opportunity on a cockatoo

[pi77]

i recently put an ad on craigslist looking to rehome a bird in the charleston sc area. a larger bird. i got a reply today.

my background.... i am a huge animal lover with a dog cat an 2 birds. my female love bird and male white faced amazon were borh given to me this year along with their cages. the love bird is aggressive. the amazon is getting better. i think that the zone and i are bonding as he has thrown up on me a couple of times. both are in their two's and i am their 3d owner.

i talk to both of them all day long sometimes singing to them. neither are afraid of me and they will listen to me right up against the cage.

i am 61 retired live alone in my house and i am partiallly deaf. i have no family. other than parakeets and a goose i raised years ago the two birds i have are my first experience.

what do you think?

this is the email i recieved.....



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Hi. My name is Kim. I work very closely with a friend and we take in lots of rescues. I saw your add and wanted to write because we are currently trying to find a home for a sulfur crested cockatoo named Cocounut. She was rescued about a year and a half ago (I think- it's been a while) she (nuts as we call her) is A LOT of work. She was neglected by a family that cared about her but was afraid of her bite. She CAN be bitey sometimes...but can also be sweet when she wants. She IS a chewer and DOES like to make noise. We love her and are not willing to give her to anyone we don't think will give her a great home. Coconut does have issues, but we love her and want what is best for her. If you are interested in getting more information and being put in touch with my friend please let me know.

Thank you,
Kim
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would i be biting off more than i can chew? (pun intended hehe)

from what i have read about too's they are among the most desired birds because of their being great companion birds. from what i read they are ALL prodigious chewers and they ALL vocalize like a freight train. she would be in the living room right next to my other fids and right where all the action is.

i can relate to being afraid of the bite. i was afraid of both lola my love bird and fred when i got them but.. i have learned how to manage that. would i be able to avoid a too's bite like i do fred's?

lola may never be anything but aggressive i am sad to say. she is so fast and her bite hurts so much that i admit to have yanked my hand and her out of her cage with her attached like a pit bull. i still do. some times she gives me nudges with her beak now so i do think i am making progress with her. i love her so much. i may be too impatient with her afterall i have only had her 6 months.

fred is always biting me.... nibbles, soft bites to hard bites every now and than. from what i have read zones are always testing for dominence. i am learning that when he starts to bite really hard that our play time is over and that he wants back in his cage. at least that is what i am thinking. we play on the couch everyday while i watch tv. he is not particularly fast so i can avoid a really hard bite if i manuver my hand or finger.

can i use what i have learned from fred an lola and make this too a good companion???? or is it way beyond my expertise?

what say you all?????????

i am going to email her back and let her know that i am definitely interested.

thanks for your help.

btw i am going to post this in the rescue section as well in order to get the most feedback

[angelicarboreals]

Hmmm......if it were me and I had only gotten my two birds this year I would pass on Coconut for the time being. Nothing can prepare you for a cockatoo, and from the sounds of it, this bird will definitely need lots of work. I have a greater sulphur crested cockatoo, and she is unlike any of the other birds in my flock. She is the most demanding and the neediest, and I am not exaggerating when I say that she takes up twice as much time as my whole flock combined to keep her happy. While she is content to talk in her baby voice for most of the day, if and when she does get to going she is loud enough to wake the dead- no joke.

The first cockatoo I ever had I rehomed about a year after I got my amazon, and kept him for about a year before I ended up rehoming him myself. Their bite is like nothing on this earth, and it was not long before I realized that the hormonal male lesser sulphur crested I had brought into my house was way more than I could handle. My greater came along via a friend of mine who could no longer keep her, almost two years after I had tried owning my first cockatoo. She is as sweet as pie, I have had her for two years and she has never bitten me or anyone for that matter, but I know that it can happen, and that she is the exception to the rule. However, I had known my greater for quite a while before being invited to own her, so I knew what I was getting into with that particular bird. You really don't have that option since this cockatoo has fell into your lap.

If you are interested in cockatoos, maybe someone around you would let you spend some time with theirs before you decided? If you have not been around 'toos before, I would definitely suggest getting to know their personality and quirks before inviting one into your home.

[Greycloud]

I have a rehomed umbrella too. He is definitely a screamer and trust me earplugs could really help. He is a snuggle bunny though and very funny. I have been nailed by him on one occasion but I know it was my fault. The bite was excruciating. Toos are the only parrots with a pointy mandible (top) and the bottom beak is wide with two sharp edges. They can easily take a chunk. I think you will find that most people hear recommend toos for only the most experienced owners. Can you go look at her or any of their other birds. This might help you to decide. Remember this is a lifelong decision. Toos need your complete attention!

