so you want a cockatoo ( 1st time parrot owner)

[tina3462]

check this out


All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

[loyallyroyal]

Ive been to that site, they have some good advice...

Their board kind of scared me off though, I was looking for info on ducorps cockatoos, and I kind of got the general feel they dont overly enjoy having cockatoos, which is what really scared me off cockatoos.

I wanted a bird I would enjoy having, so I dont know if its just a cockatoo thing, but I dont know too many people with cockatoos to judge how they enjoy owning these birds.

The only other experience ive had with cockatoos was our bird store near here has a really plucked screaming mollucan cockatoo.

So i guess the site worked for me, hehe, plus I dont think it would do wonders for my self-esteem if I got one and it started screaming, plucking and self-mutilating. I know I would blame myself for making totally unhappy.

Anyone else have experience with cockatoos?

[Sashagirl]

Over 10 years ago because I do rescue and take in rehomes I took in 5 Cockatoos 2 Goffins,2 Umbrellas,and 1 Mollocan.They all had many different homes and for whatever reason they were rehomed.The longer they stated with me I realised why they had been rehomed.The most neediest of them all were the Mollocan who was only 5 years old and I was said to be her
5th home which was really hard to believe when her true colors started coming out.She would throw full blown tantrums.And on a daily basis she would constantly scream and use things to bang on other things.When I contacted the person I recieved her from about her behavior his response was "SHE NEVER SCREAMED IN MY HOUSE" It was hard to believe that this happened out of the blue.When people rehome Cockatoos they don't always tell the truth of why they want the bird gone so bad.They only tell you how good it is.There are 3 sides to every story his side,her side and then there's the truth!I was able to rehome the Goffins to my friend who relocated to Florida.And due to my asthma I rehomed the 2 Umbrellas,Mollocan that was about 8 years ago.If not for that I would still have them.But they aren't for everyone.You really got to have patience for all the screaming and everything
else that comes along with them.

Marcia

[Amie]

One of our first rescues was a U2, and except for his extreme preference for women (a trait that can happen in all species) he was a wonderful bird. Cuddly, loving, and was hoenstly more interested in being in the outdoor cage than loving on us.

I've been told he is a special case in the Too world. But, if I were to judge by the three years it took to get him back in full feather and to the point where he wouldn't attack a man on sight, I'd say Cockatoos have the potential to be wonderful additions to a family. It just has to be the right family.

[gbird]

I think thats a very good article. Over half of the birds at The Gabriel Foundation are Cockatoo's....most for those exact reasons, lack of education, and sales people who just want to make a sale.

Here are some pictures & videos of all the TOO's at TGF









and this is what some look like when they come in....this is Jessie, he is naked due to plucking


This is Chloe & Ricky, both wear a vest now due to chronic plucking & mutilating



Rodan & Mothra (Goffins).....pluckers



It can't be streesed enough when getting a companion parrot......EDUCATE YOURSELF ! PLEASE

[Ashling]

You see so many sulphur cresteds in Australia as pets inside and outside- I mean HEAPS cause they're so common- that never pluck. My step-dad's parents had a sulphur crested that got no attention except for being yelled at to shut up, was never allowed out because he'd bite/ attack people, was fed ONLY sunflower seeds and dirty water and kept outside in all weather in a 2 meter square cage with a tin roof. He chewed up the floor, but that was the only destructive thing. They rehomed him to a friend, I wish I had of taken him but I was too young and naive to realize he was neglected :( Apparently he'd bite anyone who put their fingers in the cage but I, as a 8+ year old used to talk to him for hours (in english and cockatoo- I mimmicked him exactly and he loved it) scritching under his wings and on his head and was never bitten. I guess he liked the company? He never plucked.

[Lotis9]

I would imagine it makes a HUGE difference to be boarded outside all your life in your native land.

