Cockatoos

There are about 40 species of Cockatoos and are native to Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

Among them few are suitable to be kept as pets, which includes Sulphur Crested Cockatoo, the Galah, Goffin's, the Major Mitchell, the Red tail Black Cockatoo, Umbrella Cockatoo and the Moluccan. These species of cockatoos make great companions provided you have the necessary knowledge and environment to bring up your bird in. The captive breeds make great exotic pet, but don't even think of keeping wild cockatoo as a pet, as they are not adapted to domestic life. So buying an exotic pet from an exotic pet dealer makes a better sense.

The most attractive feature of any cockatoo is the erectile crest that rises immediately when they are excited or alarmed. They have strong and heavy beak, primarily used to crack large seeds, but they love to chew on just about everything! This obviously means that cockatoos can be pretty messy birds so if you are ok with that, you'll love having a cockatoo as a pet.

Goffin's cockatoo is one of the smaller species, as is the lesser sulfur crested cockatoo. The larger ones are the umbrella, Moluccan and greater sulfur crested cockatoo species.

The life expectancy of Cockatoos is about 40 years, but the larger species can live up to 80 years although this is very rare in captivity.

Cockatoos like eating a variety of fresh foods. They also need avian pellet which can make up 50% of the diet. Other parts of the diet can include grains, vegetables and fruit. Seeds are high in fat so keep these as a treat item only.

As cockatoos are large birds, their cage should be big enough to accommodate their size, generally a cage of about 5 to  6 meters in length and 2 to 3 meters wide would be ideal for them. Do keep in mind that the cage should be made of a high grade wire, as cockatoos can easily chew holes through lighter quality wire. Similarly, the frame should be built of steel to avoid the bird chewing the structure away.