Notes from the Aviary . ..

Breeding the Goffin's Cockatoo(Cacatua goffini)

by James J. Murphy, White Mountain Bird Farm, Graham, Washington

I was first captivated by this smallwhite cockatoo in the late 1970swhile attempting to gain someinsight into their social behavior.This modest beginning left an indel­ible mark. I was amazed at what Iobserved in these birds and decidedto make the Goffin's Cockatoo a longterm project.

This little cockatoo is slightly sex­ually dimorphic. The iris of themature male remains the juvenileblack, while the adult female has areddish brown iris. In addition, themandibles of the male are noticeablylarger than those of the hen. Thelarger mandibles of the male arenoticeable at only a few months ofage.

Although Goffin's Cockatoos arestill imported in large numbers, theirsmall island habitat is being rapidlyaltered by humans and their chainsaws. The remaining natural habitaton the Tanimbar Islands, north ofAustralia, is rapidly diminishing.Captive propagation is the only wayto ensure their continued long termsurvival.

The following information is notmeant to establish a standard butrather a description of some of whatwe have done and observed over thepast dozen years.

The little Goffin's Cockatoo hasfrustrated many accomplished avicul­turists attempting to breed them. Aswith many difficult to breed species,the problems are often buried deepin the evolutionary social structure ofthe species. Without the minimalexpression of critical social patterns,reproduction is often nil. This verycomplex and controversial arena isoften, understandably, ignored orglossed over by many top zoologicalfacilities.

In an effort to gain some insight inthis lack of success, I placed fourpairs in a large flight cage. All eightbirds were surgically sexed to deter­mine levels of maturity, as well asconfirmation of their gender. All thebirds were color marked with foodcoloring for individual identification.A remote video camera was used tomonitor their behavior.

Metal lined, I-shaped nest boxes a14e attached at the outside rear ofeach breedingcage with inspection do0 14S for easy nest checking.

The author's cockatoo breeding cages, 3 feet x 3 feet x 6 feet, are elevated three feetoffthe ground.

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The video taping prompted morequestions than it answered. Manyobservations were quite perplexingand are not the direct subject of thisarticle. The video taping confirmedwell developed social patterns thatare the subject of a much more de­tailed study than will be presentedhere. Other behavior patterns, how­ever, are incorporated below.

Of avicultural interest, it is worthnoting that the birds chose mates oftheir own age-class. The oldest malebonded with the oldest female, theyoungest male with the youngestfemale, etc. The sample size here istoo small statistically, to be valid;however, the implications are worthnoting.

In the first year, as the season pro­gressed and pair bonds strengthened,the dominant or alpha pair eventuallydrove the next most dominant pair'smale to the floor of the cage. At thispoint, the dominating pair wasremoved from the communal flightand put into a separate breedingflight.

With the alpha or original domi­nant pair removed, the next mostdominant male and mate became thenew' 'alpha pair" at the top of thepecking order and the cycle began allover again, until only the youngest(and lowest ranking) pair was left inthe cage.

Establishing a real pair-bond is, inmy opinion, a leading factor in repro­ductive success. Simply placing anymale with any female is very chancyand likely to lead to failure. Allowingthe birds to choose their own mate iscrucial. Direct observation or video­monitoring is the best method forassessing the development of thepair-bond. A bonded pair sit closetogether, engage in mutual head andvent preening. Non-reproductivecopulation is frequent.

Breeding ManagementAll the Goffin's Cockatoo pairs

were placed in 3 ft. x 3 ft. x 6 ft.cages elevated three feet off theground. Dark, metal-lined, i-shapednest boxes with inspection doorswere placed outside and to the rearof each cage. The nesting chamberscontained two inches of white pinechips mixed with poultry dustingpowder for insect and mite control.

Each elevated breeding cage waslocated outside but sheltered fromthe wind, with rain protection overthe nest box, perches and food

38 December/January 1992

bowls. Overhead protection was notcomplete, because the Goffin's Cock­atoo, like the rest of their kind, loveto hang upside down on the top wireand shower in the rain, be it in thecold winter or warm summer.

Few of these small, intelligent birdshave been captive bred and little pub­lished information on successfulbreeding is available. Therefore, Iwas quite unaware that prevailingwisdom stongly advised againstallowing the breeding pairs to havevisual contact with each other.

Ignorant of this position, I placedall the Goffin's pairs within easy sightand sound of each other. I reasonedthat island birds competing for a verylimited resource (nesting holes)would evolve a tolerance of, and per­haps even benefit from, the stimula­tion of others as the breeding seasondrew near.

I must clarify that there is a crucialdifference between a stimulating,neighboring pair, and pairs crowdedtoo close together. Crowded pairsthat have their nesting territory spacecontinuously violated by the pres­ence of others are unlikely to go tonest at all, and may well be respons­ible for the male mauling the female.

Direct and video observationsclearly indicated flock excitementand simultaneous nest site defensedisplays among the pairs. On moonlitnights, the Goffin's Cockatoosbecame very active, flying back andforth between perches, landing withwings spread and crest up, uttering asharp, two note call that resembledthat of the red-tailed hawk.

Here in the mild climate of westernWashington, the Goffin's Cockatoosare kept outside all year around. Dur­ing the dozen or so days of freezingweather at night, all the hangingwater bottles are removed each eve­ning to avoid freezing and breaking.The bottles are replaced in their origi­nal cages at dawn the next morning.

