Abstract
The Cockatoo Society was founded by a group of people who are interested in the keeping of cockatoos, either as pets or as breeding birds. We are currently 330 members strong and growing.
Our motto is "Knowledge Breeds Success'.' Our aim is spreading all available information about cockatoos. We feel that everyone should be aware of as much information as possible before they obtain a cockatoo.
Cockatoos are not available in unlimited numbers in the wild and we believe that the only way some of these birds will be preserved is by captive breeding. Now is the time to start. To facilitate this, we are starting stud books on some species of cockatoos. It may be that large numbers of these birds are currently being bred. However with a life span of 70 years it would be too easy to inbreed by accident in the future. It's easy to say the chances of getting a bird back that you sold 20 years ago are very small, but such things do happen. We recommend the closed banding of all cockatoos raised.
The Cockatoo Society conducts an annual registry to which we ask all of our members to contribute. No records are kept as to who has what birds. We are just interested in the total number of birds kept and bred. We feel that all information may be of interest when we know the right questions to ask. We do have a lot of questions for which we need answers.
We are just starting to understand what and how diseases operate in cockatoos. What is cockatoo syndrome? Is it one or more diseases? Or is it a lethal gene? What part does stress play in cockatoos getting cockatoo syndrome? Or is it possibly the result of slow metal poisoning, or is it diet? We just don't know. All we do know is that the powder down feathers go first, followed by the crest feathers and the beak. There are no cures, only the loss of loved birds.
If you have cockatoos or just want to learn more about them, you will enjoy belonging to the Cockatoo Society and receiving its bi-monthly journal. For further information write Cockatoo Society, 26961 N. Broadway, Escondido, CA 92026 or call (619) 749-3115. •