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So I've been shadowing at an animal hospital and the vet who is the proprietor of the place own two cockatoos. They're held in separate cages and both have been mutilating themselves by ripping their feathers out from their chest. It's a really sad sight.
When I asked the exotic vet about it, she told me that it's due to hormones. I would believe it until after some observation realized that the birds don't receive any socialization or interaction. They're just left in their cages ... all day ... all night. Once in a while, someone will change their food and water. And they're kept in a room in the back, sqwuaking their heads off from time to time. The worst part of it all was that I first hand experienced the vet get angry that the bird was screaming so loud during our conversation that he took a cup full of cold water and threw the water at the bird. Then he said, "Let's hear you scream now." I don't understand why anyone would do this OR why you would even keep the animal if you didn't care for it. Yes, they were probably expensive, but goodness, why not just give it up to a rehab center where someone else can truly enjoy these birds?
I don't know - I've just been really bothered by all this. Sorry for the rant.
If this vet truly mistreats his parrots, he needs to rot in hell. It is NOT okay to keep these guys cooped up like that all day with no social interaction (though they really should be cooped up at night with an absolute min of 10 hrs of dark). I hope to goodness he does not make a living off of avian medicine, which involves a great deal of husbandry/behavioral counseling more than the medicine itself. This really is a common scenario for cockatoos (sad, but true), and once you're stuck owning one and you're not capable of providing proper care, it can be really hard. BUT I would NEVER EVER expect that from a veterinary professional. That is just not acceptable. (and "once in a while, their food/water gets changed." seriously???)
I will say that if you see cockatoos that self-mutilate, it's not always indicative of bad care (esp if they were acquired after they've started mutilating). It's also normal for them to scream for a certain duration of time everyday so screaming cockatoo doesn't necessarily always mean neglected parrot. And I'm not really sure what to make of the water throwing thing since I wasn't there... but depending on how he did it, it may/may not have been harmful since unlike a lot of animals, parrots love being sprayed with water (and given that their behavior is most like that of 2-3 year old toddlers... I don't think it's totally unreasonable to lose patience and snap once in a long while.). But if he did that with malice, he is a f***nugget that needs a slap in the face. The combination of all of those things (esp the no social interaction part) makes me think that you're probably right though. I get pissed when I hear about people who neglect their dogs, but neglecting cockatoos is a whole nother circle of hell for me.
I agree that these birds will probably have a better quality of life in maybe some rehab centers... but there really is an overabundance of cockatoos in sanctuaries/rescues. Even the best behaved and non-self-mutilating cockatoos are stuck at many rescues for years with no adoptive homes. The birds you describe are actually kind of lucky that they're at the clinic where people are constantly walking around at least. Many cockatoos like these in private homes end up in a dark closet/basement. They could just as easily been housed at the vet's home where they would be much more lonely.
