Considering an umbrella and have a couple of questions

Hello!
I am a soon-to-be empty nester, and have been thinking of getting a young umbrella for years. I had a wild caught umbrella when I was in college that I loved. When she hit sexual maturity, she wanted me to be her mate. After college and starting my family, I felt so bad for the wild caught bird who was obviously interested in mating. I surrendered her to a wonderful breeding program.

My question is this.
Are there behavior differences in males and females?

Second question is what color of cage is best? I remember them putting off a lot of dust and I had a white cage for mine. But that showed all the poop on the grate when I was only scrubbing it off once a week. Suggestions?

Last question: I have experience hand feeding. Is it best to get a baby before it is weaned, or wait until its completely weaned.

Thank you so much!

It is a terrible idea to get an unweaned baby. Ever.
Why not get one of the thousands of U2s waiting for homes in rescues?

I don't have a Umbrella [but ive had 4 toos on my life ] . I spray mine down all the time [that helps with the dust] . I would get a HUGE cage ,if you can . I put newspaper over the grates [that helps with the cleaning] I would get a just weaned baby you can visit in the process would be ideal. My Toos besides the regular toys . They like cardboard and newspaper to shred. In mine the males are buggers and the females are sweeter. But my males talk more.

To be honest, I agree Sonja's suggestion...look into adopting an adult bird instead of buying a baby. Aside from the fact that there are so many needing homes, if you adopt an adult you know exactly what you're getting. Babies are always sweet and wonderful, but can change so much at maturity! They may switch allegiances to a different person, or become a "one-person" bird who is very aggressive to others. Even very sweet, loving cockatoos can go through an extremely difficult hormonal period (which may or may not get better with time). Above all, I would strong recommend NOT getting an unweaned baby. So much can go wrong that weaning a baby should really be left to very experienced breeders.

Also, I would like to pint out that viewing a human as a mate is unfortunately normal for parrots in captivity. Any new cockatoo you adopt is likely to exhibit the same behavior toward you, should it bond to you strongly. Captive birds still have the same instincts as wild ones, and for those that are heavily human imprinted it can be very confusing and frustrating. Just be prepared to deal with it if and when it happens! It's very hard to strike a balance between giving a bird the "wrong idea" and trying to fulfill their emotional needs. Cockatoos are particularly challenging in this way.

I hope I didn't come off as too negative. I think it's great that you're a "too person" and I think you could give one a great home. But they are very complicated creatures, and there's a reason rescues are overflowing with the large toos. Best to do tons and tons of research before making any decisions.

Living with a U2 should cure your empty nest symptoms pretty quick. I've heard people compare adopting a cockatoo to adopting a child. Living with a cockatoo wasn't on my list of things to do. My adult son asked me to take a five year old male umbrella cockatoo. I told him no, then I started reading. I read all the negative aspects of taking in a cockatoo. He asked again. I told him no and read some more. This same young man was responsible for rescuing an Eclectus that had been severely abused for eight years. That bird was under an avian vet's care for the eight months I had him. I worked with the vet and a behaviorist and did enough research to gain a doctorate, at least it felt like I had earned a degree. Tragically this bird couldn't be saved, his organs were too damaged from long term starvation and exposure to toxins. Some forms of abuse are impossible to recover from. My whole family fell in love with the bird while we were trying to save his life. The vet had prepared us for the inevitable. We knew it going in but we hoped to give him as much time in a loving home as we possibly could. I was with him when he passed away and I was grateful for that. During that same period my father was undergoing chemo treatments for a form of leukemia. He died a few months later. I took both deaths personally and was still bitter three years later. The good part was the Eclectus had one good month for every year that he had been so cruelly treated. I drug out the giant cage from storage and cleaned and sanitized it. The third time my son called I let him beg a little, but not too much. My son has a mobile grooming service and his own pet collection is at max capacity. I have an art studio and work at home so he thinks I have the perfect place to care for the birds he rescues and can't care for himself. I expected the worst and every post and article I read assured me I was right. Popeye is living here with me, two wayward QP's, both rescued, a golden retriever, a yorkie, and my husband. My husband and the dogs weren't rescued, I acquired them intentionally. Maybe because I was focusing so much on the negative, when Popeye finally moved in, it was almost too easy. It took me about three weeks to fall completely in love with him. Then I was told it was just the honeymoon stage. I'm still waiting to find a monster in his cage but so far it's just Popeye and he's an angel. That said, not all cockatoos are. As mentioned above, there are multiple reasons for sanctuaries being filled with U2's and other cockatoo species. Craigslist is heartbreaking and enlightening too. Please consider giving one of these birds a loving home.

