My baby umbrella cockatoo should be weaned and ready at the beginning of June. I have read and looked up just about everything I can find on cockatoo information. I've read over and over that these birds are not for the inexperienced. But people have got to start somewhere right. I want to start off my lifelong relationship the very best I can with my bird from the beginning. Any advice from cockatoo owners would be much appreciated. I am 25 and my only hands on bird experience is with my cockatiels and tamed cockatoos in pet stores lol.
Join the message board at http://www.mytoos.com They have very experienced people who have owned large toos. The website itself is a little scary, but a peek at reality. I have a male M2, and the board is the best resource out there.
picking up at the airport? where was he? the only thing i suggest is to remember the bird will live for a very long time...are you committed to the bird.. the bird needs a clean home, fresh food water...and your love..
Cockatoos are generally re-homed for three different reasons. The first reason you can't change. Their feathers are covered with a fine dander that is very allergenic. (I hope you thought of the this).
The other two reasons are behavior issues that you can as a baby take steps to prevent them from escalating into gigantic problems.
A cockatoo yelling can be very grating on the nerves. This leads to the cockatoo yelling for your attention and you doing whatever you can to keep him from yelling. A cockatoo shows intelligence by the way he is able to manipulate his owner into doing whatever he wants. Don't reward manipulative yelling.
The second behavior issue is aggression, normally beginning in his second year. Theory is that as he sexually matures and he has chosen you as his mate, he will become aggressive as he (or she) realizes that you don't feel the same as him.
The steps to prevent this are taken in the first two years by developing a good teacher/student relationship. There is petting that is acceptable (like scratching the neck) and what could be thought of as sexual (such as petting underneath the wings). This is normally when problem plucking starts occurring.
I would recommend mytoos.com to anyone considering getting a cockatoo. (its more for Moluccan cockatoos, though)...
The other two reasons are behavior issues that you can as a baby take steps to prevent them from escalating into gigantic problems.
A cockatoo yelling can be very grating on the nerves. This leads to the cockatoo yelling for your attention and you doing whatever you can to keep him from yelling. A cockatoo shows intelligence by the way he is able to manipulate his owner into doing whatever he wants. Don't reward manipulative yelling.
The second behavior issue is aggression, normally beginning in his second year. Theory is that as he sexually matures and he has chosen you as his mate, he will become aggressive as he (or she) realizes that you don't feel the same as him.
The steps to prevent this are taken in the first two years by developing a good teacher/student relationship. There is petting that is acceptable (like scratching the neck) and what could be thought of as sexual (such as petting underneath the wings). This is normally when problem plucking starts occurring.
I would recommend mytoos.com to anyone considering getting a cockatoo. (its more for Moluccan cockatoos, though)...
As you probably know cockatoos love attention. Your new friend will have just had everything familiar removed from his life, jostled around by strangers and experienced who knows what kind of scary events. Talk to him softly as soon as you can, give him company and love. Let him know that you are there to comfort and protect him and he should be OK. Keep his cage in the room where you spend the most time and give him as much attention as you can. I am sure you will be best friends. The bad thing about cockatoos is that they tend to get VERY noisy when they want attention. DO NOT acknowledge the bird in any way when he is doing this, not even eye contact! When you go to him he thinks, "If I make all of this noise I get the attention I want!" If he still is noisy I have found that "time outs" are affective ways to get them to stop. Put him in another quite, empty room for 15 or 20 minutes and he will be happy to just be in the same room as you when you get him back out. Good Luck!