Hi. I'm Ruti and new to this forum.

[Ruti]

I have been reading many posts with great interest as I feel I really need all the help I can get. My husband and I are retired military and live a quiet life outside of city limits. We have a large tract of land with no neighbors real close to us. I own a darling toy poodle that is the love of my life. He is also getting to be a senior dog. Two days ago my husband saw an ad on the internet and told me he wanted the advertised Umbrella Cockatoo, one year old. I advised him not to do it as it would be a tremendous undertaking and very confining. Of course, being a man, he went down to the neighboring town and got the bird, huge cage and all and brought him home. We are having DNA on Friday of this week to determine sex. It is truly a beautiful bird and very friendly and sweet most of the time. It immediately took a dislike to my poodle and acted like it wanted to bite him. The screaming started the second day, but not for very long, once in the morning and once in the evening. My husband is afraid of it and yours truly has done most of the handling, taking in and out of cage, etc. My son, who is a college student, is thrilled and coming home for the holidays, can't wait to see the bird and play with him. It is something he has always wanted too. So, you can see that Mom is definitely overruled on this one! I love animals and will do my best to take care of this baby but I can't help but feel it would be so much better off in a zoo or wildlife preserve. Good luck to all you owners out there. We all need it! Ruti

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Welcome to the forum, and the world of being a parront

Parrots are extremely intelligent, and umbrellas are considered one of the hardest to keep mentally healthy. Trick training, and behavior training is a must with cockatoos(all birds, but cockatoos particular true). in a few years your beautiful cockatoo will start puberty and may be very difficult for multiple years, and training before hand will make things a little easier. A fully mature parrot can be a bit unpredictable, learn to read their body language to better understand your new buddy

At some point someone is going to be bitten, possibly bad enough to need stitches or cause nerve damage. But this is not something the bird should ever be blamed for, it's our role to avoid bites and understand that we brought these amazing wild animals into our homes. This is a amazing web site that all cockatoo parronts should read through to understand the needs of their new or old feathered companion
All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

What diet will you be feeding your new cockatoo? A high quality pellet is a must, Harrison's is excellent and will likely be sold at any local certified avian vet in your area.

Barbara Heidenreich is a awesome parrot trainer, her you tube page has a lot of useful information you can use

[ame="http://youtu.be/oGmmVjBv99I"]Tips to Address Parrot Screaming - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://youtu.be/WNYVbmHg8zk"]Parrot Training Tips - The Benefits of Trick Training - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Ruti]

Wow! Thanks. It is good to know that there are lots of ways to interact and have fun with them. You asked about diet. I found the Mytoos website and cooked up the veggie mix suggested by Charlie. He seems to like it somewhat but it may take awhile as he was used to birdy junk food, seeds, peanuts, etc. Those are ok as treats but the website said they should not be the main diet, right? I also added the suggested pellet to the veggie mix.

 

[Sc0tt]

Congrats on your new addition!

The biting at the dog is simply natural imo!

 

[BruceV]

The biting at the dog is simply natural imo!

Indeed! I bite at my dog all the time!

Congrats on your new addition! And welcome to the forums!

 

[kq_fan]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on the new baby! I love cockatoos but they are too loud for me! Im glad that their are people out their that can handle something like that! It takes a special person for them! You will have lots of fun with an umbrella! Smart and very VERY cuddly! Velcro birds! <3

 

[TessieB]

Howdy! Having a 'Too in the house will definitely keep everyone busy. It's like having a grandbaby that never goes home. Sounds like you are doing your very best to be perfect parronts. Congratulations!

 

[CanadianBalls.com]

Got to love the tooo's

 

[Terry57]

Hello and welcome! Congrats on your new addition and kudos to you for taking on the parronting Would love to see pics when you have some!

 

[torrap]

Congrats!
It could work in your case, don't get discouraged. Sounds like you have time to spend with this Too. That's what they need.
Make lots and lots of toys. Try to come up with foraging toys. It helps if they have to look for food. They are super smart and NEED to use their brains and suffer if they are bored.
So, playing games, singing, dancing, toys, swings, etc. will help to keep your new baby happy and healthy.
I have to dance and sing with one of my birds in the morning if I want her to eat her breakfast...... She just sits in her cage and only looks at her dish with food if I don't....... So, many of them need attention even more than food and water.....:54:
Lots of luck to you!!!!!

 

[antoinette]

Welcome to our awesome forum
You are being fantastic guardians