Popeye's cage is dark green. Size is a lot more important than color for a cockatoo though. They need the biggest cage you can give them, unless they spend most of their time out of it. Make sure it has locks on every door. They love puzzles. I like the dark cage color because the dust shows up well and you can see were you've cleaned. I put extra newspaper over the grate and change it every day. Frequent baths help with the dust. I keep a mist bottle with a solution of water and aloe juice to mist my birds with. Good luck with your search.

It all depends on how you raised your U2. If they were raised properly they can be wonderful to be around. But if they were allowed to do whatever they want, that's when the problem comes in. Cause the moment you tell them no is when they will lash out. Java the U2 was very good with me, he was like my baby. He lays with me, I can hold him like a baby. He LOVES to snuggle up against me and sleep. One day he wanted to come up to my face and snuggle under my chin. I told him no and block him with my arm. Bad mistake, he lash out and started attacking me none stop. This was the same bird that was just snuggling against me sleeping seconds prior. His previous owner allow him to snuggle under their chin, not me, I do not feel comfortable doing so. I've trained many many birds in the years I've been raising and keeping parrots. Never have I been so shocked by his attack. I kept my calm while he's biting away at my arm and I walked towards his cage to put him back in. I didn't say nothing to him and I shut the cage. I had to stop my arm from bleeding as I was drenched with blood with multiple bite wound. He tries to fly attack anyone too close to me or in the same room so I always have him out by myself. He tries to kill my other birds which that's a big no no. He ate my curtains, ceiling fan, plants, etc. When he tries to eat my door, moulding, and furniture I was trying to stop him, again he lash out at me by getting on the floor and running after me to attack. If I try to stop him from going on the floor, he tries to attack, he couldn't be told no to. His previous home was quite obvious he was allowed to do whatever he wanted cause their house was chewed up. Her family was afraid of him and I finally see why. Due to the safety of my other birds as they're flighted, I don't want them losing their toes by flying on his cage or risk him getting out when I'm not home destroying my house or attacking my partner. Cause he flies to attack my partner. He tries to attack visitors and I'm quite watchful of kids trying to stick their fingers into his cage as I stop them ASAP. After several times with me being attacked by him when I told him no, my partner says he must go. So I ended up rehoming him and told the new owners what he does as I was quite forward with them that he's very strong willed. They didn't listen to me good enough as the guy's wife was attacked pretty bad by Java. This bird was too smart to train, he does not do clicker as he wants to kill the clicker, he'll drop his treat just to go after the clicker. He was the only bird that offer me his toes to have his nails clipped. I'll always love and remember him but I'm quite cautious around a big Cockatoo.

Think twice before you get yourself into a situation like this!

Thank you all so much. I have definately considered adopting, but I worry that I will inherit a problem bird. If I get a baby, I can raise it properly. I want the bird to fit into MY life, not my life to revolve around it. For instance, I have seen birds that are spoiled with tons of affection when they are babies, then when the initial "novelty" wears off, problems start. Plus, I worry that the bird may have been mistreated, like being yelled at, hit, or negative behaviors reinforced.

I LOVE the idea of adopting, but I'm scared. Do you think I can teach an adopted bird to be around cats and dogs? Can I teach an older bird to take showers with me, go on car rides, etc?
Thanks guys for all of your help, I appreciate it ALL.

They can be taught with new animals around and learn to accept them just fine. Willie learn to accept dogs and cats. Dixie and the rest of my birds too, even the small ones have accepted the dogs and cats. Some may not care much about the dogs or cats but at least they don't freak out when they walk by.

I take my adult birds into the shower with me except Java the U2 that I used to have, he's terrified of it somehow, even the young ones can be afraid of it as well.

