What is too much petting for a Too?

I've been reading that too much petting in certain areas are considered sexual for toos. So I have been very careful and I'm worried now because a couple times now she does this thing where she pants really fast and kind of starts to rock back and forth. I immediately stop petting her and I'm worried this might be her doing a mating ritual. Um, I don't let her behind neck or under the wings, normally just on her forehead and underneath her eyes. It just seems like this is all she wants to do when I am home and I don't want to create bad habits because I've only had her for 5 days!


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Yes, with adult cockatoos you want to avoid petting under the wings and along the back and body. As far as I know, neck and head are okay, but every bird is different, and she may be interpreting your petting as a sign of acceptance of being her mate. Stop the petting, as she may be getting confused, which eventually can turn into a lot of frustration for them and they can turn very aggressive.

If you look up Gotcha the Cockatoo on youtube and see her recent videos, there's one where his owner explains that some petting is okay, while a full-body pet can sexually stimulate them. The videos are great and very funny. Hope that helps!

itzjbean said:

Yes, with adult cockatoos you want to avoid petting under the wings and along the back and body. As far as I know, neck and head are okay, but every bird is different, and she may be interpreting your petting as a sign of acceptance of being her mate. Stop the petting, as she may be getting confused, which eventually can turn into a lot of frustration for them and they can turn very aggressive.

If you look up Gotcha the Cockatoo on youtube and see her recent videos, there's one where his owner explains that some petting is okay, while a full-body pet can sexually stimulate them. The videos are great and very funny. Hope that helps!

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Thanks!! I will check it out today!? I have noticed that every cockatoo is different, and they are also different with every person so I think because my cockatoo is so emotionally attached to me, even me putting her on the head probably trigger something more than just a nice little scratch, I am trying to have her sit on her perch or next to me while I'm home instead of constantly cuddling because that's all she seems to want to do



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My cockatoo is exactly the same! A super cuddle bug, always trying to get into my shirt and easily going crazy at the lightest of stimulation. I also ironically got her like 5 days ago. We should be adopted-cockatoo pen pal buddies lol.

I have had a lot of improvement w her crazy hormonal panting behavior though. Her old family obviously did not know about the stimulation thing and they had her on a longer daylight schedule with constant petting in inappropriate places including under the wings. I switched her over to 12 hours of daylight. She's currently taken over my room as her quiet night time bedroom to make sure she gets those 12 hours! I've also educated all members of my household about proper petting.

I can usually have a really nice cuddle time with her without having her go crazy hormonal now. It takes a few tries though, especially the first few pets of the day. I just take it really slow. When she goes crazy i give her a moment/switch to a different activity. And obviously you don't want to cuddle her all the time, I always try to engage mine with a lot of different activities or trying new foods so that she doesn't only associate me with cuddles and learns there are other good things in life lol.

Here's the thing: at certain times of the year, it really doesn't matter WHAT you do, the bird's going to "take it the wrong way." And you don't want to reject your 'too and give no affection and hurt his/her feelings. When the bird's in a romantic mood and every little touch seems to stimulate him/her, try to replace petting with games. That seems to work with Rocky. I hand him something, he throws it, I retrieve it. We practice "gimme four" and he taps my hand with his foot. I make a fuss about how smart he is and he dances. You can still interact without cuddles during high-hormones times.

Siobhan said:

Here's the thing: at certain times of the year, it really doesn't matter WHAT you do, the bird's going to "take it the wrong way." And you don't want to reject your 'too and give no affection and hurt his/her feelings. When the bird's in a romantic mood and every little touch seems to stimulate him/her, try to replace petting with games. That seems to work with Rocky. I hand him something, he throws it, I retrieve it. We practice "gimme four" and he taps my hand with his foot. I make a fuss about how smart he is and he dances. You can still interact without cuddles during high-hormones times.

