mytoos.com what do you think........

Hi their to all the cockatoo lovers, I have 5 year old African grey currently and I’m on and off thinking of adopting or buying from someone a cockatoo form an owner that can’t take care of one anymore.
I believe in adopting or buying from current owners.
I know they are probably the hardest parrots to take care of, I’m looking into a Galah, Citron or Sulphur-crested,
My question is, I came across a web site called All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com and it seems like they should not be kept at pets at all even if you know what you’re doing. What you guy think of this site?
Are they just bringing all the bad and worst stories ever?
After looking at this site even if I was an expert in toos I would not want to have one.

It works well in making people think hard about what are the teddy bears of the parrots world. "Oh look aren't they fluffy and I just want to cuddle one!"

If it makes people do some work before committing to a cockatoo then brilliant IMO! Why do you think so many get passed around like lost baggage during their lifetimes, get treated badly, are not understood and end up having to be kept in rescues because they have had such bad experiences with human beings. It's never the birds fault BUT it is ours!

Even though this site really spells it out as it is, there are still too many passed around. What would it be like if this site didn't exist?

If you do your homework and feel you can give a bird a good home for all the right reasons then go ahead with my blessing.

It's a good reality check: perhaps not the full story but taking on one of the large white toos is something that had the potential to end in disaster and a website that tells you very bluntly how bad things can be is a good thing.

Not everyone's experiences are going to tally with the mytoos outlook but the problem is it's very difficult to know how your experience will work out. Cuddly babies can turn into nightmare adults because you didn't set boundaries when they were young (M2s and U2s reach sexual maturity around 7-8), adults that were fine when you meet them then all hell breaks loose when they settle in and decide to lay down some rules of their own... It might not happen in your case but it could, and mytoos at least lets you know what you might be letting yourself in for.

Worth a read as reality check, recognizing they have an agenda to dissuade folks from "harboring" cockatoos. I've lived with 10 and currently have 6; they are definitely more challenging on a broad scale than other species, but with that comes the potential for high, very high reward! Once you get closely bonded to a properly socialized cockatoo, it is IMO avian nirvana!

Go to a rescue. Meet their worst and the crazies. Listen to all that noise. They aren't just loud because they are at a rescue. They really are that loud. We've had a perfectly fine well behaved bonded umbrella turn on his owner and had to have stitches/surgery on her face. It's not always cuddling that's for sure.

I love the cockatoos but they require full disclosure lol

I researched birds before I decided what would be the best bird for me. I went with the galah and my mom went with the Eclectus. Both are 3 months old and have been home a week. Night and day birds lol the galah is so funny and had the easiest time settling in. Both doing great. The galah beak is very manageable, he rarely bites down and when he does it isn't bad at all ( we are teaching them not to bite of course). The galah also isn't what i'd consider loud, his voice and screach are high pitched but he doesn't scream. Very goofy bird and very loving, and smart! He's already stepping up on command and trying to talk. Also VERY inquisitive and mischievous as a result lol but it's really a lot of fun interacting with him. I've started a YouTube channel where I can post videoes of them playing. Anyway, as far as Toos go, I would recommend the galah for sure

That is a lot of bird dust in your home with those two species. Be sure you do not have any other birds that can be effected respiratory wise. Also a good quality air filtration system would be advisable like Rabbitair. As far as MYtoos goes I think its good to have a place to spell out some of the realities of a cockatoo in your life.

'Toos are not for the faint of heart. Even when they're happy, they scream a few times a day. Sometimes for a long time. At a volume that makes your ears recoil and your nerves shatter. You couldn't have one if you had near neighbors. They can bite and do serious damage. They destroy your belongings and your woodwork. They're dusty and create a giant mess. You need to know all this before you think of having one. They're also sweet and cuddly and affectionate and needy. But going into it blind doesn't do you or the bird any favors. That site is blunt and shows only the negatives, I agree. But most of the internet sites show only the positives, the cute dancing, the silly behavior, the cuddling. People need to know it ALL.

Toos are hard. My best friend in HS's mom got a M2 and he was her baby. He went back and forth to work with her every day, got loads of attention, out of cage time, toys, etc. and was HER bird for several years. Then she got into breeding jack Russell terriers, her time and attention were divided (she still took them ALL to work with her - owned her own hair cutting business) but he got mad and started plucking. Last time I saw him before she rehomed him to someone with more time and less other pets he looked like a plucked chicken with a hair piece (head of feathers, everything else he could reach was plucked down past the fuzz) He also for the first time EVER allowed me to pick him up and give him hands on attention vs just taking treats. He also was VERY loud in the evenings when it was getting ready for bed time. Change is hard on them.

Cockatoos really require a certain personality to tolerate. It's not that they are inherently "bad" birds, but of all the parrot species that made their way into the pet trade, they really seem to be the least suited groups to life as pets. Even hand raised babies seem to struggle to adapt to the unnatural behaviors we humans expect of them when we bring them into our homes and stick them in cages. In nature, cockatoos lead a different lifestyle than many other parrots. Many of their natural characteristics and behaviors clash badly with how most people like to live. They also seem to be a more "emotionally sensitive" bunch. Mytoos.com exists for a reason. Many people see a big, pretty bird in a pet store without ever seeing the uglier side of the coin of what happens when cockatoos end up in unprepared/unsuitable homes. My dads cockatoo is a habitual biter and a behavioral screamer. My dad raised him from a baby, he's never been mistreated or neglected a day in his life. He just doesn't like living in a cage and never has, so he acts out in ways that are really, really hard to be understanding of as a human. A lot of people would not put up with a bird if it turned out like my dads bird did, especially if they put the work into the bird my dad did. That's why there are a disproportionate amount of cockatoos in shelters, being rehomed etc... with varying degrees of serious behavioral issues.

If you really think a cockatoo might be the right species for you, PLEASE volunteer at an avian shelter and work with some first before deciding to bring one home. And there's sure to be cockatoos a plenty at any avian rescue. TPeople with the ability to be good carers of any parrot are rare in general. People who can be good, lifelong carers to cockatoos are the rarest of the rare (and this forum has some of those shining examples of excellent cockatoo caretakers to help you!).

Siobhan said:

'Toos are not for the faint of heart. Even when they're happy, they scream a few times a day. Sometimes for a long time. At a volume that makes your ears recoil and your nerves shatter. You couldn't have one if you had near neighbors. They can bite and do serious damage. They destroy your belongings and your woodwork. They're dusty and create a giant mess. You need to know all this before you think of having one. They're also sweet and cuddly and affectionate and needy. But going into it blind doesn't do you or the bird any favors. That site is blunt and shows only the negatives, I agree. But most of the internet sites show only the positives, the cute dancing, the silly behavior, the cuddling. People need to know it ALL.

Click to expand...

Siobhan has it perfectly, even RB2's although smaller are still very dusty and destructive given half a chance. I wonder how many people are influenced just by the show offs on Youtube and decide to get one for all the wrong reasons. I love to talk about and show people pics/videos of my 'too to people who are interested but always explain the not so good side and then wait to see the persons facial expression change. I will never have a foreign holiday while Plum is alive as I do not believe in leaving him behind, how do you explain to a parrot "see you in two weeks!". They just think they have been abandoned. Someone wrote that parrots do forget things, not that I can see, Plum's memory is perfect. He would not be the same bird to the one I left behind for sure.

So far the only too I can see myself retting is a RB2

As long as you do not think of them as half a 'too because they are smaller in size?

Ignore at your peril LOL

As a cockatoo owner myself, I found mytoos.com to be an important read before my wife and I adopted Tiki. He is my best non-human friend, but he has an amazing ability to morph into a destructive, aggressive hellbeast at the drop of a hat. He destroys toys and furniture, screams, and I have more than a few battle wounds from him, but I was prepared for it and it hasn't changed my opinion of him. If anything, mytoos strengthened my resolve - Tiki will never be rehomed or dropped at a shelter, regardless of anything he does. Take a look at any shelter and observe the ratio of cockatoos to every other bird - it's staggering!

HERE IS THE DEAL WITH TOOS:

Toos are flock birds, NOT pair bond birds. They live in LARGE flocks. That means they have pretty much 24/7 companionship and entertainment from other birds... THEY DON'T HAVE TO SELF ENTERTAIN. They are very EMOTIONALLY NEEDY... (and with 80-100 birds in a flock SOMEONE is always there for you so you never get lonely. Kept in a cage with an owner away, not so much. Owner doesn't have time for you today. That would be rejection, which causes depression, which triggers screaming and plucking.) If those needs don't get met, you get unhappy birds. Unhappy toos tend to scream and pluck...

"If I ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy!!"

