upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

I have 2 goffins, Angel who is about 4 (f) and I adopted Dini the end of august, he is about 30 yrs old.
are they really as demanding or is it just me??? I don't over do it, but it seems I should have named at least one of them velcro!!! Angel does not like Dini, but they are now getting to be in the same area without her panicking. How often should I bath them??? Angel does not seem to like to get wet. I have no info on her she was a throwaway about a year and half ago. man just pushed her at me and said take it , I dont want the thing..so I took her and never looked back. any good tips would be appreciated

Congratulations.
Goffin's used to be my favorites, but they are a bit too demanding for me.
All parrots LOVE being sprinkled, like hanging upside down in their cages during a light rain.
It's not the same as a bath...it's better !

It seems that they dont like the spray, I tried the sink, no good. but they love their water dishes, I dont get it....

Hi Hesbird:

Just as you have likes and dislikes, so do birds. I have 2 goffins. Two weeks ago, I adopted another 16 year old goffin. Her name is Nikki. I already have a 13 year old goffin Zazu. Have you tried getting a bottle with a really fine mist. Hide the bottle and spray over your birds head so a fine mist falls on them. Would you like someone squirting you with water? Getting a bird used to something can take time. Zazu and my Timneh will bathe in their water dishes. Another trick is to turn on a fan. Zazu will let me get her bone soaking wet as long as a fan is running.

I don't find them demanding at all. They are high energy birds that need a job. How about trying some clicker training? Goffins are very, very intelligent. I just bought one of those new foraging wheels. It has 4 little boxes on top and each one opens different. Zazu has figured out how to open all of them in only a week.

I only use positive reinforcement to get the behaviours I want. In less than 2 weeks, Nikki has stepped onto my hand. I was told she hadn't stepped up for the previous caregiver in 2 & 1/2 years. She is already soliciting head scratches. She did resort back to extreme feather destructive behaviour but considering her past, it was not unexpected but it did break my heart.

I just take things slow. I allow my birds to make as many choices in their day as possible.

Bev

Bev is a very special person to think Goffin's aren't demanding But then all cockatoos are demanding IMO. some of my birds (not 'toos) love being sprayed. Others love bathing in a bowl. Some love both. Some have come to love a different method over time -- 12 years in one recent example And some don't want any water on them ever ... and are in perfect feather, with behavior that seems completely happy. Keep experimenting to learn what your birds might like. Use the vacuum cleaner to get them in the mood. Give them invitations, but don't force them.

Bev, congratulations on Nikki's arrival

BE, you really think Goffin's are demanding? My most demanding bird is my grey Sally. I must have lucked out, Zazu is great. I fall asleep in the chair almost every night and she just goes to sleep on my chest. She is definitely my most destructive bird but demanding she is not and she is probably the quietest goffin I've ever heard.

Thanks for the congrats on Nikki!!!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!!

Bev

Whew! I've been waiting anxiously to get approved so I could respond to your original post.

PLEASE KEEP THESE TWO BIRDS APART AT ALL TIMES.

Male cockatoos, and particularly Goffin's, are infamous for attacking other birds, and especially the females. I've seen photos of bills torn off, eyes gouged out, and of course, fatal attacks.

That's why your female is so panicky when the male is around.

So please do keep the physically separate. There are ways to "introduce" them to one another - they sell special cages for this, but I'd be leary of those because if the female is close to the inside edge, the male could still reach through the bars and bite her.

Good luck, and enjoy them. They are so wonderful.

Ellen