chad246emr
New member
Hello all,
I was recently approached by someone who had come into contact with me through mutual friends, and needs to rehome their late fathers umbrella cockatoo.
I’ve been around birds my entire life from hormonal Amazons to large macaws but never actually owned a cockatoo. I’ve held them and played with them and I’m aware of their up-front personalities and quirks, but I’ve never owned one. Currently, I own a severe macaw which is just a little bit smaller than a U2 but I’m not unaware of how different their dispositions are. I also have several smaller birds. Severe macaws, though notorious among macaw owners as the most difficult macaw to keep, are much more independent than your typical U2, and not as emotionally needy. I can leave my severe on a play stand for hours, and though he loves cuddling, he’s content with just chatting with me across the room. He can be awfully stubborn, and I’m not at all intimidated by bites from birds of any size over the years. I’m also pretty used to dealing with avian temper tantrums because of him. I’m also used to the volume he gives off, and I know cockatoos bring a lot of that as well.
The woman reached out to me and I talked to her about the bird. I’m waiting for pictures tomorrow morning, as she had already put the bird to bed tonight, but I’m considering adopting her. She said she has started plucking and wants to put her in a home that is more used to birds and what their needs are. She said she doesn’t scream consistently to where it would be an issue, though that threshold varies from person to person. She said she has bitten her son, but never bitten her. She also told me she’s seen a vet recently and was given a clean bill of health. She is 25 years old. She wasn’t asking an adoption fee, she just wants the bird to go to a good home.
My goal in writing this post is to pick your brains for main differences I can expect to notice, should I decide to adopt her, between macaw behavior and cockatoo behavior, and anything else I might not have mentioned in this post that I should be made aware of in making this decision. I’m a huge macaw guy, and very used to their behavior having handled them more than any other type of large parrot, so I want to make sure I’m making the right decision here. There is no adoption fee so it’d be easy for me to run out and pick her up as soon as possible, but I want to avoid an impulsive decision here for the dozens of reasons we all know that would be a terrible idea.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and appreciate your time!
I was recently approached by someone who had come into contact with me through mutual friends, and needs to rehome their late fathers umbrella cockatoo.
I’ve been around birds my entire life from hormonal Amazons to large macaws but never actually owned a cockatoo. I’ve held them and played with them and I’m aware of their up-front personalities and quirks, but I’ve never owned one. Currently, I own a severe macaw which is just a little bit smaller than a U2 but I’m not unaware of how different their dispositions are. I also have several smaller birds. Severe macaws, though notorious among macaw owners as the most difficult macaw to keep, are much more independent than your typical U2, and not as emotionally needy. I can leave my severe on a play stand for hours, and though he loves cuddling, he’s content with just chatting with me across the room. He can be awfully stubborn, and I’m not at all intimidated by bites from birds of any size over the years. I’m also pretty used to dealing with avian temper tantrums because of him. I’m also used to the volume he gives off, and I know cockatoos bring a lot of that as well.
The woman reached out to me and I talked to her about the bird. I’m waiting for pictures tomorrow morning, as she had already put the bird to bed tonight, but I’m considering adopting her. She said she has started plucking and wants to put her in a home that is more used to birds and what their needs are. She said she doesn’t scream consistently to where it would be an issue, though that threshold varies from person to person. She said she has bitten her son, but never bitten her. She also told me she’s seen a vet recently and was given a clean bill of health. She is 25 years old. She wasn’t asking an adoption fee, she just wants the bird to go to a good home.
My goal in writing this post is to pick your brains for main differences I can expect to notice, should I decide to adopt her, between macaw behavior and cockatoo behavior, and anything else I might not have mentioned in this post that I should be made aware of in making this decision. I’m a huge macaw guy, and very used to their behavior having handled them more than any other type of large parrot, so I want to make sure I’m making the right decision here. There is no adoption fee so it’d be easy for me to run out and pick her up as soon as possible, but I want to avoid an impulsive decision here for the dozens of reasons we all know that would be a terrible idea.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and appreciate your time!
