From: qhwpyd@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Cynthia Goff)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: Re: Need Goffin Advice
Summary: I am a Goffin owner/lover
Date: 9 Apr 92 21:46:33 GMT
Article-I.D.: mentor.44674


     A kitten with wings huh?  My fiance' described our Goffin's cockatoo,
Baxter, as a puppy with wings due to her chewing ability.  We love her and
would trade her for anything else.  According to Bird Talk and our vet,
they talk very well when compared to other cockatoos.  The vet said bare-eyeds
were the best followed by Goffin's.  They obviously cannot come close to the
clarity or amount of vocabulary obtained by an African Grey.  She was hatched
on May 8, 1991 and we purchased her on August 20, 1991.  Baxter was hand-fed
and hand-raised and domestic bred.  Even though we have not owned her very
long, she still has yet to bite anyone hard enough to draw blood.  The only
time she has bitten hard was when she was "charged" up and full of play.
When she is in these moods now we simply don't ask her to be cuddled and let
her work out her excess energy on her own.
     She is very extroverted.  Anyone can hold her and she will go to them 
without hesistation.  The employees of the pet store where I take her to get
her beak and nails done love her.  We were in there Sunday and she really
showed off.  My fiance', Joe, was holding her when a fellow customer came
up to him to inquire about her.  The woman was accompanied by two young girls
and looked at Joe attentively as he told them about Baxter.  Baxter did not feel
she was receiving a fair share of the attention and began to lean towards the
woman begging to be picked up.  The lady did not understand this body language
and continued to listen to Joe attentively.  Not b
Not to be overlooked, Baxter began to bob her head, put her crest up and flap
her wings.  (She has been taught not to holler for attention.)  The woman and
girls began to laugh.  The lady politely asked if she could hold her and Baxter
was more than happy to oblige.
     Goffin's are voracious chewers.  They have been known to chew out of
carriers that had previously contained umbrellas and Moluccans.  This was
stated by a cockatoo breeder in an article of Cage Bird Magazine.
     They are also a little more mentally stable than some of the other 
cockatoo species.  This may be due to their love of play.  Even wild caught
breeder birds enjoy play immensely sometimes to the frustration of their
owners wishing they would use the energy to breed instead.   We have only
left Baxter with a "sitter" 2 or 3 times.  My fiance' is in National Guard
and must make a three hour drive south one weekend a month.  Travel does not
bother her at all.  As we go down the interstate at 65mph Baxter will be 
climbing on her cage playing most of the way or sharing french fries with us.
She doesn't seem to mind at all being at the "sitters" but I hate to burden
them with her and I miss her!
     Baxter loves to cuddle too.  She likes to cuddle under your chin with
one foot on your chest and the other on your hand.  You can pet her under
her wings or anywhere on her body.
     She is also very trusting of humans.  New people as well as Joe and I
can lay her on her back, pet her and do pretty well whatever you wish.
Something that was noted by the guy who does her beak & nails, the vet and her
assistant is that she is very soft footed.  They said most birds will hold a
person's finger especially a stranger's *very* tightly.  Baxter does not.
This is not because she is ill or isn't able to she just simply doesn't.
     Baxter does talk but you must listen carefully.  So far she hasn't tried
to imitate the male tiel's, Galen, whistling nor the parakeet's, Hatfield,
noises. 
     My fiance' lives in an apartment building and has had no complaints of 
noise.  They definitely are quieter than a Moluccan even at their highest
volume.
     I know this is long-winded but I hope it helps.  If you have anymore
questions, you can try to e-mail me but I have had some problems with my
mail.
P.S. We payed $600.00.  The breeder currently has one for sale with two
more coming along.  They also had an umbrella for sale that we looked at
the day we purchased Baxter.  They also raise Moluccans.
Cindy Goff
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds