Meet the NEWEST member of the SBF family, Gabby. She is a 29 year old female Black Palm Cockatoo. Gabby just recently came to us in the beginning of December and is officially a resident here at the store. Gabby has been one of our long time customers’ birds since she was a baby, but unfortunately Gabby lost her dad last year and her mom wanted to find her next forever home while she was able bodied enough to do so. The most responsible thing we can do as pet owners is to plan ahead for our birds as they will likely outlive us. Gabby came from a very loving and diverse home, being friends with several other parrots of all types, so fitting in at the bird farm hasn’t been too much of a shock. Right now she is housed next to Nero and we hope they can be friends in the future and maybe even live together in the same cage. We have no hopes of pairing them up for breeding, but just great companionship!
So sorry, no waitlist for Black Palm babies here. Having Gabby next to Nero makes for a great comparison between male and female Black Palms. Gabby is considerably smaller than Nero and also has some very unique black “freckles” on her facial patch that we just adore! The red facial patch on Black Palms varies from bird to bird, but also is influenced by genetics and how much sunlight they are exposed to. So don’t think that her duller color tone is worrisome! She has been to Dr. Dahlhausen’s and now has a clean bill of health. She has been plucking and showing other signs of feather destructive behavior since she was 1 year old, so her appearance is what it is. We don’t discriminate against the pluckers—they are great, happy birds, too! We do hope that with a change of scenery, same species companionship, and access to our outside aviary come spring and summer, she will be looking even better in no time.
Gabby’s personality can’t be beat. She is outgoing, friendly to everyone she meets, destructive to all toys that come her way, and cute as a button when she “knocks” on her perch as she greets you. If you’ve ever been intimated by Nero or maybe not had a good interaction with him in the aviary (I know, I know, he can be kind of a brat sometimes, especially if you wear black Croc shoes), please come meet Gabby. She will change your mind about the species and make a new friend in you. I am so grateful that Gabby’s first mom thought of us for her next home. We will keep you all updated with how things go with Nero and Gabby as they are slowly introduced to each other.