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How did you teach your too to play catch? I'm still trying to learn Lily's body language it is soooo complex and confusing


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fayah said:

My cockatoo is exactly the same! A super cuddle bug, always trying to get into my shirt and easily going crazy at the lightest of stimulation. I also ironically got her like 5 days ago. We should be adopted-cockatoo pen pal buddies lol.



I have had a lot of improvement w her crazy hormonal panting behavior though. Her old family obviously did not know about the stimulation thing and they had her on a longer daylight schedule with constant petting in inappropriate places including under the wings. I switched her over to 12 hours of daylight. She's currently taken over my room as her quiet night time bedroom to make sure she gets those 12 hours! I've also educated all members of my household about proper petting.



I can usually have a really nice cuddle time with her without having her go crazy hormonal now. It takes a few tries though, especially the first few pets of the day. I just take it really slow. When she goes crazy i give her a moment/switch to a different activity. And obviously you don't want to cuddle her all the time, I always try to engage mine with a lot of different activities or trying new foods so that she doesn't only associate me with cuddles and learns there are other good things in life lol.

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Great!! Nice to meet you!! [emoji3] how's your cockatoo adjusting??? My girl only likes me and she won't really leave my room she's very traumatized


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emyoung858 said:

Great!! Nice to meet you!! [emoji3] how's your cockatoo adjusting??? My girl only likes me and she won't really leave my room she's very traumatized


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I was lucky in that my bird was well socialized before I got her. When she first came in, we had her in the living room which is pretty quiet and she slowly got to meet my family one by one as they came through. She sometimes felt friendly and would come up to meet them and when she got scared or tired she'd just retreat back to her cage top.

Since we leave her in the living room all day and I slowly take her around the house, usually stopping of I feel her grip my arm particularly hard or lean her body towards the opposite direction. If she does that i usually pet/talk comfortingly and walk her back to her cage. So we keep going a little farther each day and she is being more and more comfortable accompanying me to different areas because she knows I am sensitive to her signs of discomfort and she has some control over the situation. And when we get to a new area i obviously reward her with lots of pet and I attempt to give her treats but I haven't really found a treat she is crazy over yet and she usually tosses most things to the ground

She loves everyone in my family too, mostly because we split up caretaking. i usually set up all her food/enrichment in the mornings and have work at night. my family keeps her company and plays with her at night. She loves watching TV with them and dancing to my dad singing karaoke, my parents are totally in love haha

I have a question about the wing petting. My too is just now 7 months and under his wings are tons of new feathers which are driving him nuts.
As I've visited him I've always petted his wings, open them up fully and fought both the wings underneath and the body to try to desensitize him and earn his trust with the wings so it would aid in allowing me to put his harness on him.
He fully trusts me now with his wings and I'm not touch him as much underneath except to try to health with itching and removal of brittle sheaths.
At what age do you need to refrain from the back and wing petting?

MrsBigE said:

I have a question about the wing petting. My too is just now 7 months and under his wings are tons of new feathers which are driving him nuts.
As I've visited him I've always petted his wings, open them up fully and fought both the wings underneath and the body to try to desensitize him and earn his trust with the wings so it would aid in allowing me to put his harness on him.
He fully trusts me now with his wings and I'm not touch him as much underneath except to try to health with itching and removal of brittle sheaths.
At what age do you need to refrain from the back and wing petting?

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Good question, I hope you can get some answers. I heard that they start to get hormonal at the age of 3 but I'm not 100% positive, my too is 10. and speaking of harnesses, I want Lily to wear a harness so we can take her places, how did you get your bird to wear a harness??



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While every bird is different, many of the concepts posted are relevant.

My Goffins love being scratched below the wing, with no untoward reactions ever. I never touch the vent area, but an occasional stroke of the back and belly while cuddling seems harmless.

fayah said:

My cockatoo is exactly the same! A super cuddle bug, always trying to get into my shirt and easily going crazy at the lightest of stimulation. I also ironically got her like 5 days ago. We should be adopted-cockatoo pen pal buddies lol.