Most of the Goffin's Cockatoossleep in their cozy nest boxes atnight. However, on a moonlit night,even in sub-freezing weather, all thecockatoos are out, flying about,squawking well into the night.

In this part of the country, Goffin'sCockatoos kept outside will breedfrom February to June. An occasionallate summer and early winter breed­ing will occur.

Feeding RegimeThe Goffin's are fed a mixture of

seed, soaked field corn, and soakedHi-Pro dog food. The dog food issoaked to soften it and make it moreabsorbent. Horse grade wheat germoil is added to the dog food. Thisproduct adds the much needed vita­mins A, 03 and E. Dry vitamin E, seakelp and Brewer's yeast are alsoadded.

A parakeet-type seed mix makes upthe bulk of the diet. Soaked corn (tothe point of germination) is added inthe fall to fatten the flock in prepara­tion for cooler weather. Oil seeds(sunflower or safflower seeds) areadded liberally when the coldestnights are forecast. Fruits, greens,and fresh grass seed heads are fedwhen in season. Corn-on-the-cob isnever refused.

Second GenerationIn 1985, we held back one female,

named Ivory, for second generationbreeding. She was kept as a housepet for the first winter. During thisperiod, she was potty trained,learned to come when called andbegan talking. This heavy humansocialization may yet prove adetriment.

In her third year, she came into alow level of breeding condition. Hercage sat next to the cage of a tame,young wild-caught male. I placed herin with the interested male, leavingthe cage door open so she couldleave if she became uncomfortable.Ivory would fly to the perch next tohim and solicit with the bowing pos­ture and outstretched wings, vocaliz­ing the single syllable' 'Utt ... utt"call of an inviting female. After a fewmoments, she would fly back to myarm, only to repeat this process sev­eral times. All was well as long as Iremained close by. If I attempted toleave, Ivory would abandon thecourtship and fly to my shoulder.

I went through this process everynight for a week or so while sheremained in breeding condition.When the hormones subsided, shediscontinued solicitation. However,she still passed her toys through thecage wires to her "boyfriend" in thenext cage.

This spring, at the age offour years,Ivory will go out to the breedingcolony and be placed in her own newpen for her first real attempt at the allimportant task of passing her genesdown to the next generation.

Cautious of the above implications,in 1987 we kept back an unrelated

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the pasture, intent on enforcing hissingle rule of allowing no unwel­comed two- or four-footed critter toremain within sight or sound of histerritory. She quickly overtook theracing hound and slapped him on theback of the head as she sailed by. Thedog was not impressed and pursuedhis quarry with the singlemindednessof his kind.

Ivory has been free flying for nearlyfour years now, and never leaves themain farm building area. If I shouldwalk too far out into the pasture, shewill abandon my company and flyqUickly back to her favorite tree or tothe house.

The mimicking ability of theGoffin's is quite variable (as withmost species). Ivory speaks only afew words and phrases. However,her sister, two years her junior,speaks with amazing talent. Wordsand phrases heard only once areoften qUickly repeated. Their voicesare high and soft, but quite articulate.

Their downfall has to be theirimmense capacity to be spoiled anddemanding. Most owners find them­selves well trained (before they knowit) within a few weeks of "owner­ship:' •

pair of domestic babies. The young­sters are socialized with daily, butkept together next to other Goffin'sCockatoos to avoid any negativeimprinting that my occur incockatoos.

MiscellaneaDue to the careful monitoring of

the pair-bond formation, and reason­able spacing of the breeding cages,we have never had any mauling ormutilation among the pairs.

Any over-active preener is givenadditional fresh fruit tree twigs tooccupy themselves.

In 1987, four out of seven eligiblepairs clutched successfully and onepair triple-clutched. One pair laid athree egg clutch. All breeding pairswere within full sight and sound ofeach other. Although the seasonstretched on, all nestings were over­lapped with one another.

Each pair has their own set of toysto entertain themselves. Here, wespare no expense. Canning jar lids,cleaned stones and apple treebranches are enjoyed. All favoreditems end up in the food bowl forsafe keeping. (Amazons also storetheir favorite items in the food bowl.)

Egg weights were 15.2 to 16.4grams. Hatch weights were 10.8 to12.2 grams.

Pet QualityDomestic Goffin's Cockatoos can

best be described as the moral equiv­alent of monkeys. Their great intelli­gence, charm and perpetually curi­ous nature makes them a one-birdentertainment center.

Ivory, mentioned above, free-fliesoutside. She will swoop down fromthe tops of the tallest trees oncommand and loves to dive-bomb thebantam roosters.

Her energy for play seems bound­less, and her playmates are quiteunusual. Ivory plays with our Shi-Tzuhouse dog on the lawn. Ivory rollsover on her back and allows theshaggy but gentle dog to drag herabout by her tail, on her back. WhenIvory would tire of this game, shewould simply fly off, only to fly backand dive-bomb the dog again, inanother invitation to play.

Ivory has invented her own versionof the age-old children's game of"tag:' She darts by her intendedvictim and slaps him or her with herwing tips. This is her invitation toplay. I once observed her dart afterthe big male Doberman racing across

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