I would strongly recommend adopting. There are to many wonderful U2s out there in need of a good home. I adopted a U2, and I'll admit I didn't do enough research before I did. Now I have three, the last two just because I mentioned to two complete strangers that I have a cockatoo. I have also had two other people ask if I would take in their toos, which unfortunately I can't. I just mention this to illustrate how many unwanted toos there are. All three of mine are incredibly awesome, I can't believe they were unwanted. I love these crazy, loud, neurotic birds.

Two of them shower with me. The only reason the other doesn't is because she had a broken leg that healed wrong and she is a bit nervous and fidgety when she is away from her cage and she gets a bit unstable.

I am far from an expert on them but large unwanted toos have really stolen my heart. I wish I could save all of them.

glstine said:

I would strongly recommend adopting. There are to many wonderful U2s out there in need of a good home. I adopted a U2, and I'll admit I didn't do enough research before I did. Now I have three, the last two just because I mentioned to two complete strangers that I have a cockatoo. I have also had two other people ask if I would take in their toos, which unfortunately I can't. I just mention this to illustrate how many unwanted toos there are. All three of mine are incredibly awesome, I can't believe they were unwanted. I love these crazy, loud, neurotic birds.

Two of them shower with me. The only reason the other doesn't is because she had a broken leg that healed wrong and she is a bit nervous and fidgety when she is away from her cage and she gets a bit unstable.

I am far from an expert on them but large unwanted toos have really stolen my heart. I wish I could save all of them.

Click to expand...

How long have you owned your Cockatoos???

sonja said:

It is a terrible idea to get an unweaned baby. Ever.
Why not get one of the thousands of U2s waiting for homes in rescues?

Click to expand...

Not to mention that if you get a baby, it could live 70+ years, and that's something to consider.

I was at a bird show last week, and there was a U2 that was being rehomed, and it was cuddling with me like there was no tomorrow. I think there are many great U2's and other Cockatoos in rescues that need homes, and they're such loving birds that just need the right kind of attention and work.

MikeyTN said:

glstine said:

I would strongly recommend adopting. There are to many wonderful U2s out there in need of a good home. I adopted a U2, and I'll admit I didn't do enough research before I did. Now I have three, the last two just because I mentioned to two complete strangers that I have a cockatoo. I have also had two other people ask if I would take in their toos, which unfortunately I can't. I just mention this to illustrate how many unwanted toos there are. All three of mine are incredibly awesome, I can't believe they were unwanted. I love these crazy, loud, neurotic birds.

Two of them shower with me. The only reason the other doesn't is because she had a broken leg that healed wrong and she is a bit nervous and fidgety when she is away from her cage and she gets a bit unstable.

I am far from an expert on them but large unwanted toos have really stolen my heart. I wish I could save all of them.

Click to expand...

How long have you owned your Cockatoos???

Click to expand...

Less than a year, hence, I do not consider myself an expert. Pearl, my first, is the epitome of what people don't like about toos. She is extremely loud (has a high pitched shriek you wouldn't believe) is very beaky (have to pay attention and have quick reflexes) and is an extremely picky eater. I wouldn't trade her for the world. We are working on these behaviors.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but the other two I have because I mentioned I have a cockatoo. The last one I was at Petco buying some food that had a picture of a gray on it. The lady behind us asked if we had a gray I said no, Cockatoos and she said oh, you have cockatoos.... this has happened 4 times in two months.

Yes I know how that goes cause I did have a U2 but I had to give him up cause he was too dangerous towards all the animals in the household and my partner, we had him for over a year and a half. He was a picky eater to begin with as well from what the previous owner told me but I had his diet completely changed in a week. Persistence works quite well! Just be real careful when you ended up with too many Cockatoos, especially when their hormone hits, they can be quite dangerous.

I hope this isn't getting off topic, I think it is educational for anyone considering a U2. I have educated my kids on toos. They have a healthy respect. We try not to do anything to encourage mating behavior as far as cuddling and petting on the back and under the wings, etc... I also know the toos I have now might be completely different in a year.

Back to the OP, please consider adopting I'm sure you will find the bird meant for you. Seems to me they pick you and you will know it when it happens.

