New Parents to an Umbrella Cockatoo Rescue :)

Hi! We rescued an 8 year old umbrella cockatoo a month ago and we are very happy. We don't know if its a male or female but we think it is a he. He is funny, cute, and stubborn. We have been feeding him seeds, veggies, and fruit and have been introducing pellets in his food. We were wondering if anyone who owns an umbrella cockatoo knows what else we can feed him. His name is Echo and he says a few words and loves to be held and rubbed under his wings. We truly love our new bird!

Hi and a warm welcome to the forum and to U2 ownership! Funny, cute and stubborn, all good descriptions of a U2. What color are your U2's eyes? If they are brown it's likely you have a female, if black a male. I'm not absolutely certain that holds true in every single case but it does seem to be the rule.

My U2 eats organic pellets, she likes them soaked until soft in 100% fruit juice diluted with water. She was eight years old when I got her and had been fed pellets but not much fresh food. She couldn't resist birdie bread, so at first I hid all the nutritious stuff in the bread. She was slow to develop a taste for chop, but she eats her veggies now. Raw kale, broccoli, carrots, peas, corn, peppers, sprouts, cucumbers, cooked sweet potatoes, beets, pumpkin, beans, pasta, rice, oatmeal, couscous, quinoa. A little chicken, boiled eggs and fish occasionally. She really likes Bird Street Bistro, cook and serve meals. She loves fruit, bananas, cored apples (no seed), strawberries, kiwis, grapes, papaya, pomegranates, pineapple and melon. Poppy doesn't get as much fruit as she'd like because she doesn't need the sugar, but she gets a little fruit every day. I give her unsalted almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, but only in moderation as treats. I'm sure that's not a complete list.

You might find some interesting food ideas in the following link.

Parrot Food, Recipes and Diet - Parrot Forum - Parrot Owner's Community

I hope that helps. Enjoy getting to know your Too. We'd love to see photos.

Umbies are super cuddly, but a friendly word of caution, rubbing them on the back and under the wings can be stimulating and confusing for some Toos, they may see you as a potential mate. After you've had some time to get to know Echo, then you'll know wether it's an issue or not. All birds are different, I scratch Poppy under the wings and have never had a problem as long is it isn't hormone season, in that case I limit handling to head scratches.