Hey Mike,
Hope your getting acquainted phase is going well with your Goffin.
My Sulphur-crested was my first rescue parrot and he is Dad's boy. He charms all of the females that come in the house but whenever I go into the bird room, he comes over and does this french kiss thing on both sides of my cheeks, don't know why but he loves the attention. Fortunately he doesn't need a whole lot of attention just a daily dose or two and he is good for the rest of the day. He opens his wings one at a time when it's time to clip his wings, then he gets petted. He loves to jump up on my arm then head for the shoulder where they all are the most comfortable...he's ok since he has never bitten me. My Blue & Gold on the other hand I still have to be careful with when the Scarlet is around be cause she goes into attack mode no matter where she is. I usually get her to step up then take her out of the range of the Scarlet then she is ok. When they are together, I have to pick up the Scarlet first then the Blue & Gold follows like a puppy. These are just behaviors we learned as we went along. They always perform on cue which is great. Hope you & your Goffin are learning to live together and trust you.

Yup, every bird is an individual.

Body language is really key to these guys-- you can learn to read it, and even to imitate it. Pickles loves when I mimic his head craning and bobbing.

Some general communication hints:

Don't stare at your bird... predators stare. Blink when you are looking at him or her for a protracted period and try turning your head back and forth like they do. My bird also likes tongue-waggling.

For his first weeks at home, Pickles was very uncomfortable with my hands, so for the first month or so I put them behind my back when interacting with him, then gradually introduced them. These guys like and are tuned to long vowel type sounds and dislike staccato and hissing noises. So, I still speak to him like a little old British lady.... (eg "whooooose a goooood birrrdeeeee?") I also tend to pitch my voice up a bit because they seem to like higher pitched voices.

A lot of this I got from suggestions in that book I mentioned...
(http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Well-Behaved-Parrot-Mattie-Athan/dp/0764110306 )

I own an african grey parrot and she is almost potty trained! when we started with her we told her to go poopies! now when she goes she says sooo soft go poo go poo and then she goes! Cockatoo's are MOST definately the loudest and most demanding for attention in the bird family! african grey parrots are the best talkers! they don't just mimick but can produce real voice! my little girl says things in my voice all the time! the more time you put into training, love, patience, rewards, and dedication you can get any animal to do what you want and be loving! my little girl is starting to recognize colors! she is about 3 out 10 tries right now!

I wouldn't recommend a rescue bird for a magic act. It can be a long uphill battle. It is better to hand feed a chick. You will get a more stable bird for your effort. Yes, rescue birds can be great and easy to train, but you are really taking an expensive (both monetarily and emotionally) cr@p shoot.

If you do get rescue, DON'T get one that has been plucking in the HOPES that it will stop. It may stop, but they often have already damaged the feathers so they come out funky.


Goffins are smart, but can be headstrong, and can be loud. They are also mostly white and about the size of a dove, and some people will think it is a dove.

Another issue I have with Goffins is their size too. The public in general does not respect the little pip squeaks, and if they interact with people there is a lot more grabbing a teasing. I took Kyla, my umbrella out of my show for this reason.

As for being loud, there is nothing like a Mollucan. They can literally be heard for miles.

Cockatoos are smart, but not like the Macaws. I really think they are the best working birds. They are large, showy and real hams. They don't bond as much as a Grey, and like being handled more than a Grey, but not as much as a cockatoo. Also, NO DUST! Kyla, my umbrella thinks making dust is her full time job, making cleaning times even longer.

My Greenwing Jax is my main performer, interacts extremely well with children and adults, and loves the limelight. I can juggle her, and sometimes do in performances. She can be petted by a dozen children at a time, and is never loud in public. She is fully flighted and I take her outside all the time. Most of the time she rides on my hip, holding on to my belt.

African greys are the smartest birds around! cockatoo's are smart as well. they require Fresh fruits and vegies and eat what we eat in moderation! you don't always have to cook for them! our african grey parrot had her 24/7 pellets and her fresh fruits and vegies in the morning and then through out the day they got their treats! when we ate dinner I made a seperate plate for her! so she felt she was with us! they are flock birds! when they don't get the required attnetion they can be pluckers and screamers demanding the attention! They are wonderful birds both the cockatoo's and the greys!

TRUE STORY:

The short version.

Our magic store was broken into and Casper our cockatoo along with his cage was stolen. We were devastated, then...... 2 weeks later the shop was broken into again....Nothing was missing but, Casper and his cage were back.

Seems the thief had no idea what he was getting himself into. Yes they were caught eventually and all 3 served time in jail.

Just a short note..im a professional magician...but I'm also. an animal guy.. I have more than 15 parrots and 50 big cats and some other kids.. I come from school like Steve martins one . anyway I would like to make compliments to all of you because I see that you really care about all feathered friends...im sincere and I'm happy probably you'll think I'm stupid... but I'm honest when I say that I'm impressed by your knowledge. most of the times I come across people who don't know anything about animals ... and that is where the trouble( also for us ) begin... so thanks to all !!!
Gianni Mattiolo

I've been having a Goffin for about 15 years. It seems that I am the only one that he will really let to hold him. He'll let other people hold him, including my wife but then he will bite them. My wife is now scared of him. I do not hold him but maybe once or twice a month but when I do he lets me do just about anything to him. Mostly he just wants me to touch, scratch, and pet him.
But he is loud. But I can control his screeching by spraying him with a water sprayer. This works 99% of the time unless he is in the mood for a bath/shower.
He does talk, but very little.
I wouldn't even try to use him in my act. I guess I could if I would spend a lot of time with him, but I really don't have the time.