I only know they require a lot of attention and change their mind then and there. Best to get an unweaned baby. Any bid for that matter.

Getting an unweaned baby is never a good idea.

sprince said:

Thank you all so much. I have definately considered adopting, but I worry that I will inherit a problem bird. If I get a baby, I can raise it properly. I want the bird to fit into MY life, not my life to revolve around it. For instance, I have seen birds that are spoiled with tons of affection when they are babies, then when the initial "novelty" wears off, problems start. Plus, I worry that the bird may have been mistreated, like being yelled at, hit, or negative behaviors reinforced.

I LOVE the idea of adopting, but I'm scared. Do you think I can teach an adopted bird to be around cats and dogs? Can I teach an older bird to take showers with me, go on car rides, etc?
Thanks guys for all of your help, I appreciate it ALL.

Click to expand...

There are definitely birds in rescues that haven't been raised properly, but you'd be surprised at how many actually were!

If you go through a reputable rescue, preferably where the birds are in foster homes instead of in a shelter environment, the foster families should be able to tell you a lot about them, how they are around other animals, kids, etc. In a lot of cases, birds are surrendered to rescues by owners who have loved them and raised them well, but for some reason are no longer able to care for them (due to illness, moving out of the country, etc). Also, keep an eye on places like Craigslist, because you may come across some gems there.

And of course, go and meet the bird first, in its home, several times. Get a feel for its behavior. You should be able to tell if it would fit in well with you. The thing is, birds are individuals just as humans are...getting a baby bird is a crapshoot. It can end up WONDERFUL, true, but it's also a bit like choosing your future spouse when they're an infant!

And to be honest, there is a lot of pressure and stress involved in raising a being this complex, unless you really feel extremely confident. It's easy to accidentally mess them up in some way, even with the best of intentions...plus, there are the ones that are raised with tons of love and the best of care, and still don't end up "well-adjusted." Pluckers, mutilators, screamers, etc. Birds that will "viciously" attack certain people, or people of a certain sex. Some just cope better with captivity than others.

I won't judge you if you get a baby, just stating all the reasons I personally would prefer an adult!

I personally don't like the practice of selling unweaned babies... but this depends entirely on your experience and competence level. I would wait until the baby was fully weaned, and NO, it does not make a difference later on in life...

With large toos it's all about patterning them, and teaching them to self-entertain. You don't know what you've got until the bird turns at least 5 years old. That's when you begin to understand what you've gotten yourself into.

Most folks hold them to much, and never teach them to self entertain enough. They take a creature that is already on the emotionally needy side, and make it completely dependent. Then it becomes inconvenient because the bird has to be with you all the time, 24/7 or it acts up.

So with a too it's all about patterning and structuring them when they are young, and maintaining that constancy through their lifetime...

I've worked with lots of them. I don't keep them.

As for dander issues, daily misting, and weekly showers. In fact, if you shower daily, it's not a bad idea to just have a shower perch and bring the bird with you as part of your daily routine. The dander issues will be minimal... and the bird will love it.

Cage color? Green and black hides the poop but shows the dander. White hides the dander but shows the poop. Pick your poison. What color better matches your decor?!

Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the input. I wish the internet was available 25 years ago when I had my first too!
I have found a bird that is in need of re-homing. I live in a metro area, and believe it or not, not many U2's are in foster care here. The bird I found is a female, 6 years old and in her second home. She is very sweet, but I did keep my eye on her beak. The owner said she isn't very loud, and he works outside of his home, and would be within ear shot of her a large part of the day, even though they can't see each other.
She does go after feet and especially bare feet. I don't like this.
What I DO like is he is willing to let me "test drive" her for 30 days. If she isn't happy with my other pets, or if my pets cannot adapt to her, he will take her back. He really just wants her in a good home.
I am going to visit her over the weekend one more time before I commit.
I am worried though, he rubs her all over her body, under wings, etc. Of course, she loves it. If I just stick to her neck and above, will she get used to that and still bond with me?
THanks everyone!

Sounds great Just a heads up ,a lot of the time it will take more than 30 days .For them to adjust. I would have the attitude [im going to make this work!!] Treat her like a celebrity . Your bound to have a great relationship.