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This is a true story about a little Goffins cockatoo. Her name is Aggie Maggie.

Goffins Cockatoo photographed above. - NOT the Goffins in the following story.( The Goffins cockatoo in the following story was not one of our cockatoos at CKC Birds)

She was hand reared by her breeder who then sold her to a pet shop, who sold her to a nice elderly couple who had no idea.

She was kept in a cage which was too small and provided with no toys which she could destroy. After all, toys are expensive right? Why put something in the cage which will be ruined in a week? Nice acrylic toys always look nice. But nobody told them that Aggie Maggie NEEDED to chew and destroy wood.

When Aggie Maggie screamed, she was told to be quiet. Nobody told her owners that parrots need to make a noise at least a couple of times a day. They went out during the day and left a radio on for her.

When they came home, she screamed her joy at her flock mates returning. She was covered up to keep her quiet.

She was fed the nasty sunflower laden seed mix that was sold in the nearest pet shop, plus a bit of apple now and again, or perhaps a little raw cauliflower and a roast potato or french fry.

They loved little Aggie Maggie and were horrified when she began to pull her own feathers out. They loved her though and took her to an 'avian' vet.

See our page Avian Vets - What this terminology actually means and Who Do You Choose?

Instead of suggesting things to enrich her life, the vet put her under anaesthetic and fitted a coller to her. So now, she was not allowed to make a noise, was left alone all day, had no toys to play with and couldn't even preen the feathers she had left.

After a couple of weeks, the owners decided to take the collar off, so she was put under anaesthetic again and it was removed. Very quickly,seeing as nothing had changed in her life, she started to pluck again, then chew holes in her chest. She was taken to the vet, stitched up and a collar put on. This went on for years, the stitching up, the collar on, then off then on again until finally she was put on prozac.

When she was 12 years old, the lady owner died. The elderly gentleman was grief stricken. He grieved.

Nobody noticed Aggie Maggie grieving too. Not only was she grieving, but nobody paid her any attention at all. The old man had no time for her.

Eventually, the daughter of the old man found my details on the internet and I received an email asking if I could help Aggie Maggie.

Some phone calls later she arrived. In a cat basket, with her bottle of prozac.

After watching her and assessing her for a couple of days, I decided to take her off the prozac. All she did was sleep or eat or nibble her chest.She took no interest in toys or the other birds.

So I placed her into a huge cage, right next to a window in the living room where my own pets live. I filled the cage with toys, so many that if she wanted to get from one side to the other she had to move a toy.Within 2 weeks of living here, Aggie Maggie stopped chewing her chest.

  ;

So what was different?

The large cage, the light, the noise, the colour in her life now.

It took a further 2 weeks before she made any noise. The first time she gave a tentative scream I praised her. She can see my Umbrella cockatoo and hear her yell.

She gets a fortified low sunflower seed mix to eat which she seems to enjoy. She will still not eat any vegetables no matter how they are prepared. She simply flings them out of her pot onto the floor in disgust.

Her name was not Aggie Maggie when she arrived. I changed it.

You see, 'Rosie' (her old name) plucked and mutilated. Aggie Maggie doesn't.

Rosie was left alone and told to be quiet, Rosie was not spray misted daily, nor was she fed properly. Rosie was adored by her previous owners, but sadly, they didn't adore her enough to do any serious research into what a parrot needs either before, nor after they bought her, and because of this, they did all they could to stop her behaving like a parrot. They loved her, but were causing her great misery and confusion.

Simply put 'Love is not enough'.

Aggie Maggie will stay with me forever now as I simply cannot risk rehoming her in case she starts to mutilate again. Eventually I will find a cage mate for her as I do not believe in birds living alone. It will NOT be a male Goffins, it will probably not be a Goffins or any kind of cockatoo at all, it will be something quiet who will teach her the joy of mutual preening and the fun of seeing who can eat the most baby corn or make the most noise.

People, before buying a cockatoo or parrot of any kind, spend several months doing some research. And I mean a bit more than simply deciding what species you want.

Since receiving this information about Aggie Maggie in late 2004, we have (CKC Birds) recently been informed that Aggie Maggie was put to sleep because her keeper could not cope.

The above passage was originally sent to us by Aggie Maggie's keeper.

Nothing ever gives us the right to take a life under circumstances such as these.

Most of us who think we are doing the 'right thing' - are we really?

Love IS NOT enough.

Visit our page: Feather Plucking in Cockatoos

We have no idea who the 'avian vet' in this story actually was, but please read our page linked above about avian vets and how you determine an 'avian vet' or 'avian specialist'.