Photos of Floyd Here are a few pictures and videos of Floyd. Floyd is a Moluccan Cockatoo. He was 3 years old when I got him. A lady that worked with Tia raised him. She had to move and couldn't keep him in an apartment. Cockatoos are very loud. She gave him to us for free along with food and a huge cage. I was thrilled to get him. The first week we had him, he was very quiet. After he got over the shock of the move he came alive! He was loud and messy. He would take fits and scream and curse. His favorite saying was "Shut the fuck up!" We were told to bang on his cage with a broom and that would shut him up. I wouldn't let anyone do that. I thought that was cruel and abusive. I would talk and sing to him softly. He would immediately quiet down and start to listen to me. |
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I found this video on YouTube. I typed in Moluccan Cockatoo in Google and this was one of the links I followed. I was so sad when I watched this.
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Please do your research and find out everything you can about all exotic pets before you take the plunge. These birds are very smart and require a lot of attention. People see Floyd, hear him talk and see him interact with me and immediately say they want a bird.
It is not that easy.
Although Floyd was raised by hand, he didn't like to be touched. He prefers to sit on his cage rather than be held. He is so used to his cage, he is afraid to be in other rooms of the house. He is jealous of other animals and Ray. He will bite you when you turn your back. He is very destructive. He has taken chunks out of the door frames and completely destroyed the folded doors on my utility room. He likes to get into the laundry and chew the buttons off of the clothes.
I buy him all kinds of toys, but he is constantly looking for something to do. Bird toys are not cheap and don't last very long.
He is so smart. He is like Houdini. He is a natural born escape artist. He unscrews the bolts that hold his cage together. He can open any kind of locking fixtures, short of pad locks.
All this said, I love Floyd. The more attention I give him, the smarter he gets. I believe that is why he says so much.
I was at the bird store one time and this man was there picking up his bird. He was so proud of his bird. He said it was 12 years old and could say 8 or 10 words. I was happy for him. Later at dinner, Ray and I started writing down the words that Floyd could say. I was surprised, we figured he could say 25 words and 3 sentences. Since then, Floyd has learned more words and more sentences. He also mixes words and sentences to make new sentences.
He whistles the Andy Griffiths song and sings Yanky Doodle. You can definately tell what he is singing, but it is not clearly pronounced. Sometimes he gets on this kick and thinks he is singing something. He goes on and on. His voice will quiver like an old man. The problem is, it doesn't sound like anything we sing and you can't understand the words. But... it is beautiful; and, I tell him so. I think he sings like this because he used to hear Tia singing all of the time.
When I come home from work or school, he will talk up a storm. He does everything to get my attention.
Floyd grabbed this bottle of beer and didn't want to let go. |
Floyd drinking Mountain Dew. He loves the stuff. I only let him have a little drink every now and then. |
I got Floyd in September of 2006. He was a little over three years old. He was born in May of 2003.
More pictures will be posted soon.
