter top where she used to play and the microwave she hid behind has been removed. It will be days before the microwave is returned. Baubo hates change. But she will have to make do because she chewed through the electrical cord for said microwave and can no longer be trusted.

If I was a good bird daddy I would build her a nesting box. Which I might be, and I might do. It will be difficult to coax her into a new play area. But I think it can be done especially if I make a good designed box where she can hide and feel secure. If/when I do I will post my progress. Until then, Baubo won't be cooking with me. I'm doing my spaghetti alone.

Baubo shows up when hungry...

Baubo has the run of the house, and yes that means we have to go around behind her and clean up. She has a perch stand and loves being there, but as soon as I start cooking something she manages to show up in the kitchen. Especial for the smell of cooking red meat. I believe cooked red meat is about her favorite food next to peanut butter. It used to be pork bacon, but we have long since given up eating that in this household, and she consequently lost her taste for it.

My wife and I are painting in the kitchen, consequently we had to move the microwave. This is what we found. All of the time that we thought Baubo was innocently shredding cardboard she has also been trying to commit suicide via electrocution.

This really screws up the whole environment for Baubo because we absolutely cannot have her nesting beside the microwave as she has done for years. And just yesterday as I was cleaning her nesting area I found this!

I posted it on Instagram and told everyone that she had made a shiv. What she had actually done was swipe a steak knife that I had foolishly left on the counter top, and chewed the wooden handle completely off! I'm starting to think that her nesting/shredding days are numbered. Or, we are going to have to find an alternative. She hates perches and hates her cage even more. Maybe something completely new for her to shred in. Gonna take some creativity.

This is not an isolated incident typical to only my cockatoo. These birds are destructive! As part of their care playtime, toys, and shredding are imperative.

Time to say good things...

Baubo is as good as she can be. That simple. She is not trained and nearly wild, so she is going to act a bit wild. She shouldn't be in captivity, even though she was hatched by a breeder. And supposedly hand fed. (Hand feeding is supposed to make a bird socialized to humans) It’s too late now. She would never make it on her own. Not without some kind of therapy to introduce her back into the wild. She doesn’t even fly, and spends much of her summer day outside with me. Captivity just goes against her instinctual sensibilities.

I love having her around. She is fun to hang in the kitchen with and enjoys taste testing my cooking. I think she likes me, maybe even loves me, but I don’t think she is completely as happy as she could be. And that would be because she is captive. Our house is a good sized place, but small for her. Cockatoos naturally have larger territories that they occupy. Miles and miles of air space and tree/ground dominion.

Even when she throws a fit, it’s usually for a reason. She is either hungry, alone, or scared. As soon as one of those three situations a rectified she becomes content again. Her fits are loud and part of her nature. A cockatoo needs to blow off some steam and that is usually accomplished by screaming. It can be a happy play scream, or a dysfunctional rage scream, but she needs to do it a couple times a day. Which blows my mind that the breeder first sold her to a couple living in an apartment building! That is how she wound up at the wildlife refuge. To loud for the apartment.

In our big house with plenty of space away from our neighbors she is free to cut loose. And does often…

Baubo loves hot dogs!

Baubo Does Play Sometimes

Baubo the cockatoo was bred in the US to be a companion bird. And she is, to my wife and me. Mean as hell to everyone else. But for all of her faults she is meant to be a companion and she does a pretty good job of that. Demanding yes, but we knew that going in. Baubo requires the same attention that any bred cockatoo would. She also rewards us with unconditional love and lavishes attention on us, if we wish it or not.

After all of these years she is still fascinating to watch. I love birds, especially cockatoos, and especially Baubo. She keeps me company when I shower. Yes indeed she hangs out in the shower with us as well as the bath tub. She is fun to watch as she eats or drinks. Her beak has mechanical crushing power of many feet per inch of pressure. Enough to crack open an almond. Her leathery black tongue is used to manipulate food in her mouth as well as liquids. She holds objects with her talons somewhat as people do with their hands. All of this is fascinating to watch. I can, and have, been mesmerized by her for hours at a time.  

One never knows it until living with an exotic but birds have expressions. They do not have the facial expressions of many animals but of stance and actions. I can tell when she is hungry, scared, playful, and nervous. She has playful periods during the day and can be very loud during these times. It’s my understanding that she needs this to release anxiety, that the loud playfulness is just part of her makeup as a cockatoo.

So taking the good with the bad, all part of loving an animal. In the long run, for her companionship, it’s worth it.

Dear Dr. Demanes

My name is David Seaman. My wife and I have been bringing our animals to your clinic for many years. We have brought our cockatoo Baubo for check ups and for housing purposes when we go away from home. She is having a rough time over the past few years and this winter has been especially hard on her. She picks her feathers still, and is becoming meaner and meaner toward family members. The only people in our family she has not bitten is my wife Bonnie and myself. We've thought about finding her a companion bird but do not wish to do anything to exacerbate her situation.

My thoughts lately have been to see if there is a cockatoo owner in the area who may be willing to let their bird spend some time with Baubo for the sake of companionship. I would like your feed back on this idea and if possible your help with getting into contact with just such a cockatoo owner.

Thanks,
Dave Seaman

Where's Baubo?!

Baubo has been in a strange mood lately. But so have I. It's this whole below freezing temps not going out or getting sun thing that's going on. I think we will both do better when we can sit out in the back yard again.

Baubo is fully flighted. Which means she has all of her wing feathers.But she has never even made an attempt to ever fly. In fact she can hardly stand to be more than ten yards away from either of us. She is just to plain scared to fly away. And unfortunately she probably would not survive long on her own if she did.

Which raises another concern about exotic bird ownership. These fragile creatures thrive in warmer weather, and die in cold weather. Baubo was born and bred in Chicago, Illinois; not exactly known for its hospitable weather. There is very little keeping her alive beyond the shelter of the house. I can't imagine she feels much better than I do about being trapped inside by the frigid temps.

monday

IF("DayOfTheWeek"=monday) goto <complaint>
I'm a morning person. I love waking up!
<complaint>My knees hurt </complaint>

Sunday Lunch

Makin lunch for the fam. Spaghetti sauce that will cook for six hours. Got started before her highness woke up, but Baubo eventually squawked for me to get her out of her cage.

Self Mutilation

We love Baubo. By we I mean my wife and me. She is a mean as hell bitch to everyone else. The only people she has not bitten in the family is my wife and myself. She is mean because she doesn't feel well. And she is emotionally distressed. This can be caused by a few things. One being that she is at her sexual maturity and frustrated. The only mates she has are the two of us and we are not birds. Not even good substitutes for birds. She squawks very loudly. She can be heard for blocks around the house, in the winter, with the windows closed and doors shut. Most of the time she does this when she is alone in a room. If we both leave she wants us back immediately. She is destructive and becomes so when she is having a temper tantrum.

Baubo also has a sweet side. She loves us as much as we love her. She can be cuddly, and at times, downright fun. She dances and bobs as she plays or displays exuberance.  Her disposition, for the most part, is fairly relaxed and friendly, unless there are other people in the house. Then she becomes a nervous nut wanting to approach them for acceptance and validation. But, she bites. Everyone. So we either have to cage her when people are over, or struggle continuously to keep her from jumping off of our shoulder and attacking. Before reaching sexual maturity she was very friendly and completely safe around strangers, friends, and family.

From the above picture it is clear that Baubo picks her feathers. She plucks them out the same way some people cut themselves, and most likely for the same reasons. My wife claims the bird has borderline personality disorder. This is most likely caused by her diet, but I believe her frustration also contributes to her self mutilation. We have thought about getting a second cockatoo, but that is something that could go terribly wrong. And we might get stuck with two nutters instead of just the one. We have tried a cone, but she is so destructive that she can rip through the plastic with her beak in a matter of hours. We try. We do love her, and it is apparent she feels the same toward us. We can hope that someday soon Baubo will emotionally mature to the point that she is less of a bitch and more like the cuddly lover we brought home from the rescue. And that she will learn to like herself enough to stop hurting herself.

Baubo for Dinner

Baubo wants to help...

Oven roasted skillet chicken is what Baubo and I are preparing for dinner tonight. This bird likes to eat and is forever hopeful that I will create something pleasing to her palate. This is why she has such an interest in what I am cooking. I enjoy her company, while at the same time I worry about her diet. She does not receive the right amount of nutrients so vital to a birds existence. Exotic birds, for the most part, are fragile creatures. The wrong food, weather, disease, or gas can kill them very easily.In order to fool Baubo into getting the nutrients she so desperately needs I devised a recipe for bird bread.

