Cockatoo cuddliness

[basia]

While I was searching through different species of parrot trying to figure out which one I best for me I came across Cockatoo's. I think they are beautiful and great but I'm just curious a lot of people said they need a lot of attention.What is your daily routine with them so that I can understand just how demanding for attention they are ,
thanks

 

[friedsoup]

I don't own one but have worked with a few and they can be very needy and Loud when they don't get what they think they are due ( In the wild the Cockatoo's call can be heard up to 2 miles stop and think of that in your house and now think of that going on for hours............ ) I really think it's not the amount of time you spend with them it's what you do with them i.e. teaching them to play with toys and learning to amuse themselves is much more important than the time you spend cuddling with your bird. Other people on here will give you much better information but as a voice of reason the cockatoo is the most rehomed bird of all the birds, Just be really sure before you buy.

 

[Ducorp]

i own a 5 year old ducorp cockatoo. he is like a 8 month old baby always wants attention, loves cuddles and being on your shoulder. if you have the time then i would defo recommend one. the larger cockatoos i beleive are VERY loud, my ducorp does have a really loud scream but i have learned him not to do it he is very clever and understands NO.

i would defo stick to a small cockatoo rather than a larger one. ducorps, galahs and goffins all lovely parrots. but it all depends on your circumstances really and your neighbours.

 

[Molcan2]

My honest opinion... if your going to get a Too stick with the smaller ones. The large Toos are a lot more demanding, harder to please, and can be extremely difficult at times. By smaller Toos I'm referring to: Goffins, Galahs, Doucrops, Bare Eyed, Corellas etc. If you want a 'larger' bird then the Galah is about as large as I would go, they are also my top pick from the list (if you can get your hands on one they are worth their weight in gold). Some of the lesser Sulfer crested can be a little more manageable. I would stay away from the Moluccans (far far away from the male M2s) and Umbrellas (far far away from the male U2s).

 

[jonahsmom]

I met a citron and a ducorps the other night when I was out of town and decided to stop at the pet shop. The ducorps was so, SO sweet and came right to me. He's a plucker and I wanted to put him in my purse and run away with him. The citron didn't make a peep the entire time I was there. The ducorps was talkative. Screamed one time while he was on my shoulder and it was loud, but I've definitely heard louder! Like from the umbrella cockatoo at the other end of the room that was completely jealous and kept screaming. Yikes!!!!!

 

[Mare Miller]

I have a male umbrella cockatoo and a female goffins 'too. Speaking from experience, you want to stear clear of the male U2 as a house pet. My female goffins is a dream, she's a wonderful addition to our family. She came to me as a 7yr. old so I can't say I influenced her young behavior. Amigo, the U2, on the other hand, was also a rehome and was way to much personality, more than one house can hold.

 

[melissasparrots]

Cockatoos are birds that make their owners think. You have to have an ability to think outside of the box to prevent and deal with problem behaviors and keep them entertained. A lot of time spent living with a cockatoo is spent thinking about how to make their life better and trying different things. This isn't a pet that its enough to love them a lot and give them snuggles. Its not enough to go to the petstore and buy a bunch of toys. As a cockatoo ages, they tend to get a little jaded about toys. Been there, done, that...boring. So they will sit with a cage full of toys and look bored or if allowed to go on for a long period of time they will resort to feather picking. A successful cockatoo owner notices what the bird plays with and rather than going out and buying a bunch of random toys to stockpile, they focusing in on what the bird is actually enjoying. Usually they make a lot of toys themselves and do a lot of foraging toys. Get used to power tools, a good skill saw and hand-held drill will be your friends. You might have times where you go to the hardware store and spend 45 minutes just staring at all the stuff and wondering how you can use it to make a toy out of or somehow rig the cage to be escape proof. Thoughts not about snuggling or love will invade your thoughts while driving home from work. Things like, 'gee I've noticed Cuddles has been preening and awful lot lately, what can I do to prevent this from becoming an overpreening habit and is this behavioral or medical and do I need a vet check and then going through the logical list of evidence that might lead you to diagnose the problem as behavioral or medical and deciding what needs to be done tonight in the toy department to make this not a problem tomorrow or call the vet.' This might result in multiple trips the grocery store to get coffee filters, plastic straws, Walmart to get wiffle balls and various other potential toy supplies and then spending a few hours randomly putting things together and seeing if your bird likes it enough to take its mind off of any abnormal or obsessive behaviors that you've been seeing. Taking it for trips through the drive through and to visit friends to give it something to think about. Possibly building an outside enclosure so it can get a little sun and have something else to look at other than the same walls. They are time consuming in that they accupy both your physical and mental time.

My daily routine with my cockatoo is get up and give fresh veggies in the morning then inspect her cage and maybe thow in a foraging toy or something before I run out the door to work.

4pm get home and do the cooked veggies and cooked bean and grain mix. Maybe let her out of the cage for some supervised independent play during which I can't leave the room unless I want my electrical cords to be severed.

8-9pm snuggle with the cockatoo. 9-10pm make new toys for the cockatoo, clean dishes and refill with the nightly rations of seed and pellets.

 

[Quizzy]

Living in Australia im surrounded by Cockatoos and also have a Galah rescue, the Galah is a sweetie , cuddly, funny and busy .

many people have Sulpher Crested ****'ys in their yards and you cannot believe that shriek .. it can wake the dead.

 

[caliopi]

I can second that regarding the shrieking, there is nothing louder than a hundred too's flying overhead!

I was just reading up on the different species and it was so incredibly sad to see how many are endangered or rare. The absolute beauty of these birds is breath taking but to see how we have endangered them is heartbreaking. It has certainly given me a lot to think about.

 

[terry52449]

We umbrella cockatoo owners are a breed of our own. It takes a real commitment of love and devotion to your birds. But I could not think of not having my birds around me for a day. Even though the at times you feel like shooting them they then come to me wanting to cuddle and play. Get a rescued bird and save a birds life. They`re are so many of them that need a loving home.
What we have done to so many species of birds is outrageous and sinful. Just because they are beautiful and unusual doesn`t mean you have to capture them and try to domesticate them. Birds should be wild and stay wild.