I have had a lot of improvement w her crazy hormonal panting behavior though. Her old family obviously did not know about the stimulation thing and they had her on a longer daylight schedule with constant petting in inappropriate places including under the wings. I switched her over to 12 hours of daylight. She's currently taken over my room as her quiet night time bedroom to make sure she gets those 12 hours! I've also educated all members of my household about proper petting.



I can usually have a really nice cuddle time with her without having her go crazy hormonal now. It takes a few tries though, especially the first few pets of the day. I just take it really slow. When she goes crazy i give her a moment/switch to a different activity. And obviously you don't want to cuddle her all the time, I always try to engage mine with a lot of different activities or trying new foods so that she doesn't only associate me with cuddles and learns there are other good things in life lol.

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Oh my gosh how ironic!! I took Lily to the vet yesterday and they told me that she was well into her 30s, I was lied to but anyways it's nice to meet you too!! Yes let's stay connected for sure. Since Lily went to the vet she had a total turn around, he showed me how to let her who's boss so that I remain as the dominant one over her. She started to try controlling everyone real quick but we stopped that and now she is alittle angel and very obedient, I take her in the car with me places now and everyone I meet I let pet her to help socialize her. She is no longer showing signs of aggression because we learned not to show her any signs of fear so that's my update!!! How's your week going so far?? My next step is getting her a harness so she's more safe when we're outside


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emyoung858 said:

Oh my gosh how ironic!! I took Lily to the vet yesterday and they told me that she was well into her 30s, I was lied to but anyways it's nice to meet you too!! Yes let's stay connected for sure. Since Lily went to the vet she had a total turn around, he showed me how to let her who's boss so that I remain as the dominant one over her. She started to try controlling everyone real quick but we stopped that and now she is alittle angel and very obedient, I take her in the car with me places now and everyone I meet I let pet her to help socialize her. She is no longer showing signs of aggression because we learned not to show her any signs of fear so that's my update!!! How's your week going so far?? My next step is getting her a harness so she's more safe when we're outside


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Unfortunately our vet visit had much worse results. I found out she did not have a check up in over a year and that she has abnormal liver results along with a crop infection. Might explain why she's been slightly withdrawn at times. Anyways currently putting her on antibiotics and hoping for the best

Also how can you tell a cockatoo's age?

fayah said:

emyoung858 said:

Oh my gosh how ironic!! I took Lily to the vet yesterday and they told me that she was well into her 30s, I was lied to but anyways it's nice to meet you too!! Yes let's stay connected for sure. Since Lily went to the vet she had a total turn around, he showed me how to let her who's boss so that I remain as the dominant one over her. She started to try controlling everyone real quick but we stopped that and now she is alittle angel and very obedient, I take her in the car with me places now and everyone I meet I let pet her to help socialize her. She is no longer showing signs of aggression because we learned not to show her any signs of fear so that's my update!!! How's your week going so far?? My next step is getting her a harness so she's more safe when we're outside


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Click to expand...

Unfortunately our vet visit had much worse results. I found out she did not have a check up in over a year and that she has abnormal liver results along with a crop infection. Might explain why she's been slightly withdrawn at times. Anyways currently putting her on antibiotics and hoping for the best

Also how can you tell a cockatoo's age?

Click to expand...

I am sorry you received such negative results. Hopefully the liver issue is treatable/managed and the crop infection completely cured. Is your vet avian certified? Some liver ailments respond to homeopathic treatment with liquid aloe. I would advise discussing all relevant treatments with a qualified vet.

Cockatoo age determination is extremely difficult! In the case of the prior post, the bird had an older leg band that gave a reasonable estimate.
http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/67474-trip-vet-yesterday-fantastic.html#post638625

Oh no so sorry to hear about the liver problem, Lily is withdrawn too, what tests did you get to find out about her liver?? I couldn't afford to get all the tests done on our last visit so I was going to wait a week or two for my tax returns to come and then get the 4 tests the av suggested but I can't remember what they are exactly or what he said he was testing for, how is ur too' now that she's on antibiotics??? I hope she's ok! H


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My vet is definitely avian certified. We actually have a specialized avian hospital about 5 mins from my home which is super convenient. I love the two vets there, they have taken great care of all my fosters and previous birds for over 10 years

Currently my bird haaaates her medicine obviously. I feel so bad i have to restrain her. I am going to try maybe mixing it with almond butter per vet suggestion. I also feel i am just getting more paranoid because my bird sounds slightly congested but idk. I'll monitor it closely for now.

