[becca623]

Cockatoos are so hard to convert to new foods. I switched my birds to natural pellets about 2 1/2 years ago. I talked my mom into switching her cockatoos to natural pellets last year. She bought some in July. Cece (moluccan) still hasn't touched them. Luckily, she's great about eating her fresh foods and birdie bread. My mom had to take her to the vet today for a sinus infection and picked up our vet's own brand of pellets to try. So far, Cece hasn't touched them. We'll probably give in and get her some colored pellets again if she won't eat these.
Her other moluccan is a rehomed female in her 20s. She is terrified of water. Apparently spray bottles were used as punishment in her old home. It's so hard to bathe either of them because of her issues. She has panic attacks at the site of water. Princess was very afraid of women but we were lucky. She overcame that fear when she stayed with me for the first couple months. (This was before we knew I was highly allergic). She was a plucker and chronic egg layer in her original home. She damaged her feather follicles so most of her stomach is still bald but she quit the egg laying and plucking when she came to live here.
Is there an area that you could set up an outdoor cage or aviary for her? Cockatoos really seem to benefit from the outdoors. My mom's toos even eat better outside. They have a dog run that was transformed to an aviary. If you had a save place she could spend a few hours each day outside, it would probably be very good for her. It might help her learn to spend some time on her own.
A quiet cockatoo? You got lucky. I haven't met many of those. Maybe it's because she's an umbrella. The few quiet ones I have met have been umbrellas. An umbrella was my first choice for a too but I got talked into Cece when she wasn't even feathered and she is a love.
Instead of a sheet, you might want to get some fleece material for her to play with. She's less likely to get caught in a loose string or swallow a piece that could really mess up her insides.
Have you tried giving fresh branches to her? Cece and Princess aren't into the wood toys I've bought for them but they love fresh branches from my parents yard. Although they did quite a number on my living room walls.
It sounds like Kyle was never taught or allowed to be a bird when she was a baby so she never learned how to be a bird. I think it's highly important for them to learn that they are birds from a very early age especially the needy ones like cockatoos.
It's great that she has a mom that loves her so much and who does everything she can for her. It would be so nice if all animals had that.
I don't recommend getting a mate for her. Cockatoos can be very violent animals. She could get seriously injured or killed. Plus, breeding is complicated. It's a whole other story. Not to mention the thousands of cockatoos in rescues already.
Although if you want another bird for you, I would suggest another female: maybe one from a rescue near you?
Have you tried providing a sense of being part of a flock for her? Like the bird sitter dvd that could be played for her when she isn't getting human interaction. Parrots spend pretty much 24/7 with their mates, parents, siblings, etc in the wild. They aren't really equipped for spending much time alone.
If you have a camera, please feel free to share pictures of her with us.
OT, what color are her eyes? Are they black or brown? It isn't important. I'm just curious because so many people are told that all females have light eyes. I haven't found that to be true in my experience so I'm always curious.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the board. There is a ton of information here.