Main Information
Average Size: 19.84 - 12.2 inches long.
Average Weight:
- Galah - Average Weight: 345 grams (281-390 grams)
- Gang Gang - Average Weight: 280 grams
- Goffin's - Average Weight: 221-386 grams
- Greater Sulphur-crested - Average Weight: 880 grams
- Lesser Sulphur-crested - Average Weight: 350 grams
- Moluccan - Average Weight: 640-1025 grams
- Palm - Average Weight: 900 grams
- Umbrella - Average Weight: 458-750 grams
Average Life: live 40 – 60 years.
Best Nutrition: Vegetables typically fed are: carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, broccoli, greens, green peppers, asparagus, ripe tomatoes and spinach.
Vocals: They rather whistling than talking.
Popularity: Australia.
Sexual Maturity: 5 to 7 months.
Egg Incubation Time: 17 to 24 days.
Weaning Age for Chicks: 8 weeks.
Eggs: Average laid 5 to 10.
Average cost:
- Palm cockatoo - $16,000 (USD).
- Umbrella cockatoo - between $1000 and $3000 USD.
- Moluccan cockatoo - around $1400 and $3500 USD.
- Goffins cockatoo - around $1000 and $2000 USD for a weaned young adult.
- Galah cockatoo price - for $700-$2200 USD in the US, depending on age, temperament and who is selling it.
Vet Visits: At least once a year for a full check up.
Cockatoos are most widely known for the big crests of feathers that they display on the tops of their heads, but there are plenty of other fun and fascinating Cockatoo facts for bird lovers to focus on. For example, did you know that all Cockatoo species hail from Australia? That's right, every single one of these large parrots have origins "Down Under!" If you are interested in learning more about these beautiful and fascinating birds, then keep reading -- some of the surprising Cockatoo facts below might possibly blow your mind!
Over the years, captive pet Cockatoos have been shown to have a propensity for weight gain and obesity if their diets aren't carefully monitored. Because of this, Cockatoo owners are normally encouraged to offer their birds access to minimal seed and a variety of fresh, bird-safe fruits and vegetables instead. In addition to restricted seed intake, Cockatoo owners are sometimes also cautioned to reserve items such as nuts and breads for treats, and refrain from including them in their bird's daily meal offerings. Depending on the body condition of an individual bird, an avian vet might also offer more specific dietary recommendations.
Three things Cockatoo's have:
One of the most distinctive features of a Cockatoo's body (aside from their impressive feather crests) are the lower mandibles of their beaks. If you take a close look at a Cockatoo's lower jaw, you'll notice a prominent "u" shaped region missing from the "bottom lip" area of the beak. This scoop-shaped feature allows a Cockatoo to have what is known as a three-way bite, giving their beaks extra power when clamping down on foods, branches, and even the fingers of their human caretakers! Because of this feature, Cockatoos have the capacity to deliver bites that are more painful and damaging than birds of a similar size; something for prospective owners to keep in mind.
Breeding
Two pink-skinned chicks sparsely covered with incompletely formed whitish feathers standing in a plastic bowl. The pre-feathers are round and pointed and are pinkish towards the base fading to white at the tips
Hand-reared white cockatoo chicks bred for sale as pets
Cockatoos are monogamous breeders, with pair bonds that can last many years. Many birds pair up in flocks before they reach sexual maturity and delay breeding for a year at least. Females breed for the first time anywhere from three to seven years of age and males are often older. Sexual maturity is delayed so birds can develop the skills for raising and parenting young, which is prolonged compared with other birds; the young of some species remain with their parents for up to a year. Cockatoos may also display site fidelity, returning to the same nesting sites in consecutive years. Courtship is generally simple, particularly for established pairs, with the black cockatoos alone engaging in courtship feeding. Established pairs do engage in preening each other, but all forms of courtship drop off after incubation begins, possibly due to the strength of the pair-bond.
Like most parrots, the cockatoos are cavity nesters, nesting in holes in trees, which they are unable to excavate themselves. These hollows are formed from decay or destruction of wood by branches breaking off, fungi or insects such as termites or even woodpeckers where their ranges overlap. In many places these holes are scarce and the source of competition, both with other members of the same species and with other species and types of animal. In general, cockatoos choose hollows only a little larger than themselves, hence different-sized species nest in holes of corresponding (and different) sizes. If given the opportunity, cockatoos prefer nesting over 7 or 8 metres (20–25 ft) above the ground and close to water and food.
The nesting hollows are lined with sticks, wood chips and branches with leaves. The eggs of cockatoos are oval and initially white, as their location makes camouflage unnecessary. However, they do become discoloured over the course of incubation. They range in size from 55 mm × 37 mm (2.2 in × 1.5 in) in the palm and red-tailed black cockatoos, to 26 mm × 19 mm (1.02 in × 0.75 in) in the cockatiel.Clutch size varies within the family, with the palm cockatoo and some other larger cockatoos laying only a single egg and the smaller species laying anywhere between two and eight eggs. Food supply also plays a role in clutch size.[69] Some species can lay a second clutch if the first fails. Around 20% of eggs laid are infertile. The cockatoos' incubation and brooding responsibilities may either be undertaken by the female alone in the case of the black cockatoos or shared amongst the sexes as happens in the other species. In the case of the black cockatoos, the female is provisioned by the male several times a day. The young of all species are born covered in yellowish down, bar the palm cockatoo, whose young are born naked. Cockatoo incubation times are dependent on species size, with the smaller cockatiels having a period of around 20 days and the larger Carnaby's black cockatoo incubating its eggs for up to 29 days.
The nestling period also varies by species size, with larger species having longer nestling periods. It is also affected by season and environmental factors and by competition with siblings in species with clutch sizes greater than one. Much of what is known about the nestling period of some species is dependent on aviary studies – aviary cockatiels can fledge after 5 weeks and the large palm cockatoos after 11 weeks. During this period, the young become covered in juvenile plumage while remaining in the hollow. Wings and tail feathers are slow to grow initially but more rapid as the primary feathers appear. Nestlings quickly reach about 80–90% of adult weight about two thirds of the time through this period, plateauing before they leave the hollow; they fledge at this weight with wing and tail feathers still to grow a little before reaching adult dimensions. Growth rate of the young, as well as numbers fledged, are adversely impacted by reduced food supply and poor weather conditions.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment