Differences in Cockatoos

[Merlee]

I went to a picnic over the weekend sponsored by a companion bird club and the majority of cockatoos attending were the Goffen, Moluccan, and Umbrella. Aren't Triton, Greater and Lesser Sulpher Crested popular? If not, please educate me as I really like them and kicking around the idea of getting one instead of another amazon.

I check CL everyday to see what type of birds are available. Window shopping. lol. Anyway, it's rare to see any sulpher crested 'toos. Are their personalities nothing in comparison to the Umbrella's?

 

[Birdman666]

My experience with SC2's is they are very sweet, but they can also be among the worst tantrum throwers. This is a relative concept, because with toos it's all about how you raise them...

The thing about most Toos is people tend to want the big ones (M2's U2's), or the really small ones (G2's). That's where the demand is, so that's what the breeders tend to focus on. (Personally, most folks cannot meet the needs of most M2's which is why so many of these birds end up plucked down to their very last head feather. I love them, but I am sorry they were ever introduced to the pet trade. I've seen too many horror story M2's.)

The only toos I ever brought home were a Rose Breasted, and a pathetic looking plucked bald little Goffin's who jumped into my arms, and refused to leave.

I was the first person who had ever succeeded in handling that bird, and they quite literally begged me to take him on as a foster. So we did. I ended up being the "meanie" who put the medicine on his open sores, so he ended up being my daughter's bird. (She would run to her as soon as I finished putting the medicine on her, and tell Sarah all about it....)

We got the bird to stop plucking, but it came at a terrible, terrible cost.

This bird still OCD'ed on preening, just did it with preening toys and preening rope. She ended up ingesting so much of it, she died of an intestinal blockage...

That one was a neurotic tortured soul of a bird.

Obviously, I am the last person to ask advice from about plucking disorders. I thought I was helping at the time...

I've rehabbed a few toos, but those were the only two I ever really lived with. RB2's are friggin' WONDERFUL birds!

 

[MonicaMc]

I think the sulphur crested, citron and triton 'toos were more popular 10 years ago... but since then their popularity has decreased. Then again, I've also noticed that with some conure species and subspecies and I think with some mini macaws.

Species that were more commonly known 10 years ago are becoming unheard of now. A lot of people are also hybridizing species and subspecies because they can't tell the difference between them.


What we need are breeders who strive for purity. If we don't, well, hybrids may very well be the future of aviculture.

 

[Merlee]

I must admit that the U2's at the picnic were real characters and thought maybe that would explain their popularity.

I did a little research on the Triton, Great and Lesser 'toos and the research said they are notorious screamers. Are they all that way? I guess I will have to do some research on personalities and sizes. I love the contrasting yellow feathering against all the white.

 

[MonicaMc]

Personally, I love the little citrons! But if I were to buy a young cockatoo, I'd probably go after a galah! I'd be too afraid I'd turn any other cockatoo into a horrible screamer that mutilates and bites! Unless I adopted an already well adjusted cockatoo, that might be a different story!

From my own research, the sulphur crested toos and similar ones are typically more nippy, stand off-ish and independent birds. They can be difficult birds to handle. Although U2's and M2's are known for being very gentle and cuddly birds, they are also known for being very destructive, loud, if hormonal hard to handle, nasty bites, etc. The little cockatoos aren't nearly as neurotic as their larger cousins, but that doesn't mean that they can't be!


I think it's best to keep researching and see if you can interact with any birds in person! Sorry though that I have no hands on experience caring for a 'too. I've handled them, just never owned one!

 

[Birdman666]

That's two votes for RB2'S from non-too owners...

Now we need the super experienced too owners to chime in.

 

[Betrisher]

I don't regard myself as super-experienced, but I've owned a SC and Galahs. The SC was *never* happy! The entire time we had him, he just moped in his cage, refused to play with toys and eventually began to self-mutilate. I have to say, I've never seen a completely happy caged cockatoo. They're just too big and too athletic to keep inside a house. Can you imagine a bird the size of an SC2 flying around in your house? Even in an aviary, they don't really fly properly - until you've seen a big flock wheeling across the entire sky, dipping and rising again in unison, you can't really understand what it is they're missing. SC2s fly for the joy of it. Galahs don't. They fly when they need to, otherwise they just forage or play.

 

[adellelauren]

Will I can give my experience with my husband and I's U2 that was given to us from a lady 2 hours away. I have many birds but did not have a big bird. My husband and I played with the idea of getting an Umbrella Cockatoo eventually but definitely wanted a baby from a very experienced breeder. As I was on a Facebook group that I belong to there was a lady with what she said was a male U2, never had he or she DNA'd, we are currently waiting on those results. For a month her and I chatted back and forth. Her husband who is young has a ton of health issues and sadly was in the hospital a lot with surgeries etc. So of course she wanted to rehome Sunshine. I finally convinced my husband and after her deciding to do trade for a Tablet we didn't use and an Ipod I drove the two hours to get him. He/She is in great health and feathering. Got home and the next day the screaming started. She insisted that Sunshine isn't a screamer but I doubt that. He/She has been with us since June. We believe the problem is that Sunshine was spoiled to the point of not being shown that it's ok to play in and on your cage and playstand. They are called velcro birds. Very affectionate and love to be with their family. But independence is also important. We are the 3rd owner and Sunshine is around 10. Unfortunately we don't have any other history. But I must say that besides the screaming, which we surprisingly can handle, Sunshine is our baby. Makes us laugh and is so loving. Goes places with us and is a ham. Loves to show off. Research is very important and I would suggest to research each type of Cockatoo. No two birds are the same. But being able to find out which is more suitable for your life is important. Everyone has to be happy. Toos are probably if not the most rehomed birds. They don't like change to much. I hope I was able to give some help with my experience.

 

[Jayyj]

Galahs really are wonderful birds! Just as big a character as the white toos, a delicate little beak that is unlikely to inflict the damage that a larger too is capable of, and generally they seem a lot gentler and more forgiving than their bigger relatives.

That said, the local pet shop has a LSC that is often out on a play stand and seems a very sweet natured and friendly bird which they obviously trust to be out and about around customers. I also know there are galahs out there that are little demons, so I guess a lot depends on the individual bird.

 

[Birdman666]

I must admit that the U2's at the picnic were real characters and thought maybe that would explain their popularity.

I did a little research on the Triton, Great and Lesser 'toos and the research said they are notorious screamers. Are they all that way? I guess I will have to do some research on personalities and sizes. I love the contrasting yellow feathering against all the white.

The only toos that are NOT notorious screamers, to my knowledge, are the RB2s, the Black Palms (good luck finding one of those!), Goffins, and MM2's.

What you have to understand though, is that most too screaming disorders come from how these birds are raised. More than any other captive species, toos have to be taught how to self entertain, and if you hold one too long, well... you are most likely, creating a monster! (i.e. Don't set me down - EVER!!!)

And until the bird turns 5 years old, you really don't know what you've got with a U2. That's when you find out if you've done a good job of raising them, or have created a monster... you see a sudden behavioral shift. (And sometimes your ears bleed... )

That's the trick with toos. They have to self entertain, and they have to have things to play with... Bored toos that cannot self entertain quickly become Scream N Plucks.

 

[MikeyTN]

Will I can give my experience with my husband and I's U2 that was given to us from a lady 2 hours away. I have many birds but did not have a big bird. My husband and I played with the idea of getting an Umbrella Cockatoo eventually but definitely wanted a baby from a very experienced breeder. As I was on a Facebook group that I belong to there was a lady with what she said was a male U2, never had he or she DNA'd, we are currently waiting on those results. For a month her and I chatted back and forth. Her husband who is young has a ton of health issues and sadly was in the hospital a lot with surgeries etc. So of course she wanted to rehome Sunshine. I finally convinced my husband and after her deciding to do trade for a Tablet we didn't use and an Ipod I drove the two hours to get him. He/She is in great health and feathering. Got home and the next day the screaming started. She insisted that Sunshine isn't a screamer but I doubt that. He/She has been with us since June. We believe the problem is that Sunshine was spoiled to the point of not being shown that it's ok to play in and on your cage and playstand. They are called velcro birds. Very affectionate and love to be with their family. But independence is also important. We are the 3rd owner and Sunshine is around 10. Unfortunately we don't have any other history. But I must say that besides the screaming, which we surprisingly can handle, Sunshine is our baby. Makes us laugh and is so loving. Goes places with us and is a ham. Loves to show off. Research is very important and I would suggest to research each type of Cockatoo. No two birds are the same. But being able to find out which is more suitable for your life is important. Everyone has to be happy. Toos are probably if not the most rehomed birds. They don't like change to much. I hope I was able to give some help with my experience.

Umbrellas can be sexed by their eye color without DNA sexing. Males have dark brown to black while females are burgundy to light brown. I had a male and his eyes were dark brown as the new owners refused to believe me he is a male and they had DNA sexing done and it's a male like I've told them.

 

[Birdman666]

I must admit that the U2's at the picnic were real characters and thought maybe that would explain their popularity.

I did a little research on the Triton, Great and Lesser 'toos and the research said they are notorious screamers. Are they all that way? I guess I will have to do some research on personalities and sizes. I love the contrasting yellow feathering against all the white.

SC2's do tend to be tantrum throwers... but again, it depends on the bird, and how they are raised. One of my favorite birds of all time was a little LSC2 that a friend of mine owned. BUT she knew how to raise them, and this bird's care needs were always met, ergo, it did not scream and had no reason to do anything other than play, and dance, and love...

And that's really the secret to raising all parrots. If their basic care needs are not met, you WILL have behavior problems. If they do not self entertain well, they WILL scream, and MAY pluck. If they are cage bound, they WILL bite.

 

[MikeyTN]

Like Monica says years ago a lot of those other ones you rarely see in the pet trade anymore were popular at one point and I knew about all of them and seen them around as well, but through the years they have declined big time. I still do occasionally see Lesser Sulphur Crested and Triton being rehomed in my area. We have had our LSC too Dixie for 8 going on 9 years and she's a total sweet heart, she's 20 something years old....

