Know before you bring one home
Meet the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo.
A large, bold, brilliant cockatoo that can outlive its owner by decades and dismantle a room in an afternoon. Wonderful in an aviary with an experienced keeper; very often a welfare problem in an ordinary house.
Daily life
Personality, housing & routine.
A safe enclosure is the starting point, not the bird’s entire world.
Personality
Confident, intelligent, playful and physically formidable. Sulphur-cresteds are natural performers and quick learners, and they apply that intelligence to destruction and escape with equal enthusiasm.
Cage size & type
A purpose-built enclosure of at least 180 × 120 × 200 cm, or a walk-in aviary. Bar spacing 25–38 mm in heavy-gauge stainless steel with locking clasps. Standard cages do not contain this species for long.
Perches, toys & setup
Very heavy natural-branch perches (40–60 mm) replaced as destroyed, plus daily destructible hardwood in quantity. This beak destroys furniture, skirting boards, window frames and cabinetry given the chance.
Time & social needs
4–6 hours out of the cage daily, supervised, with real exercise and a structured enrichment routine.
Exercise & enrichment
Continuous destruction and foraging. Supply more wood than you think is reasonable; it is the cheapest behavioural medicine available.
Noise & neighbours
Among the loudest of all parrots — a screech that carries across a suburb and is painful at close range. Screaming at dawn and dusk is instinctive. Entirely unsuitable for flats, townhouses, semi-detached homes or estates with noise rules.
Sleep
Provide 10–12 hours of quiet, uninterrupted darkness on a predictable schedule. Sleep-deprived parrots become irritable, scream more and are more likely to pluck. A full 12-hour night reduces hormonal screaming markedly.
Household safety
PTFE and non-stick fumes — pans, air fryers, self-cleaning ovens, some heaters and hair dryers — kill birds within minutes and are the most common preventable household death. Never house a bird in or near the kitchen. Also keep away from scented candles, incense, air fresheners, aerosols, cleaning sprays, pesticides, cigarette and vape smoke, ceiling fans, open water, hot pots, open windows and doors, electrical cables, toxic houseplants, and zinc or lead sources such as galvanised wire, costume jewellery and old paint. A cat scratch or bite is a medical emergency — cat saliva carries Pasteurella, which is usually fatal without immediate antibiotics.
Behaviour & warning signs
Limit petting to the head and neck only; body stroking produces sexually frustrated, screaming, plucking birds and, in hand-reared hens, can contribute to cloacal prolapse. Watch for a raised crest with a rigid stance and a lowered head — this precedes a serious bite. Feather-destructive behaviour is common in under-stimulated birds.
Important: Use positive reinforcement only. Never hit, shout at, squirt, drop or “beak-flick” a bird for biting or vocalising — punishment reliably makes both worse. Parrots are prey animals: they hide illness and they bite because a warning signal was missed, not out of spite. Learn your bird’s body language and the biting mostly stops.
Nutrition
Build health in the bowl.
A seed-only diet is the most common cause of premature death in pet parrots. Every species below needs a formulated base, daily fresh vegetables and measured portions — change any diet gradually, with an avian vet’s guidance.
What to feed
- A low to moderate fat complete cockatoo pellet as the foundation.
- A large daily volume of vegetables and leafy greens — the bulk of the fresh food.
- Sprouted seed, cooked legumes and whole grains in measured portions.
- Limited fruit and very limited nuts.
- A cuttlebone and clean fresh water daily.
AVI Plus Complete Diet MaintenanceComplete formulated maintenance food.
Nature’s Nest Avian CompleteVet-formulated complete daily nutrition.
What NOT to feed
NEVER SHARE FOOD FROM YOUR MOUTH OR PLATE
- Sunflower-based seed mixes as a staple.
- Avocado — every part of the plant, including guacamole.
- Chocolate and cocoa.
- Caffeine, alcohol and xylitol (sugar-free sweetener).
- Onion, garlic, chives and leeks.
- Fruit pips and stones: apple, pear, cherry, apricot, peach and plum.
- Raw or dried beans — all legumes must be thoroughly cooked.
- Rhubarb leaves.
- Salty, sugary, fried or processed human food.
- Dairy in more than a trace — birds cannot digest lactose.
