Hatch Date: 1994

Sam is a sweet female Lesser Sulphur Crested Cockatoo.YELLOW CRESTED COCKATOOS ARE ENDANGERED AND AS SUCH CAN ONLY BE ADOPTED OUT TO A HOME IN NEW JERSEY. THEY CANNOT CROSS STATE LINES. 

She is 25 years old and lived in the same home her entire life. Sadly, her previous owner passed away and she is now in search of a new loving home. 

Sam says "Hi Sam" in a very sweet voice. She is hesitant to step up, but solicits head scratches and loves interaction.  She loves coming out of her cage and hanging out on the perch on top. Or when someone is in the room with her, she will climb down the door to get closer, and hopefully get a head scratch.

Sam was on a seed diet in her previous home, at least since her previous owner died a year ago. Her foster mom immediately put her on a pellet diet of zupreem natural which she ate from day one. No more seeds for this girl. Sam doesn't seem to know what to make of fresh veggies and fruit yet, so we are working on getting her to explore different foods. She dug right into the pasta and veggies for dinner tonight. 

Sam went to the vet last week for a physical exam and a complete blood workup. All of her tests came back with healthy levels. The vet said she must have been on a good diet her entire life until her owner passed away. Her body condition is good and she is a healthy weight for her size and species. 

Sam had only one plastic toy in her cage when she came to For The Love of Birds. She now how several shreddable toys and is enjoying destroying them. At first she didn't seem to know what to make of the toys. But now she digs right in when a new toy is placed in her cage. She likes several different shreddable toys and is learning to forage too. Sam is a quick learner.

Sam does suffer from anxiety and displays stereotypical behavior. That is she continuously steps up and down and up and down for now productive reason. She doesn't do this all of the time, but does do so for a little while daily. She also chews on her wing feathers and is a little plucked on her chest. She hasn't plucked any feathers since being in her foster home, but she has chewed on wing feathers. We are hoping that as she becomes more engaged with her toys, she will stop chewing on her own feathers. We have just started her on a natural calming supplement and will see if this helps to calm her down. 

Sam is being fostered in Howell, NJ and requires at least three visits to her foster home prior to adoption. For the Love of Birds is a network of dedicated foster homes throughout NJ and Philadelpha area instead of one central location. As our birds are being housed in volunteer's home we only allow approved applciations to make visits.

If you are interested in adopting Sam, please visit our website at ftlob.rescuegroups.org and complete an adoption application