She is also getting milk thistle for her liver. She actually likes that though lol. I really wish I had more time to towel train her before this happened

I got so many exams including cbc, crop swab, cloaca swab, fecal tests, etc. i'll take a pic of my bill sometime for you later lol

fayah said:

My vet is definitely avian certified. We actually have a specialized avian hospital about 5 mins from my home which is super convenient. I love the two vets there, they have taken great care of all my fosters and previous birds for over 10 years



Currently my bird haaaates her medicine obviously. I feel so bad i have to restrain her. I am going to try maybe mixing it with almond butter per vet suggestion. I also feel i am just getting more paranoid because my bird sounds slightly congested but idk. I'll monitor it closely for now.



She is also getting milk thistle for her liver. She actually likes that though lol. I really wish I had more time to towel train her before this happened



I got so many exams including cbc, crop swab, cloaca swab, fecal tests, etc. i'll take a pic of my bill sometime for you later lol

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Yikes!!! I'm going to get all of those tests done too because I know that Lily's previous owners never took her to the vet in like five years, they only took her to pet stores to get her nails and wings trimmed every once in a while that's it


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fayah said:

My vet is definitely avian certified. We actually have a specialized avian hospital about 5 mins from my home which is super convenient. I love the two vets there, they have taken great care of all my fosters and previous birds for over 10 years

Currently my bird haaaates her medicine obviously. I feel so bad i have to restrain her. I am going to try maybe mixing it with almond butter per vet suggestion. I also feel i am just getting more paranoid because my bird sounds slightly congested but idk. I'll monitor it closely for now.

She is also getting milk thistle for her liver. She actually likes that though lol. I really wish I had more time to towel train her before this happened

I got so many exams including cbc, crop swab, cloaca swab, fecal tests, etc. i'll take a pic of my bill sometime for you later lol

Click to expand...

I've found mixing meds with unsweetened oatmeal is a hit! I first cook the cereal to a very thick standard and allow to cool. Mixing the meds introduces additional fluid for a nice consistency with manageable volume.

I was wondering as well but it depends on the bird I think. When I first got justine I would go to the store and play with here before I was able to take her home. I would pet on the head, neck and back and sometimes under the wing for a second or so.. She seems to like it because when I am petting her on the back she puts her wing out to pet under the wing.. I dont pet unless she wants to.. There has been a time where I try to pet under the wing and she just hold back to her body so I assume that means no..

There are times where I pet her cheeks and under her crest and she is totally down for that..

Scott said:

fayah said:

My vet is definitely avian certified. We actually have a specialized avian hospital about 5 mins from my home which is super convenient. I love the two vets there, they have taken great care of all my fosters and previous birds for over 10 years

Currently my bird haaaates her medicine obviously. I feel so bad i have to restrain her. I am going to try maybe mixing it with almond butter per vet suggestion. I also feel i am just getting more paranoid because my bird sounds slightly congested but idk. I'll monitor it closely for now.

She is also getting milk thistle for her liver. She actually likes that though lol. I really wish I had more time to towel train her before this happened

I got so many exams including cbc, crop swab, cloaca swab, fecal tests, etc. i'll take a pic of my bill sometime for you later lol

Click to expand...

I've found mixing meds with unsweetened oatmeal is a hit! I first cook the cereal to a very thick standard and allow to cool. Mixing the meds introduces additional fluid for a nice consistency with manageable volume.

Click to expand...

I'm wondering how you feed the mixture? I finally got my baby to enjoy almond.butter as recommended by my vet so i am thinking of trying this trick with it now