Above: Like a ray of pink sunshine, our female Moluccan Cockatoo Penelope is here to brighten your day.
Penelope (Pen) was surrendered by a former owner going through a divorce who had obtained the bird a few years before off of Craig's List. She was missing most of her feathers except those on her head and a few wing feathers.
Penelope relishes the healthy, abundant food she gets now that she is at Home For Life® Animal Sanctuary, and with a diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables plus special nut and seed mixes and cooked food concoctions from Parrot Island Inc. She has grown back many off her feathers and looks so much healthier. Penelope has been with us now since 2013. Parrots are very long lived, and Penelope's veterinarian Dr Larry believes she is in excess of 30 years old. She had developed painful arthritis of one of her wings and didn't like to take her medicine for it. A collar to prevent her bothering the wing really distressed her so Dr Larry recommended amputation. Pen is now a one-winged parrot but being a little off balance doesn't stop her from playing with her toys and perching Penelope has TWO cages which she uses for home base: we don't confine her or lock her in, but she knows they are her place, and she has many rope and wood perches to observe daily activity and rest.
Our male Moluccan cockatoo is Candy, who is almost age 28. Dr Larry did not recommend housing the two birds together: first, because we don't want to have any chicks—parrots are not spayed and neutered as cats and dogs are—and second, because of the size differential between them and the fact that Candy is much more boisterous, active and stronger physically, their vet worried about Candy hurting the more fragile Penelope or stressing her. The two birds enjoy calling to each other, especially as it gets dark and they settle down for the night. Candy likes to walk around the floor and even goes outside to the covered cat run, using the cat doors! Penelope stays mostly on her cages but when the weather is nice we open the big window near her corner so she can get plenty of fresh air and direct sunlight. Together with Goliath, Penelope and Candy are considered the mascots of Home For Life® Animal Sanctuary!
