The Basics:

The Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo is an extremely hardy and adaptable bird that thrives in captivity. This is evidenced by its incredibly long lifespan. A very intelligent bird, the Sulfur-Crested must stay active to be happy, and it likes to move around quite a bit. This bird is a quick learner and will develop a good vocabulary as a talker.

Cage:

As befits an active bird, the Greater Sulfur-Crested needs a spacious cage. Ideally, the cage should be 32” long by 32” wide by 36” high. Locks should be used to prevent escapes. Space between the cage bars should be no more than 1”. A cage should also be very strong to stand up to the power of the Greater Sulfur-Crested’s beak.

CAUTION

In most cases, more space is more desirable for birds. However, when increasing the size of a Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo’s cage, the bird’s human companion must be careful to maintain a safe (narrow) space between the bars. The bars of a cage have to be narrow enough to prevent a bird from sticking his head in between. Bars that are spaced too far apart for the bird’s size can result in serious and even fatal injuries.

Positioning The Cage:

A Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo’s cage should be positioned in areas where there is plenty of family activity to keep this intelligent parrot mentally stimulated. However, the cage should also offer enough privacy to provide the bird with a sense of security. So, it isn’t a good idea to put the cage in the middle of a room, or by a heavily traveled walkway. Instead, it should be in an alcove or in an area that has a wall on one or two sides of the cage. As a good rule of thumb, no family member should be able to walk all the way around the cage. The cage should offer him a private secluded area. For the sake of the bird’s health, his cage should never be in drafts or direct sunlight.

If there is a lot of night-time activity in the room that houses the cage, such as a TV going after 9 pm, the greater sulfur should be provided with a small sleeping cage in another, quieter room. Another alternative is to have a cage on wheels, so it can be moved to a quiet area at night. It is critically important that the bird be provided with at least 10-12 hours of quiet undisturbed sleep time each night.  The cage can be covered at night. This cover should be washed weekly, since it will accumulate feather dust. A Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo’s cage should never be placed in the kitchen, since fumes from cooking can prove fatal. The cage should also never be placed in direct sunlight or draft.

Playthings:

Keep plenty of sturdy wooden chew toys in the cage, since Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos are enthusiastic chewers that love to work things over with their beaks. All toys should be made for large parrots for safety, and should be inspected daily so they can be removed if dangerous. Toys should also be cleaned on a regular basis, and rotated in and out of the cage to keep them fresh and interesting. Being natural clowns, many Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoos enjoy swings.

Perches:

A Greater Sulfur-Crested needs to have a variety of different perches at least 9” long with different diameters in her cage. (All the diameters should be around 1”.)  Because this is a heavy bird, perches need to be well anchored at the side or span the entire width of the cage.  The perches serve many important purposes. In addition to providing the bird with an area for standing, they help keep his beak and nails trim Natural wood perches not only provide a perch, but also a safe thing to chew on. In addition to perches, cockatoos should also be provided with toys made from wood or other materials that can be safely chewed. A perch should be placed in front of, but not above, food and water dishes.

Play Time Outside The Cage:

Ideally, Greater Sulfur-Cresteds should spend the majority of the day outside of their cage, interacting with their owners. Their wings should be clipped by a professional and checked regularly. Play gyms are important since the birds will be spending ample time outside of their cage, but still need to remain entertained and amused. Even outside of a cage, these birds still require many toys and activities to keep them occupied.

Grooming:

Consult veterinarian or literature about trimming nails and possibly flight feathers.

Bathing:

Provide a shallow bowl of chlorine-free water for supervised bathing. Use chlorine-free water when misting bird too. Bath and mist water must be lukewarm to room temperature. Avoid drafts. Remove bath bowl when finished. A lukewarm bath or shower on a regular basis will contribute to a Greater Sulfur-Crested Cockatoo’s health and well-being.

Diet:

Pellets should make up 65-80% of a Greater Sullfers diet. Fresh and washed vegetables should make up 15-30%, and fresh fruits less than 5%. Fruits and vegetables should be rinsed, dried and cut into appropriately sized pieces before being offered to this bird. Seeds, grains and treats can only be offered on rare occasions. Food should be offered to the bird  two to three times a day. Provide additional calcium i.e. cuttlebone during egg laying. Fresh chlorine-free water should be made available at all times. On average Cockatoos will consume about 10 to 15 teaspoons of water daily.

 A Note About Water:

All water given to birds for drinking, as well as water used for misting, soaking or bathing must be 100% free of chlorine and heavy metals.  (Not all home water filtration systems remove 100% of the chlorine and heavy metals from tap water, so check your system's specifications before using it to filter water for your pet.) We recommend that you use unflavored bottled drinking water or bottled natural spring water and never untreated tap water. Do not use distilled water, which can cause severe medical problems, since it lacks minerals that are essential to important body functions.