Cockatoos are hardy birds and rarely get sick. Even if they do, it can sometimes be hard to tell as they continue to act normal. But with a little education, early detection, and good care, the chances of recovery are excellent.
The body of the cockatoo is similar to the body of any mammal. Cockatoos and mammals have skin, skeletons, respiratory, digestive, cardiovascular, excretory, and nervous systems, as well as sensory organs. Let’s take a brief look at how these systems work together.
The cockatoo’s skin is hard to see under all the feathers, but if you gently part the feathers, you will see thin, almost translucent skin underneath. Birds do not have sweat pads, so they have to cool off by holding their wings slightly open and their beaks open. Make sure you never leave your cockatoo out in the hot sun as they can overheat very quickly and if they get heat stroke they will need veterinary attention.
Birds are the only animals that have feathers. Feathers serve many purposes. They help birds fly, keep them warm, attract the attention of potential mates, and birds also use their feathers to ward off predators. A cockatoo has between 5,000 and 6,000 feathers on its body. Cockatoos have different types of feathers: contour feathers, down feathers, demi-feathers, and flight feathers. Cockatoos keep their feathers in good condition by spending a lot of time fluffing and preening. If it looks like your cockatoo is nipping at the base of its feathers, it is actually extracting oil from the preen gland and spreading it across its feathers.
Birds have bones, but did you know that some bird bones are hollow? This helps make the bird lighter to allow it to fly. Cockatoos also have air sacs in some of their bones for added buoyancy in flight. Parrots also have ten neck vertebrae compared to seven in humans. This allows a parrot to turn its head 180 degrees. This allows the cockatoos to detect food or predators in the wild.
The cockatoo has a very efficient respiratory and cardiovascular system. The digestive system of cockatoos is very efficient at producing fuel from their food. The body temperature of the cockatoo is higher than that of humans. Its digestion begins with a highly effective beak that breaks down hard seeds into little nutty crackers. A cockatoo does not have saliva to break down food like we do and most of the digestive juices are found in its crop. Unlike mammals, birds do not have a bladder or urethra.
The cockatoo’s sense of taste is not good, and they taste food on the palate and not on the tongue. Cockatoos have excellent vision and see color. They cannot rotate their eyes, but they do have necks that help them see fully. Their sense of hearing is good, but they cannot hear very high or very low tones as well as humans. A cockatoo’s sense of smell is not well developed, but they do have a good sense of touch using their beaks and feet for this purpose.
For more information on how the cockatiel is made up, visit: http://cockatielsaspets.com.