My Goffin is the same way...she's a stubborn one-person bird. She'll let my wife pet and preen her, but if my wife tries to get her to step up, the Goffin bites. I sit and pet her while nightly watching TV or reading and she sits on my monitor or shoulder while I'm working in my office. I've trained her to take a flight harness, so she pretty much goes everywhere with me that pets are allowed to go. She was the hit of the last Raleigh Bird Show with her playfulness and tricks. It just takes time and patience.

The Womach course helped me resolve the bulk of her screeching. She screeches at around 7:00 AM like clockwork and at sundown. Trainers tell me that's an ingrained behavior that isn't likely to change in Goffins. The rest of the day and night, she's quiet as a lamb except for the occasional word and chatter.

Thanks Gianni,

That means a lot coming from a professional

I envy you your cats, though I know I have neither the knowledge nor the resources to keep one.

Still they are my favorite of all gods creatures

Jeff K

I understand that 'toos are particularly prone to being "one person birds." A bit of a negative side effect of how closely they bond to their selected partner.

African greys and cockatoo's are known to be ONE person birds but if properly socialized they can tolerate others! for example: our african grey was my gf's bird she would do anything with her yet being she was properly socialized I was able to handle her but couldn't do as much. she was always looking for her momma. my gf could hand her off to anyone as long as she was in birdies view at all times and even then she wanted to go back to momma. they develope strong bonds with their human. they are FLOCK birds. She never bit me, I could handle her, spoil her but she was momma's bird all the way. to get a bird to be well socialized it has to be done at an early stage for easy success. older birds take longer to build a bond of trust. Every thing with greys and too's are on their terms they cannot be pushed.

There has been a big improvement now with my goffin and I. I did join a rescue bird club a little over a year ago. I made my second meeting last weekend (I perform a lot of shows). I did bring my goffin. I was afraid to let him out of the cage because thought he would fly/run around because he was scared. He kept trying to get out of the cage, especially when I had the cage door open while I was talking to him.

I had the door opened as I was talking to someone behind me. He got out of the cage. A lady came over to my table and my goffin stepped on her arm. A minute later my goffin would stand on her head. The female member told me if my goffin wings are clipped, she will not be scared run away from me anymore. They clipped his wings and trimmed his nails at the club.

I was thanking the lady so much for helping me and my goffin. About an hour later my goffin had the place figured out. He jumped on the floor and ran around the room. It took several members to help me catch him. He would no longer step up the lady's arm. They explained to me he acts so frightened with me at home near his cage because he knows the area's territory.

Today I put him in his cage and took him to the bathroom in my house. It was new to him. He did not know where to go. He stood on my arm. I walked him around my house on my shoulder. He did slip off a few times. He would step up on my hand without being scared. About twenty minutes I took him back to his cage. He would not eat his treat immediately, he was still nervous.

I am going to spend time taking him around my house more often. The hard part is when I come close to him near his cage, he flys away on the floor. I have to guide him in the temporary cage.

May is our one year anniversary. All this time I was waiting for him to make the first move. He was waiting for me to make the first move.

Hi Mike!

I learned to take Pickels away from his territory when working with him from this book. If you havent read it you might want to get a copy...

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Well-Behaved......6&sr=1-1

Thanks for the suggestion. I just got finished purchasing it plus two more.

Hope you get a lot out of it. It was our "adoption guide" for Pickles (he was 6 yeqrs old when he came to us) and found it immensely helpful.

Posted: Apr 6, 2011 9:09pm
Oh haye Mike, if yo uare still reading...

One more thing I find helps a lot for trainability/managability of our hookbills (parakeet, cockatiel, macaw) is they are all more responsive to being led when they think they can't fly. We do the cockatiel wing clip ourselves but have our vet to the Macaw (he's a handful.) Until you are comfortable with the procedure, you can have your vet our local bird-specialist pet store do it. (You do have to watch out for blood feathers when they are feathering in, nicking one of those can have serious consequences.)

Its a lot like the territory thing. The more dependent they feel on you, the less they will try to take control of the relationship.

Cyber,
You are so right on the money!!
I'm taking our 2 macaws over to Animal Jungle where they have experienced Big Bird handlers to do the nails and wings...they are just way too much of a handful plus it takes 2 qualified people to get the job done. I got tired of my B&G running and hiding behind the toilet..
Ever tried to get a B&G out from behind a toilet?? No fun..
The rest of the flock we do ourselves....my Too just sits there, daddy's Boy, and lets me trim both wings....

Bill

They give clipping to all birds in need at my bird club.

Congrats Mike,
That sounds like a great club...

Bill

We need the towel-hold to clip pickles. that's another reason we let the vet do it, besides it just being a major operation,w e'd rathrer he associate the bad stuff with her then with us

The are very smart, he's figured out that tucked behind the toilet he ash all the advantage

Last time we took pickels to the vet, he lept from the vets table into my wife's arms and buried his his head in her elbow. It was very sweet, but he still had to go back to the vet for his check up.



There are days I envy too owners... and days I don't. Pickles can be a handful and every so often we have to "discuss" flock dominance, but hes also pretty independent and can play happily in his (huge) cage for a whole day by himself. I just don't have the time in my life right now a too requires.