Taming a wild caught Goffin Cockatoo

A friend of mine has had Goffin Cockatoo living in his basement for the last 5 years with no human interaction. I pretty much demanded I take him as I can provide a much better environment for him. The problem is that he is wild caught but I like to try to tame him. Right now, he has been sharing a room with my cockatiel, which was a hand fed baby and is very social. Would someone please give me advice on how to begin the process of gaining his trust and taming him.

Well, this is a very noble and generous gesture of yours! Thank you on behalf of the poor bird! It's also a huge and long-termed commitment that will imply a lot of work with very little to show for a long time. Wild-caught birds are mean, mean, mean and noisy, noisy, noisy. They simply don't like humans and who can blame them? And they are noisy because they learned to vocalize in the wild, in the middle of a large flock. Nothing like hand-fed birds, I assure you. I hope you have a birdroom where he can be cage-free because wild-caughts don't do well in cages, not even for a couple of hours, and toos are very, very destructive animals (they will chew not only furniture but walls and floors, too ). I would start by making an appointment with your avian vet for a complete physical because, obviously, birds are not meant to live in a basement and he has to be, at least, 17 years old, if not older. just letting him be himself and setting yourself up as the provider of food. Once he gets a clean bill of health, start by gaining his trust and then start thinking about taming him. No use even trying now, it won't do you any good, it takes a long, long time to gain the trust of a wild caught that has been neglected and/or abused as this bird has been and that is the first step toward any kind of a relationship with him. Get him used to your presence to the point that he doesn't try to put distance between you and him and, when this happens, start offering him treats from your hand. Once he starts taking them, start training him to step on a stick and take if from there.

A word of caution, go into this with your eyes wide open. You might be able to have some kind of a relationship with him but it will never be anything that resembles the kind that people have with hand-fed birds so don't expect a miracle. But what you are doing is great and you might well be saving this poor animal's life so kudos to you!

I figure it will take years for him to be able to feel somewhat trustful of me. He watches how the cockatiel interacts with me but I don't know if this will help. Whenever I enter the room he shakes like a leaf and I feel terrible. If I could take him back to where he was caught, I certainly would. I would love release him to his native land as I think capturing live birds should be outlawed. But Iam where Iam.

I've given him a few weeks of me not bothering him and he seems much happier in his new environment. He makes a little noise at dawn but there has been no screaming as my friend warned me about. He said he screams every day but he hasn't exhibited any of that. Lately I've been more assertive trying to give him peanuts with my hand and as expected he wants nothing to do with me.

No, I would assume he doesn't want to have anything to do with you but he will, eventually, trust you. He will never be a cuddly bird but he will accept you and trust you. In time. Because don't forget that he is not only wild-caught, he also has no reason to trust humans after your friend's neglect and almost abuse of him.

Toos only vocalize when they feel comfortable. Vocalizing in an environment where they don't feel safe is tantamount to suicide in the wild and these are smart birds so he won't be making a peep until he feels he is safe. Don't forget to offer him a wide variety of veggies and fruits, wild caughts are excellent eaters and he will only benefit from a good diet (a sick or weak bird is not a happy bird). And the surest way to gain a bird's heart is through his stomach (or maybe I should say proventriculus )

Again, kudos to you for doing this for this poor bird! My hat off to you!

Don't be so hasty in thinking your wild 'too will never trust you or be cuddly. I acquired a 15-yr old Goffin on July 31, 2008. The only history I know of is that a few months prior he had been kept in a dark closet most of the time to shut him up. When I met Casey, he was scared, naked and totally alone in his cage-no toys-and all of the cage doors had padlocks on them. Of course I fell in love!

After 5 months we are inseparable. He is most comfortable sitting on my shoulder where we can play or he can feed me (he loves giving me food). He is now covered with the softest down and hopefully he will grow some feathers. He also has become more sociable with friends that visit...willingly (and sometimes demandingly) wanting to be held by everyone in the room.

The best advice I can give you is to move your Goffin into the room you are in most often. Let him see that you are a non-threatening constant presence and that you are the one that provides the food. Sit near his cage and talk to him in a low voice without trying to touch him. Eventually he will learn that you can be trusted. I have 2 lovebirds that Casey watches me interact with and I think that helps too, but don't forget that although they are all birds they are different species so they probably won't all get along. I wouldn't recommend trying to get him to get up on a stick. I don't know about all birds, but mine is terrified by sticks.

I have a ton of scratches on me. I have to vacuum up bird seed and feather fluff every day. I've had to replace curtains and picture frames and tv remotes and put up with biting for a few months. Is it worth it? You betcha! Casey is the most loving creature I've ever owned. Ok, he owns me and that's just fine.

Please don't give up on your Goffin. The rewards will be greater than you can ever expect.

Cybertoe, there is a huge difference between handraised and wild caught. A handraised bird that has been neglected or abused can revert and learn to trust and love humans again if treated right but a wild-caught is another story altogether and they will never be cuddly or affectionate with a human regardless of how much time, patience and love you put into it.