I don't remember when I discovered, or the circumstances of my discovery, that most birds like cornbread. In fact, all of the birds that have been sheltered in our household have eaten and enjoyed cornbread. And often veiled by the bread can be found a number of nutrients. From prescription by veterinarians, to vegetables, to grains and healthy seeds. Seeds are the enemy of exotic birds yet most enter a household hooked on bird seed when they should be eating nutrition pellets. Seeds are bad for the liver of most all birds. A steady diet of nothing but bird seed will shorten the lifespan of a bird considerably. Fortunately I've found cornbread has the ability to help with the transition from seeds to pellets.

Coffee time!!

Having a cockatoo, or any big bird for that matter, is not unlike having a small child. There is very little of a person’s life that does not revolve around a child. It can be hectic at times, chaotic at others. The same is true for a cockatoo. The difference is that a child will grow up and become more self-sufficient. The cockatoo will not. The cockatoo will be demanding of your time forever. And I say forever because the chances are good that the cockatoo will outlive you.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I hear so often how wonderful my bird is and how people would like to own one themselves. I have to repeat myself often and ask, do you really? Children grow and leave the nest. Dogs and cats are fairly self-sufficient. But a bird, and especially the high strung needy cockatoo species, will always be demanding of your time. They need constant stimulation, validation, reassurance, and good ol’ TLC.

They need constant variety in their diet. Don’t let the store employee fool you. They won’t live long on a bag of bird seed from the pet store. In fact that is the worst thing for them. Nutritional pellets are a must. But more importantly are nuts, fresh fruit and vegetables that you need to cut up, and a variety of healthy starches. That’s not bad. In fact it rewarding. We have three birds all together and one of my first morning chores is food prep. Two of our birds are very appreciative and eat very well. Baubo eats like shit.

I don’t know how to get her out of her bad eating habits. She is offered good food every day but throws it from her food dish to the ground, thus making my dogs into bottom feeders. Yes, we have dogs too, four of them. Baubo turns her beak up at fresh cut fruits and veggies in favor of corn bread, peanut butter, and some nuts like almonds. The majority of her food comes from our dinner plate. She eats when we eat, and when it’s not to her liking then she is SOL. Its pellets and water for her.

Brownies from scratch

Yes, Baubo can talk. No, I don't know what language she speaks in.

Orange basil chicken

I like to cook and do so most nights. Occasionally my wife takes the reigns, but the kitchen is my refuge. Unfortunately I often share the space with my cockatoo. And it’s unfortunate because she is mischievous when at her best. This is one of the points I like to drive home when someone thinks they might like an exotic bird. Do you really want a perpetual two year old in your home at all times and a destructive one at that? Luckily we found that she enjoys shredding cardboard boxes, small ones. She does her shredding most often behind the microwave out of sight of curious eyes. But on occasion she ventures out to see what I’m cooking and if she is interested in a taste.

Baubo is supposed to be a vegetarian, but she has cultivated a taste for meat. Mostly for beef, but she won’t turn her nose up to chicken, which does not make her a cannibal since they are completely different species. Okay, it makes her a bit of a cannibal. Her diet is not conducive to long life and it contributes to other unhealthy lifestyle activities. These other activities are very complicated so a whole blog post will later be dedicated to Baubo’s unhealthy lifestyle choices. I can say now, while discussing her eating habits that Baubo’s diet is missing the essential fruits and vegetables that most large birds eat. She will eat some nutritional pellets and nuts, but her love is peanut butter and meat. I try to put good food into her food dish in the mornings in hopes that some nutrition will rub off onto her beak as she picks the items out and drops them to the floor.

Baubo is the name of the Greek belly goddess of humor. A friend of the family named our cockatoo as she came to our household bearing the name Tequila. That didn’t quite fit her personality, and my wife hates Tequila. This wondrous bird came to us via a Refuge for Saving the Wildlife. Our household no longer condones the keeping of exotic birds as pets since the practice is unnatural and very inhospitable for these beautiful creatures who only survive happily in the wild. If a person just must own an exotic we recommend adoption from a bird rescue. Please take the time to research what life will actually be like with a parrot in the family, especially a cockatoo, because it can be a very complicated matter and requires a great deal of commitment. Hopefully the reader can learn this by following Dinner with Baubo blog which will detail my cooking process and the small amount of help Baubo actually provides.

Baubo is 16 years old and out of those she has lived with us for 13 years. She is an ingrained part of our family by this time. Cockatoos have the mentality of a two year old child, and live to be seventy years old. That means we will always have a two year old living with us. We worry about where she will end up after my wife and I are gone because she is mean as hell. She has bitten everyone in the family except my wife and me. With no one else to take her in, she will most likely wind up back at a bird rescue.

How tasty she might be