The return of Petry

Well not quite, actually.

Petry was our Umbrella Cockatoo. We were his second owners, and he's probably around 12 years old now. When he came to us, he had some bad behaviors that we (being the inexperienced parrot owners we were at the time) only exacerbated. After about 7 years, we gave him to our cousins that had more experience with birds (they had 2 African Greys).

This past weekend we were at a family bbq and our cousins asked us if we wanted him back. Apparently he's not getting enough attention anymore since my cousin started working 2 jobs and is starting to act up again. We seriously considered taking him back, but in the end, reason won.

I feel really badly that we can't take him back, and that soon he will be on his way to his 4th home, but it's just not possible. He's such an intelligent bird and needs constant attention and stimulation.

Ideally he needs to go to a home where someone is there all day, has large bird experience and no other animals (unless they're birds). He absolutely hates dogs and cats. I hope they can find that for him b/c it will be the best situation for him.

Hi Nicole.. I'm so sorry that Petry is having trouble finding a permanent home. My umbrella was the same way, she required constant attention.. she screamed horribly if she didn't get it. I attribute a lot of that to her first owners but it's my fault to because I spoiled the heck out of her.
Ugh..you had a really tough choice to make and I think you definitely made the right one. It's SO hard to say no, especially when you already know and love the little guy. I'm sure they'll find someone. I would suggest calling a bird club if there are any nearby that have adoption programs. Thats how I got a lot of my birds, maybe there's someone there whose been waiting for an attention grubbing little smarty pants like Petry

Wow thats too many homes..

People love cockatoos and get one only to find out that they are a handful to say the least.

I hope you guys can find a more permanent home for Petry. Maybe you or your cousin could find a rescue that could take him in.

I ain't never gettin' a ~Too!

I agree with Rocks, those things some come with a warning label of some sort ...

I want a Gala cockatoo.

SbudgiesM - WHY do you want a cockatoo?

I have a cockatoo and love her very much, but not everyone can live with a cockatoo.

If you were being serious visit http://www.mytoos.com/ and you will see what I am talking about.

I've visited there before.

I think the guy takes it too far. He's kind of a hypocrite in away... he's say no one should have a too and yet he has two M2's.

Actually what mytoos is about is really good. They don't believe that people should be breeding cockatoos and they also don't think they make good pets.

They absolutely believe that if a person is a right fit for a cockatoo then they should adopt one from a rescue or buy one second hand.

The reason for the site is because there are so many UNWANTED COCKATOOS out there. Check petfinder, local rescues and your newspaper. There are always a ton of second hand cockatoos for sale because someone wanted one, they thought they were cute and snuggly until they hit about age 5. At age 5 or so they become very hormonal and tempermental and many people cannot not handle the bites they recieve or the very loud screaming. Also often times a cockatoo will do serious damage to him/herself by plucking feathers and/or self mutilation.

Unless you have been around older cockatoos it's really hard to explain how they are and a lot of times people don't believe it any way.

With so many second hand cockatoos for sale, one ask to ask WHY?

It's really sad too because cockatoos are such graceful, beautiful, and interesting parrots. It's just that they are so difficult to live with. When they are in their good moods it's great, but when they are in their bad moods WATCH OUT.

If you are truly interested in a cockatoo, please look at a rescue or buy one second hand. Babies are cute but they grow up, and there are so many unwanted toos for sale that one doesn't need to buy a baby anyway.

Just think about it and do some research

Oh I agree, Cockatoos are very difficult. I miss my umbrella but she was definitely the toughest of all the birds I've lived with so far.
Many of the larger birds are difficult, my macaw is rough for lots of reasons, her size being one of them, her voice another. She just got me good, she's going through a phase where she screams as loud as possible about 10 times whenever she sees me pick my Amazon up. I am countering it by ignoring her bouts and continuing to pick my amazon up.
Well.. I stupidly picked him up with her on my shoulder and she got me with 3 good yells before I got her down. I actually heard static for about a half hour or so.. she did some permanent damage that time, lol! Serves me right for having her up there when I know she's got birdy pms.
While some people may go a bit far in the crusade, it's very true that cockatoos are a lot to handle. They may seem like hypocrites when they tell you not to do something they are doing but I think the person is trying to say that they have the birds because no one else could handle them.
Not all cockatoos will be that demanding, it's just that most people don't find out about it for a year or two and by then you have a large spoiled untrained brat with scissors for a face and a bunch of emotional problems/issues.

ya but not everyone can handle a second hand bird. they usually have problems which not everyone ca handle and some people just dont like adopting

Flyte said:

Oh I agree, Cockatoos are very difficult. I miss my umbrella but she was definitely the toughest of all the birds I've lived with so far.
Many of the larger birds are difficult, my macaw is rough for lots of reasons, her size being one of them, her voice another. She just got me good, she's going through a phase where she screams as loud as possible about 10 times whenever she sees me pick my Amazon up. I am countering it by ignoring her bouts and continuing to pick my amazon up.
Well.. I stupidly picked him up with her on my shoulder and she got me with 3 good yells before I got her down. I actually heard static for about a half hour or so.. she did some permanent damage that time, lol! Serves me right for having her up there when I know she's got birdy pms.
While some people may go a bit far in the crusade, it's very true that cockatoos are a lot to handle. They may seem like hypocrites when they tell you not to do something they are doing but I think the person is trying to say that they have the birds because no one else could handle them.
Not all cockatoos will be that demanding, it's just that most people don't find out about it for a year or two and by then you have a large spoiled untrained brat with scissors for a face and a bunch of emotional problems/issues.

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no the guy says he got his m2 from a breeder and then alter got a second from a breeder if he was so strong about adopting why didn't he adopt?

I don’t agree with the all the views on the mytoos website, but they do make it a point to illustrate just how difficult living with a large ‘too can be. I think the mytoos website is good in that it details the problems you “might” encounter, because pet stores certainly aren’t conveying this message. The decision to purchase one of these wonderful birds cannot be made on a whim, and potential buyers need to understand that they have a lifetime commitment to fulfill. It isn’t something to be taken lightly and doesn’t apply exclusively to ‘toos.

I think that there are a few species of ‘too that are inherently more difficult to live with than others. Unfortunately, these species are the most popular and oft abandoned. I don’t know that a Galah ‘too would be any more difficult to live with than any other large parrot. Sadly, there are plenty of Macaws, Greys and other birds sharing animal rescues with ‘toos. Think long and hard.

All babies are cute and all babies grow up.

Just because a person buys a baby does not guarantee that person that their cute baby will not be hard to deal with when they reach maturity.

Cockatoos are VERY demanding, emotional and unpredictable.

Too many people buy a bird, cockatoo or other species and realize later they are too hard to deal with and rehome them.

Parrots are living creatures with feeling just like humans and they should not be tossed and thrown away just because they are/or become inconvenient for us to take care of.

This happens more often then not.

I only tell you these things because I want to save you and the bird the heart ache of finding this information out later and it being too late.

Adopting a second hand bird can be very rewarding