Umbrella Troubles...Please Help

[rpopebirdz]

Hi,

We recently rescued an Umbrella Cockatoo from a inattentive(not really abusive) family home.

Ugly divorce, "ZENA" Bird goes to live with the sister.
Here comes the problem. Not the sister but, her husband and two kids.
the children discovered Zena is scared of a toy they have. So being oh so swet they put the toy in a chair in front of the cage to torture her with it. Nice huh?

Obviously the bird will scream, so the husband sprays her with water.

Now she won't take a bath PERIOD. Help.... I've tried everything I can think of, she will drink water but refuses to be misted, no bowls of water, no shower, no bath tube, nothing. I even tried a wet rag, and got bitten for my effort. I'm at a lose here. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

[mmr]

Is this your first bird?

Misting is the best now, but you need to make it fun and game like. My U2 hated misting as well. Try spraying the mist up in the air above her and let the water fall on her instead of direct spray! Also make all the fun , whoooo hooo, gooood girl sounds (if that makes sense). Also try shooting some mist on the air, let it fall on her and then give her a treat! Do that each time! Have you found a treat she loves yet?

[chapala]

Too bad she was teased like that, and also sprayed as punishment. What has worked for me is to spray water above their head in a fine mist, saying WOW, Shower!!! etc. in a happy, excited tone of voice. First few or many times (however long it takes), only one spritz. That's it, then a treat, good bird!!, good shower!!

As she begins to learn that shower means something good, you can begin extending the amount of sprays, slowly. It can take some time, but better to go slowly than to scare her yet again. She's fine without a shower for awhile, and if you can take her in the bathroom when you're showering, she can get the benefit of the humidity there.

Good luck!

[ljhassell]

Even with being misted due to screamming, if you mist with warm water and make it a playful game they will come around. We did this for years, and yes most were sprayed cause previous homes did unmentionable things to stop screamming ect. Warm water in mister, always do around 8-9 am, so all day to dry, same time everyday so it gets repeated daily, they catch on, never had a stupid bird, all very smart. And we dance and sing, bounce up and down, not loud just animated and playful. before you know it they are waiting and wanting to be misted and have special playtime.. The more fun you make it the more they want it. All of our birds went from scared/hating water, to spreading wings and making sure every spot gets wet.

[Congobongo]

I agree with all above. That is not the first time I've heard of this type of abuse of a bird. No stupid birds, just stupid people. They all love the white cockatoo until it cockatoodledoo's. I take my birds outside and the kids in the neighborhood all love to come and see them. When I ask which one they want (CAG, B&G, Green Wing or U2) the girls always want the 'white' one.

My friend adopted a CAG who appears to have been blinded by being struck on the head. We can only imagine it was to shut him up.

Why don't these people just find another home for a bird if they realize they can't handle it?