Abnormally Calm Cockatoo help

Hello,

My fiance and I adopted an umbrella cockatoo about 6-7 months ago.

When we first got her, she would scream all of the time, any time she wanted food or anything that we had or if we left her alone, or just for no reason at all. I understand this is normal, but we lived in an apartment at the time, so it was a little hard to deal with.

Now we have our own home, and she has taken to us and is doing much better.

Our problem is that now, she doesn't have a lot of energy, she is probably the most well behaved bird you can imagine, usually not screaming at all except maybe once every other day, or when we forget to turn the lights out for her when its time for her to sleep.

She does not have a cage, but her own stand that she stays on, we have not clipped her wings, but the previous owners had, but she still can't fly yet.

Basically, no matter what we do, we cannot get her to play, she has no interest in toys, any time we get her off her perch, she only wants to be right on top of you, or on the couch. If you put her in the floor with toys, her only goal is to get back to you and be out of the floor. She is a happy bird and loves cuddles, and we can get her excited sometimes with music and being silly with her, but it is a struggle. Most of the time she just stares out of her window. Later in the day she will do some swinging on her garden hook and say "hi" until we get her down, but if we do, she just wants to sit with us on the couch.

We adopted her from an older couple, and we wonder if that has to do with her temperament. She is about 9 years old. We also wonder if the lack of sunshine in our house has to do with it. Not much natural light gets in. She gets happy if we take her outside to the porch, but we can't do that often as its usually 20-30 degrees here.

Any tips or comments on her behavior? We want to get her to be more outgoing. She has a diet of Zupreem, almonds, and fresh fruit we give her every day. She is not a fan of vegetable.

Hello, thanks for reaching out!

Your cockatoo's behavior seems concerning to me. That she's tired and has no interest in doing much tells me she may have an underlying medical issue that she may need checked out. When was her last checkup by a certified Avian Vet? Birds usually try to hide their illness as best they can but having no energy signals to me that she either has a poor diet or has medical issues that need addressed.

What are you currently feeding your cockatoo? Diet is so very important in these guys, lack of nutrition can lead to poor feather quality, lethargic behavior and low activity. You'll want to be sure to include lots of fresh fruits and veggies -- stay away from the seeds as they're high in fat and generally not good for parrots.

I would also urge you to get a cage for your cockatoo -- for her safety. What do you do when everyone has to leave the house? It's much safer for her in a cage, especially if you have to go away for some time.

We feed her Zupreem fruit blend/Zupreem pure fun , get her fresh fruits often, and give her almonds as treats.

She was checked by a vet a few months back, but Im not sure if he was certified avian or not.

We have not gotten her a cage because her very first owner kept her locked in a basement in a cage without any interaction most of the time, so shes very afraid of them.

She NEVER comes off her perch without one of us getting her down, so we dont worry much about that, and we are usually always home.

I will search for an avian vet near me to take her too, however there arent any close by.

Certainly getting her checked out by a CAV would be a good idea. How long has she been in the new house? My Hawk Head of over 2 years is just now starting to act like a parrot so I don't know if your Too's behavior is anything to worry about as long as she has a CAV checkup.

We have moved a lot since we got her, but shes been in this house for around 4 months now.

You didn't mention any veggies that you feed her, there was a post made a few months back about changes in behavior and it turned out to be the owners feeding too much fruit. Fruit is good to feed to our parrots but it has a lot of sugar. If fed excessively, it can lead to health problems. Consider cutting back on fruit to only feed sparingly and adding vegetables like broccoli, cucumber, peas, green beans, leafy greens, peppers, etc. There is so much thy can enjoy but it can be somewhat tricky to make sure their diet is balanced. She may become more active if you try removing all the fruit. Be sure to keep us updated on her progress!

To reiterate, she loves to play with toys as long as they are on her open cage, just hates being in the floor.

We often try to feed her veggies but she doesn't like most of them, shell eat peppers, potatoes and cucumber sometimes. We have tried many different veggies, and any time we have any veggies we offer her some.

Welcome to the forums, thanks for joining!

You seem to have an unusually well behaved Umbrella!! They are typically energetic and boisterous. Would be nice to have a check by an avian certified vet to rule out illness.

Not having a cage may eventually pose a problem, as Umbrellas are notorious chewers and destroyers of everything in sight. Still, you may have a bird with extraordinary temperament... but beware!

Diet can be very difficult to change. More vegetables than fruit is best, and there are some items that are broadly accepted. Cooked yams, sweet potatoes, and various beans such as kidney, lima, black-eye, garbanzo, and pinto are popular. She may consider you as part of her flock; use this to advantage. Make a bowl of "chop" (vegetables and fruits) for you and her, and begin to eat yours in her presence. Make it know you are enjoying by making "Mmmmm" sounds, bob your head! Most parrots are flock-eaters and will show interest. This thread explains some techniques to foster a healthier diet: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-...7-converting-parrots-healthier-diet-tips.html

Good luck, let us know how things are going!

I have two U2s. They eat the same diet and live in the same room. Clyde is calm as he can be, he sits and watches and has little interest in toys. He will climb the big boing and and bounce around on it, but he is generally just chilled.

Bonnie is a dynamo. She can't be stopped. She dismantles everything and destroys toys. She flies more than Clyde, walks around on the floor more than Clyde, and talks FAR more than Clyde. She is just far more active than Clyde.

Like us, parrots are individuals.