Umbrella Cockatoo Newbie

Hi all,

My name is Dahlia. I have a 16 year old, male (I think), umbrella cockatoo, named Sweetie. I am the only person to have brought this wonderful parrot, into my home.

One of the main reasons I wanted to join this forum is because I want to understand this beautiful "creature", and I mean that in the most loving way, I adore him!

As I mentioned in my tag, I would like very much to train him.

My history with him is as follows:

At first, I always let him out of the cage. As he got older, he became more destructive, and it became harder and harder to get him to go back into his cage.

My life became very busy, working very long hours, etc.

To make a long story short, I eventually stopped taking him out of his cages, because he would bite me and was completely uncontrollable. I admit that I became terrified of taking him out of his cage... I'm still terrified! But that's totally unfair to him... and I want this to come to an end. Besides, I miss having the little guy on my arm!

Can someone please let me know if there are any training programs that work?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Dahlia

Training Parrots | Parrot Training DVDS & Books
Ths should help

Thanks! Could you let me know which worked for your cockatoo?

Does anyone know if birdtricks.com is a good program?

Hi Dahlia and welcome to the forum, sexing a U2 is fairly easy, in a good light check the birds eyes, if its male the iris will be a dark towards black color, if female it should be a brick red color, while its not a 100% way to tell it is pretty accurate, if you really want to know DNA or surgical sexing is the only way to be possitive, you say that Sweetie is distructive, in what way? eating the house down around you? if thats the case, just like having a baby in the house, you'll have to take the responsiblity of bird proofing your home, to handle him better since you say he's biting you'll want to look into perch training him, this method uses a perch instead of your hand to control and move him from place to place, it will also help getting him back in the cage, it sounds like you might have to start over from square one on gaining back his trust, its a process that takes time and patience, the book " Parrots For Dummies" is a good gaining a lot of info on getting started, I'd stay away from the birdtricks stuff, alot of its just stuff you can pick up off the internet for free, if you want good material to training and learning the behavior of your bird check out Barbara Heidenreich's material at goodbirdinc.com, hope some of that helps

Hi Bob,

Thanks for all the info... Sorry I didn't reply sooner, have been busy checking it out. I want to make sure I do this right this time. The poor bird has not been out of his cages in at least 10 years. So, his feathers are not trimmed, either. I want to make sure he doesn't fly into a wall or a window and hurt himself.

To answer your question, yes he was chewing on everything, furniture, door frames, window sills. When I tried to get him back into his cage, he would bite me.

Don't get me wrong, most of the time, he seems very tame, well adjusted, happy in his two cages, and keeps himself amused with his toys. I also give him a lot of attention. However, now that I'm home most of the time, I realize that I have been short changing him by not letting him out of his cages. In addition, I have not been giving him the mental stimulation that he so needs, my mistake, I know. So, I'm really anxious to correct that, asap. But I don't want to make more major mistakes... My biggest fear is taking him out, now that his wings haven't been clipped in at least 10 years, and he flies into a wall or a window and hurts himself. I also don't think that I will be able to take him out and start clipping his wings... So, that's my dilemma...

I will be getting Barbara Heinrich's videos and or books Asap.

Welcome Sw2. You will learn good things here as this forum helps many people all over the world. I am sending you one of the best trainer information. Her name is on the top left side of the web page and she is now doing educational seminars in various cities. You will find one coming up soon in Va. Go to the Phoenix Landing web site and the inform. is there. It is a big chance to learn how to train birds. Here is a link to some of her articles:
Parrot Behavior Problems | Positive Bird Training

here is a link to the educational events
http://www.phoenixlanding.org/events.html

Best of luck. You can definitely bring him around.

It sounds like you're afraid of him. Follow the advice given above, but there are things you can do now that can only help. Can you pet him and feed him with your fingers? I recommend talking to him, feeding him treats and petting his head (if you can).

Yes, you are correct, I am afraid of him. I am afraid that when I take him out, and try to clip his wings or try to stop him from chewing up everything, that I will get bit.

On the flip side, when I say that I give him plenty of attention, I mean that I rub his head, beak, back, under his wings, wings, and legs. He also takes food from my hand. He doesn't like his feet touched though.

I also always talk, sing and play bass for him.


Thanks for the links! I haven't seen these yet, will check them out

Hi Sweetie2,

I have a male Umbrella (Sam) also, he was kept in a cold, dark garage in the dead of winter .. they put up a Christmas Tree and had no room in the house for him ... I'm guessing they couldn't handle his screaming and rehomed him to the garage. We had the advantage of his young age .. he was only 3 years old when we took him in ... he's now almost 8 years old.

When we first brought Sam home he was very aggressive towards me (he would fly off his cage to attack when I walked by:11 .. but loved my husband. After about a year of lots of patience and working with him ... he loves me and is my velcro bird ... and will attack my husband LOL. Sam didn't know how to perch on your hand/arm, he was never handled properly. Birds are very cautious and we must take baby steps with them. Sweetie has been in his cage for 10 years and it will take time. They also sense when you're afraid of them. I have scars from 'Too and Macaw bites, you can't show fear not matter what ... its only a bite LOL. Being bit is part of being owned by a parrot. It sounds like your doing good, keep giving positive reinforcement and loving attention .... this will take some time and effort on your part but will be so worth it in the end. Good luck and give Sweetie scritches for us.

Don't be afraid! He likes you. He's just, literally and figuratively, cagebound. He is scared and doesn't know how to act outside the cage.

That's really encouraging I have been reading everthing I can get my hands on now! I am really looking forward to getting him out of his cage.

AndrewH said:

Don't be afraid! He likes you. He's just, literally and figuratively, cagebound. He is scared and doesn't know how to act outside the cage.

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Thanks! I know you are right. I will take him out as soon as I can.