- Mouldy or fermenting food, including fruit left in the bowl.
- Anything from your mouth, plate or fork — human saliva carries bacteria that kill birds.
- Grit. Parrots husk their own seed and grit can cause fatal impaction.
- Human medicines or supplements unless prescribed by an avian vet.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo-specific: Serve most of the ration through foraging devices. Sulphur-cresteds gain weight easily in captivity and a lean, busy bird is a quieter and healthier one. Portions, hygiene and change: Measure food rather than filling a bowl to the brim, and weigh your bird weekly on a gram scale — appetite is a poor guide, weight is not. Remove fresh food after two to three hours in warm weather; bacteria in a warm bowl cause more illness than most owners realise. Wash bowls daily in hot soapy water. Change any diet gradually over several weeks under an avian vet’s guidance — a bird that stops eating during a rushed pellet conversion can die in 48 hours.
Health & veterinary care
Birds hide illness. Act early.
PBFD (psittacine beak and feather disease) has cockatoos as its classic host and is untreatable — screening matters. Also watch for feather-destructive behaviour, obesity, cloacal prolapse in hormonal hand-reared birds, and respiratory irritation from heavy powder down.
Recommended specialist
Bryanston Avian, Exotic & Small Animals Clinic
99 Grosvenor Road, Bryanston, Johannesburg
011 706 1381 · WhatsApp 061 533 9950
info@baesac.co.za · baesac.co.za
Arrange an avian-vet examination within the first week after purchase, and weigh your bird weekly on a gram scale. Not every vet treats birds — find your nearest avian-experienced practice before you need one, and save the number.
Seek avian-vet help urgently for:
- Difficulty or open-mouth breathing
- Pronounced tail bobbing at rest
- Fluffed, quiet and sitting on the cage floor
- Collapse or severe weakness
- Bleeding that does not stop, including a broken blood feather
- Seizures or loss of balance
- Repeated vomiting or regurgitation
- Not eating, or noticeable weight loss
- Straining, a swollen abdomen, or a hen unable to pass an egg
- Sudden major change in droppings
- Any contact with a cat or dog, even a minor scratch
- Suspected poisoning, fumes or trauma
- Pink tissue protruding from the vent — cloacal prolapse is an emergency
- Progressive feather loss and beak deformity — have the bird screened for PBFD
Before you buy
Ask the seller for the hatch date, the closed ring number, a DNA sex certificate and any disease screening already done. A seller who cannot answer those questions, or who will not let you watch the bird eat, is a seller to walk away from. Ask what the bird is currently eating, so you can keep it stable for the first fortnight.
Your first month
Book a wellness examination in the first week, not just when something looks wrong. Quarantine a new bird for 30–45 days away from any birds you already keep, ideally in separate air space. Recommended screening: psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD), psittacosis (Chlamydia psittaci), polyomavirus and avian bornavirus.
Ongoing & human health
Annual check-ups, moving to twice yearly for larger species over ten. Wing clipping is not routine care — discuss it first, because flight builds fitness, balance and confidence. Psittacosis passes to people as a flu-like illness or pneumonia: if you develop unexplained respiratory symptoms, tell your doctor you keep birds.
Is this your bird?
Who this species suits.
Being honest about this before you buy is the kindest thing you can do for a parrot.
First-time owners
No. This is an expert-only species in a domestic setting.
Experienced owners
Only with aviary-scale housing, a detached property, and a succession plan for a bird that may live seventy years.
Families & children
Not for households with young children. The bite is capable of severing a finger and the noise is beyond most family tolerance.
Whatever your experience: buy from a seller who lets you meet the bird, answers questions about diet and hatch date, and takes the bird back if things go wrong. Ask about adoption too — rescues and sanctuaries are full of the species on this list, and an adult bird’s temperament is already known.
The commitment
Can you provide a good life?
“A happy bird isn’t just loved — it is understood, fed properly, kept safe and cared for every single day.”
I have aviary-scale housing, not a cage in a lounge.
My property is detached and my neighbours accept the noise.
I can supply large quantities of destructible wood every week.
I have a written succession plan for a seventy-year lifespan.
If several answers are “No”, this is not the right bird for you — and walking away is a good outcome, not a failure.
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