[pi77]

thanks for the input....

i have been offered toos before and passed. especially after reading and reading and reading up on them.

even before i posted this i had probably already decided that yes a too would be more than i can handle.

being an animal lover i was hoping somebody here with more experience would chime in with interest.

thanks for your feed back

you can sign me as 'not ready for a too'

[FoxersArtist]

I don't think that it would hurt to go visit Coconut just to see if there is a special connection. If there is a very strong connection, you may want to consider adopting. If there isn't a strong connection, I would highly suggest that you pass up on Coconut and hope that her rescuers find a home where she seems to really feel comfortable. You may be able to earn the trust of a cockatoo with "issues" but it is always best for birds with extra needs to be with someone they really, really attach themselves to right away. I also agree that adopting a new bird might be too soon after adopting your lovebird and amazon. Parrots can be addictive and it is hard not to want more, but it is important to get your current FIDS to a really healthy point before you take on more, especially if the new guy is somewhat troubled. Compared to an amazon, cockatoos have very subtle body language that is often hard to read. Biting happens more suddenly and sometimes with very little warning. For this reason, as well as the very loud screaming, cockatoos are considered to be much more advanced in the care that they require. Good luck.
-Anna

[GlendaNS]

I agree with Anna, it wouldn't hurt to go visit. You just might fall head over heels in love with the bird!

I personally find Too's easy to read their body language. It is subtle, but readable. For example... Dolly is new here. I went to put her in her cage and she put one foot on her perch, hesitated, tightened her grip on my arm. I KNEW she was going to bite! She missed me!!!

[pi77]

i read 6 books at the library on zones an love birds. most were a compilation of all parrots. i did find one book on zones but it had more pictures than info. so much outdated info and contradicting info is out there.

i saw a huge too up close in his small cage at the avian vet a year or so ago. this is right after my first experience with a blue fronted amazon i went to look at.

his owner was an invalid that was in an out of the hospital and it sat all day long in a silent house all by itself.

the girl who showed me the zone was the original rescuer who gave him to the invalid. the bird was out on the table and i took up a nut and offered it to the bird. i held my hand absolutely steady and let the bird make the move. little turd did a feint for the nut an bite me hard on the finger making a good sized slice.

of course i immediately drew my hand back dragging the bird half accross the table. lmao. the lady was pi$$ed at me for withdrawing my hand. she said i was perpetuating the zones game of catch the finger. i guess i should have just let him bite the tip of my finger off eh?

needless to say that lady was rude and the zone was mistrustfull of men. not a match.

well when i looked at that too in the vet clinic which was a huge as compared to that zone all i could see what that HUGE beak. i thought of that today.

i still think that my love bird bites a whole lot harder ounce per ounce than fred my amazon does. boy can that bird bite when she wants to. of course fred is a whole lot tamer than lola so it could be he hasnt shown me his stuff hehehe. i hope i never find out.

as far as coconut goes i am hoping the girl emails me back . i do think i will go and look at her. cant hurt and i will learn a little bit more.

only thing though.... its been 3 days since i answered her email an nary a response have i gotten. i HAVE gotten more spam on drugs and penis pills etc so i am wondering if she was just a scam to get my email addy.

what is wrong with people anyway?

[Astrid660]

Originally Posted by FoxersArtist

I don't think that it would hurt to go visit Coconut just to see if there is a special connection. If there is a very strong connection, you may want to consider adopting. If there isn't a strong connection, I would highly suggest that you pass up on Coconut and hope that her rescuers find a home where she seems to really feel comfortable. You may be able to earn the trust of a cockatoo with "issues" but it is always best for birds with extra needs to be with someone they really, really attach themselves to right away. I also agree that adopting a new bird might be too soon after adopting your lovebird and amazon. Parrots can be addictive and it is hard not to want more, but it is important to get your current FIDS to a really healthy point before you take on more, especially if the new guy is somewhat troubled. Compared to an amazon, cockatoos have very subtle body language that is often hard to read. Biting happens more suddenly and sometimes with very little warning. For this reason, as well as the very loud screaming, cockatoos are considered to be much more advanced in the care that they require. Good luck.
-Anna

I agree
When I went to meet Trooper, my U2, I didn't think I was coming home with her. It was a risk to adopt her, since I knew her noise would scare my other birds, but she is tolerable and if I could go back, I would adopt her all over again because she is that sweet. Every bird is different, so hopefully you can go and meet Coconut and see if you two click. Cockatoos are lots and lots of work, and she is nothing like any of my other birds (she acts more like a toddler at times than anything.. ) but if you do your research and get used to handling them, you might find they are just right for you.

[LovelySydney]

I know what you mean about lovebird bites, LOL - I was more afraid of my lovebirds bites than any other birds. They knew how to CLAMP! I agree with what some of the others said, that you should go and meet the bird & see if you have a connection. That is a great idea because if you have a connection it can make such a huge difference. Plus, I think you are being very wise in preparing yourself for a too and really knowing what you are getting into before you adopt (we need more people to do this before they get birds!!). You are making sure you have all the necessary information which I think is great, research is such an important part of adopting a new animal, whatever it may be. Keep us posted on what happens!

[failurebydesign]

All I can say is read this!
All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

If you still want one after - then maybe :)

I love cockatoos alot but I don't think I could ever be the right home for one,
I was considering goffins or galahs of course I'm not getting any other birds ANY time soon lol!

Can you look at the smaller species of cockatoos? They are also very sweet but with a little less noise, and a little less unstable emotions, and a smaller beak!