I have come to believe that Cockatoos should be banned as pets from this point on. I have a 6 year old Umbrella and I love him dearly but they really are even less suited for captivity than other parrots. I work at a rescue with 49 birds, roughly 30 of them are Cockatoos, and most of those are mature males. Many of them are plucked and/or mutilators, many more are very aggressive. I held a male, Lemon, who is a mutilator. They say that sometimes they can take his e-collar off but eventually he will start to pick at this flesh again. He is cage aggressive though he can be sweet talked into coming out. However he quickly become over stimulated and as a result aggressive; last week he bit my finger pretty good (got a nerve! tingles and all!). Another male, a Sulfur-crested, is so so soOOOOO sweet but INTENSELY (NO exaggeration) loud as he screams INCESSANTLY unless you take him out. I have heard so many stories about Cockatoos, especially males, once they sexually mature, becoming serious problem children.

Indeed they can be wonderful. My guy is one of a kind but I think that more than anyone as he is unpredictable and we have a bond. He can go from sweet as pie to wicked dominant king of whatever in seconds. And he won't hesitate to bite me. He does scream although it is much much worse when other people are around or he is boarding (especially with my mother!!!). He doesn't pluck (thank God!) but he does do some feather mutilating though it isn't bad. Mind you he's only just started coming into maturity and I've noticed a little more aggression, so I'm taking precautions.

I think that there are too many risks for them to be out there in hopes of the right person giving them a home. It's not fair to the birds.

Just my opinion.

[BigBird]

We got a rescue sulpher crested. She doesnt like females which is why she was up for a adoption. The female house owner had a new baby and was scared of this bird chasing her and what she might do to a small toddler. Anyway I believe it is common for cockatoos to dislike the same human sex. I am the only care giver of bella, she lives in an outdoor aviary, broke her wing when she was younger (she is now 25) and cant fly so we open her door and she can walk around the backyard at her leisure. If she is out and so am I she will chase me around the garden and attack my feet if she gets near them. She loves males and my husband can do what he likes with her. When I feed her she will let me scratch her comb and lift her wing up for a scratch under there, but if my hand is in front of her beak or her beak is empty when I fill up her seed she will go for me. I still love her and respect her wishes and my digits. Know her pretty well now to know when she is feeling more accepting and when to stuff her beak full of food before going anywhere near her!

As an indoor pet I bet they can be a challenge. They are extremely noisy when stirred up. Bel makes the most noise in the morning and evening when the wild toos are flying around looking for food. We now have two regular visitors every day and on occassion have had up to 10 of them on her aviary, the roof and the phone wires all come to say hello, its quite cool. In the backyard I think they are fine but I dont know how Id cope with one inside!! They are very destructive too. Bella ate through the first aviary she was in and released 3 of my lorikeets, good news is over three weeks I got them all back. Now she is in her own place with really thick wire, but she has managed to eat through most of the chicken wire that was still there from the existing owners! They arwe little terrors! Not to mention what the wild ones can do to your pergolas and wood decking!

[kali]

i used to have a greater sulpher crested and he was awesome, i got him at about 5 years old and had him for around 4ish years. he knew tricks when i got him, could speak and was a total sweety. the first time i met him he ran right up my arm, snuggled into my neck and kissed it. the guy who had him before that had to work night shifts and couldn't keep the bird anymore.

after i got him, he would only like girls, and then soon after, he only liked me! he'd crack it if i was standing near my boyfreind and would try and attack everyone's shoes. he would even let me clip his nails, lifting his foot up while he blalnced by resting his beak on the table :)

even though he screamed at dawn and dusk, hated everyone and (i can't think of anything else that was bad about him lol) i loved him like i would my own child. you have to be a certain type of person to own a cockatoo. they are so demanding, but can also be so loving and sweet and totally awesome. i would have another one in a second, i miss my boy so freaking much every day i think about him and still brings tears to my eyes. but i also know that i wouldn't recommend one to everyone, they are HIGH MAINTENANCE and i agree they should be banned as pets (or at least you can't buy them so easily)), i had full intentions to keep him until one of us died, but life changes and things happen that you don't know will happen and it's totally unfair to keep a bird that could live that long, especially one so smart and so easily hurt.
thats my 2c anyway, you might not agree with me, but there are great reasons to own a cockatoo, but also so many reasons not to have one.

[becca623]

I completely agree with everything said here!!!