Soji

Before we can discuss a specific bird with you, we ask that you follow our adoption process. Some birds are in foster homes that may adopt them, many other birds are waiting for our help and are not yet posted in PetFinders. The adoption coordinator in your area will work with you to find the best home for each bird, and a species and personality that works best for your family too. We want to set everyone up for success, especially our parrots. To get started, the adoption process includes completing our parrot match application and attending one of our core classes. You can find information about this process on our website at www.phoenixlanding.org/adopt. SOJI is a young 22 year old male sulphur crested cockatoo. He flies well, but he's mostly a hopper - he busily hops from perch to perch, or all over the aviary ground. Many cockatoos are natural ground feeders, but we have to be careful about this in our homes - as birds on the floor can easily get hurt or into trouble chasing people or other pets. If you think he's cool, and he thinks your cool too, he's receptive to a relationship. For everyone's comfort, it does not have to involve touching, he is good about stepping on a perch. Soji enjoys unshelled walnuts and pistachios as his big reward, Male cockatoos are generally boisterous, loud, high energy, and unpredictable. They need homes committed o understanding behavior (flock behavior, positive reinforcement, never try to snuggle, the ability to keep them BUSY, etc)? Cockatoos usually do best in a home with other birds (cockatoos preferably), so they don’t depend completely on people, and become dysfunctionally attached to you.  This is what leads to some problems (screaming, latching on and biting hard, etc).  Like all cockatoos and parrots, he also needs a home that is NOT interested in a cockatoo or parrot to snuggle. Some mistakenly believe cockatoos are naturally snuggly. Snuggling a cockatoo can lead to behavioral and physical problems, so they should not be pet anywhere other than their heads. (No petting down the back, under wings, etc. This is sexually stimulating and can lead to increased hormone production, decreasing the calcium in their bones, hyperactive egg laying, screaming, feather damaging behavior, cloacal/vent prolapse, or chasing/attacking other family members (because a pair bond is formed with an individual, and certain times of the year they want to go off my themselves to raise a family, so may attack other household members to drive them away)). Mammals like dogs or cats are better matches for homes interested in a companion animal with whom to snuggle. So, if you are obsessed with positive reinforcement training, enrichment, are high energy, want more than one bird, and are up for a challenge - male cockatoos are for you!  AREAS OF OPERATION: Phoenix Landing serves only Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, and northeast Florida. We do not ship birds. However, everyone is welcome and encouraged to join us for our online events. Parrots are unique and they deserve us to be informed caretakers. There are also many past event recordings available which you may find helpful. All event information can be found at www.phoenixlanding.org/events