DOES THAT MEAN THEY SHOULD NEVER BE KEPT AS PETS?! Not necessarily. Although the one bird I wish had never been introduced to the pet trade are M2's because they are such wonderful and sensitive creatures, and MOST people cannot meet their needs...

MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE TOOS NEED BOUNDARIES AND STRUCTURE. THEY NEED TO BE TAUGHT TO SELF ENTERTAIN. THEY NEED STRUCTURED INTERACTION, AND A STRUCTURED ROUTINE IN ORDER TO THRIVE.

They are needful things.

The mytoos site is in response to the huge numbers of toos that end up as scream and plucks because the person who got one thought they had their little snuggle bird that they could take out of the cage and pay attention to when they felt like it....

IF A MACAW IS A TODDLER WITH FEATHERS...

A LARGE TOO IS A SPECIAL NEEDS TODDLER WITH FEATHERS...

It's a lot of work. And most people aren't willing to do the work. AND THEN BOTH BIRD AND HUMANS WIND UP MISERABLE. That's the pattern.

I've seen and worked with plenty of birds, both behaviorally challenged, and well behaved, including a few M2s that had all their feathers, and didn't spend their days rupturing eardrums... and loved everyone. It's gut wrenching to see the neglected ones...

I've had foster toos, by the way.... But I don't keep any. Rehabbed more than my fair share of these guys.

STRUCTURE - STRUCTURE- STRUCTURE. AND DISCIPLINE. YOU DON'T GET YOUR WAY BY THROWING A FIT. IF THEY GET THEIR WAY BY THROWING A FIT, YOU HAVE JUST TRAINED THEM TO THROW FITS. YOU DON'T GET PICKED UP TO QUIET YOU DOWN. THAT'S THE BIRD TRAINING THE HUMAN, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. BIRD SLAVES ARE MADE IN SUCH A FASHION... This is feeding time. This is your out time. This is your time to get handled and loved on. This is your IN time. This is the time you have to play with your toys and find ways to entertain yourself. This is bedtime.

Some toos actually have to be taught how to play... And you have to mix things up and keep things interesting for them. Bored toos pluck. Simple things like play boxes tossed in the bottom of the cage, can keep them self entertained for a good 4 hours at a time...

I'm a pair bond bird sort of guy. Amazons and macaws are more my thing. My CAG was raised with zons and macaws, so he kinda took on their hardier traits. Like my zons, he's more likely to pluck you, than himself.

Thank you Mark, well said!!!!

I've often posted toos are best kept in flocks or at least in pairs. They need each other AND copious time with their humans. There are exceptions with dedicated parronts such as Allee.

I tend to agree, unless it is an out and about too, that is exposed to new things and people all the time...

Or unless it's a bird that has a really structured routine. And is comfortable with that structure.

BEHAVIOR PATTERNS and social interactions/social norms are different with flock birds vs. pair bond birds vs. solitary feeders. Everything goes back to flock structure, and instinctive behaviors.

Flock birds do better in pairs or small groups, and it doesn't really affect their socializing with people at all. (primarily toos and eckies)

Pair bond birds, tend to have the jealousy/territorial thing around other birds and/or may tend to transfer the bond to the other bird, and the hell with you, three's a crowd... So you have to be careful when adding new birds to a flock with a really really bonded say, macaw or amazon. Especially zons. They can be quite aggressively territorial with other zons.

Scott said:

Thank you Mark, well said!!!!

I've often posted toos are best kept in flocks or at least in pairs. They need each other AND copious time with their humans. There are exceptions with dedicated parronts such as Allee.

Click to expand...

Well the absolute worst bird to deal with in terms of SPOILED BIRD SYNDROME IS A TOO... undoing that human created mess is just a major pain in the butt. It takes months of butting heads with the bird.

You really, really need to know how to train one BEFORE taking it home. WITH MOST OF THE "PROBLEM BIRDS" I've seen, their problems were primarily HUMANS who didn't quite understand the mess they were making!!!

If you remember the M2 at the San Diego zoo?

That bird was the zoo's "official greeter" for 67 years. Why?! Because without that interaction, he became depressed and would pluck. He loved everyone, and wanted to be the center of attention all the time. As the center of attention, "official zoo greeter" he thrived... things that would "stress" a lot of birds, that bird would stress if it lost...

Taking a bird like that, and making it do "life in solitary" is a form of slow torture...