 

[Birdman666]

Umbrellas can be sexed by their eye color without DNA sexing. Males have dark brown to black while females are burgundy to light brown. I had a male and his eyes were dark brown as the new owners refused to believe me he is a male and they had DNA sexing done and it's a male like I've told them.

Ha! That's almost as bad as how do you KNOW that Eckie is a male if you haven't had it DNA tested?!

 

[MikeyTN]

They've been around Cockatoos for years and have much longer experience then I. They had over 30+ years and I had 16+ years. And I was baffled that they didn't know that thinking Java was a female. I knew in my heart that Java is a male as I know all the sexes of all my birds as none of them ever been DNA sexed. I think Lola have but it was done by the first owner, not me. The guy was surprised that I knew my birds pretty good when he met me, I look young in person and then I told him I've had birds and bred them for over 16 years, then he catch my drift but questioned about the sex of Java big time.

 

[adellelauren]

Will I can give my experience with my husband and I's U2 that was given to us from a lady 2 hours away. I have many birds but did not have a big bird. My husband and I played with the idea of getting an Umbrella Cockatoo eventually but definitely wanted a baby from a very experienced breeder. As I was on a Facebook group that I belong to there was a lady with what she said was a male U2, never had he or she DNA'd, we are currently waiting on those results. For a month her and I chatted back and forth. Her husband who is young has a ton of health issues and sadly was in the hospital a lot with surgeries etc. So of course she wanted to rehome Sunshine. I finally convinced my husband and after her deciding to do trade for a Tablet we didn't use and an Ipod I drove the two hours to get him. He/She is in great health and feathering. Got home and the next day the screaming started. She insisted that Sunshine isn't a screamer but I doubt that. He/She has been with us since June. We believe the problem is that Sunshine was spoiled to the point of not being shown that it's ok to play in and on your cage and playstand. They are called velcro birds. Very affectionate and love to be with their family. But independence is also important. We are the 3rd owner and Sunshine is around 10. Unfortunately we don't have any other history. But I must say that besides the screaming, which we surprisingly can handle, Sunshine is our baby. Makes us laugh and is so loving. Goes places with us and is a ham. Loves to show off. Research is very important and I would suggest to research each type of Cockatoo. No two birds are the same. But being able to find out which is more suitable for your life is important. Everyone has to be happy. Toos are probably if not the most rehomed birds. They don't like change to much. I hope I was able to give some help with my experience.

Umbrellas can be sexed by their eye color without DNA sexing. Males have dark brown to black while females are burgundy to light brown. I had a male and his eyes were dark brown as the new owners refused to believe me he is a male and they had DNA sexing done and it's a male like I've told them.

Well from looking at Sunshine's eyes I'm not 100% sure so we did the DNA. I think male though.

 

[MonicaMc]

I saw someone that assumed a female eclectus was a male simply because she was so pretty, and we all know that male birds are prettier than female birds are! But this was coming from a non-bird person who doesn't know that many parrot species are not sexually dimorphic. This person simply refused to believe that males are a "dull green color".

Have also seen some owners with male birds that laid eggs and they wanted to know how to fertilize the egg, or how to get the egg to hatch since the bird is most obviously male regardless of the fact that it laid an egg. You know, self fertilization??? I think one of these "male" birds was an eclectus....




(sorry to continue the OT-ness!)



It may help to start a thread asking about everyone's cockatoos that they own or have cared for in the past.

And on the topic of Galahs, I recall hearing and seeing videos of one Sir Dusty Rose that would go into thrashing tantrums at random times. This ultimately lead to his demise. He was very young and well loved by his owners according to the rescuer who was trying to fix with his issues. He *did* get better, but not soon enough. I don't know what went wrong. What lead to his behavior. I felt horrible that he couldn't live a normal life, and then he died. Many tears were shed by many people following his story.

 

[Birdman666]

Any too can and will throw tantrums at times, the difference is how frequently, and how long will they keep it up...

"Screaming disorder" is a relative concept. A macaw with a screaming disorder might scream for ten or twenty minutes, and drive you batty. A U2 can keep it up for days at a time.

Again, toos generally have to be trained to self entertain, and if tantrums get inadvertently rewarded, you are officially in hell...

 

[MikeyTN]

I'm with you there Birdman!!!! Dixie our LSC too was taught to self entertain from the beginning and she rarely ever screams. Java the U2 I rehomed due to him being dangerous to everyone in the household, I taught him to self entertain as well and he did so much better, stop plucking and excess screaming. But was still crazy and want to kill anything that's too close to me.

 

[adellelauren]

I'm with you there Birdman!!!! Dixie our LSC too was taught to self entertain from the beginning and she rarely ever screams. Java the U2 I rehomed due to him being dangerous to everyone in the household, I taught him to self entertain as well and he did so much better, stop plucking and excess screaming. But was still crazy and want to kill anything that's too close to me.

I need to know how to teach Sunshine to Self Entertain.