cockatoo blues

So after typing a long thread and losing it when I tried to submit it, please excuse me if this seems blunt.

My goffin is driving me insane with her screaming. She has a very large cage, toys, attention (I only work pt 3 days a week). I can't seem to make her content. Even when I lay on the couch giving her a head rub she does this whine that gets progressively louder..she does the same thing when I have her with me doing house tasks like cooking, laundry, gardening, dishes, computer. An if she's actually in her cage she screams if I walk by her door, sneeze, talk, flush the toilet..basically make any kind of noise. I feel like a failure to her and a prisoner in my own home. She gets playful & happy around my husband but maybe b/c I hand raised her from a 6 wk old chick she sees me as "momma". But the second my husband leaves the room or goes to work its back to whining & screaming at me for the rest of the day. It really breaks my heart that its like this.

I'm especially worried b/c I'm expecting our first baby in early August. I cannot deal with this screaming on top of having a new born in the house..it will be a postpartum train wreck with the wacky hormones, a screaming parrot, sleep deprivation, & a crying baby. Plus I want to be able to actually talk to my baby..when my husband is home I can hardly say anything without being drowned out.

Over a month ago a former coworker form a vets office said that she would take her at the end of April. However, she informed me today that her family just got a kitten. I am not comfortable re-homing her to a place where she is at risk of being mauled by a curious kitty. I personally don't know anyone who I can trust with her.

Any suggestions/advice/ even potential takers??

Parrots scream to call the flock and you are part of the flock. You have a cockatoo that is known for screaming more that other parrots. It sounds like to me that you may be headed for surrendering her to a rescue org. of which there are many. Or, you could try to work with the bird more. Which is it that you and your husband want to do? I include a link with some helpful info. Winged Wisdom Magazine - Bird Noise - Sound of Music or Torture Alley

http://www.ehow.com/how_5033969_stop-cockatoo-screaming-attention.html

Is the family with a kitten still interested? I can understand the concern, but there are many happy bird/cat households. Especially if they get to know each other from when the cat is a kitten I don't think there'd be anything at all to worry about. Even if there was any mauling done, my money would be on the Goffin!

If the family is still interested I'd encourage talking to them about the responsibility of keeping the two separate at first and monitoring interactions.

I have two full grown cats and a cockatoo, my cats are Maine Coons (nearly 20 pounds each, and are very lean). They could care less of the cockatoo and Buddy (my cockatoo) could care less about the cats. With the proper training they can learn to co-exist harmoniously as mine do.

And like Auggie's Dad said, my money would be on the cockatoo too....even with my rather large kitties!

we do go back & forth with wanting to keep her because she is really social & sweet. just some days have us both at the end of our ropes. my husband said he was actually relieved about her not going to the other family. i understand what you guys are saying about cats..its just hard for me to trust others to be cautious/responsible. The family has 2 small kids (2 yrs & 4 yrs) so I'm picturing one of them getting Kolea out and then getting distracted & leaving her vulnerable somewhere. And both the parents work so there would be a lot of alone time at the house for things to happen. Plus, being that they recently acquired the kitten I don't think they know its temperament all too well yet. The goffin I used to babysit as a kid got eaten by the family cat of 10 years, my manager came home one day to find her cat left nothing but her quaker parrot's foot on the ground, & my friend's cat ate both of her lovebirds. I have nothing against cats..I just know they can be very opportunistic even if they don't appear all that interested. Kolea would probably walk right up to one too..she likes trying to groom dogs. Before we moved I worked as a vet tech so I pretty much took her to work every day..she's pretty desensitized to being around other animals.

we'll probably end up keeping her. just knowing that our baby will be here in a few short months has gotten me flustered..I don't want a memorable experience to turn out to be a nightmare. If it came down to it I could probably ask my parents to watch her for a while while me and my husband learn the ropes of caring for a baby.

she actually has been doing a little better the last few days. during typing this she's been playing on the balcony of her cage, on the floor throwing her little jingle balls, & sitting in my lap not whining too badly. she loves when we go outside & i sit her in a patch of small trees..she climbs all around in them plucking off leaves & eating buds. i've actually started trimming a few branches & putting them in her cage and this is helping to keep her entertained. I like how SpiritBird said her screaming was just calling to her flock..somehow that has made it seem less obnoxious