My First 'Too

[KatherineI]

Hello everyone! This is my first post in the 'Too part of the forum, so please be kind

I'm not new to birds as a whole, but I have never owned a cockatoo. Don't get me wrong, I know all their bad traits (and good ones too), as my Mother currently owns a rescue Sulphur Crested, (had an Umbrella until a few years ago) and a good friend of mine (whose home I visit regularly and for hours on end) has both a Moluccan and an Umbrella. So while I've never owned one, I am no stranger to them either. My husband and I already own a Green Cheek Conure who came with the name Loki. We've had him 6 months after not owning a bird for the last 5 years.

Today, we put a deposit on a Goffins Cockatoo. I have wanted a Goffins for the last 7 years, after falling in love with the Goffins at our Vets office (I used to threaten to steal the bird :21: ). Our little baby is less than 1 and is sadly being rehomed because... her owner had a baby (that stuff gets me so mad at times!!)

Anyway, aside from the advice of my friend, my mother and the rescuer, any advice you want to give me? I have noticed that there's a few Goffins owners here. My baby will be coming home around May 1st, I'm just super excited!

 

[luvmytooo]

Hooray , another Goffin You are in for a treat , as you know , they are lovable , sweet little guys.
As you probably already know , give your new baby some time to adjust to the new environment and family before expecting much.
Yoshi loves the activity in the TV room, and needs to be in the mist of all that goes on and is very interested in everything lately , that being what I am eating , drinking , reading , lolol. They are such acrobats too. My guy loves to hang upside down from his plastic chains that we had hanging from the rafters , but that was short lived because my Galah , Rosie , started to chew on the rafters , lolol. Husband got mad , I still dont understand why though
Goffins are just charming little lovebugs
I am very fond of the Cockatoos and wouldnt mind having another one. And yes , they are just like potato chips , you cant just have one But that goes for all birds
Enjoy your new friend and PLEASE POST PICTURES
Go to my page and you can see my boy Yoshi and Rosie.
Ok , you have to go to Photobucket because I dont get along with my computer too well and its hard to post more pictures here for some reason...:54:

 

[KatherineI]

Thank you!! I'm super excited, probably going to go see her again today. I'm getting her on Consignment from a local store that not only sells hand-fed babies (they've been in this business over 30 years, they're really in-the-know and actually won't sell a bird to someone they don't think can take care of them or that they think won't be a good placement) but also birds on consignment and they board as well. This little gal is from a very mellow home, so there is a slight concern over our often loud, rambunctious household, but we're confident that she'll adjust just fine, the store is loud and constantly has streams of people in and out and she doesn't seem stressed out about it at all.

I am a little upset over why she's there in the first place. Her original owners had a baby I really hate when people do that! Apparently, after the baby was born, the Too had a hard time adjusting because she had never been left in her cage during the day - she had always been out at least on a play stand but it seems like she was often shouldered (she seems to have good manners when there though, but we're still cautious - I know the damage a Too can do!). So when she was caged more due to Mom having another baby and seemingly never having a schedule, someone started to scream. And as we all know, a screaming bird for people who aren't really bird people or patient people, means one thing and one thing only; Rehoming. :11: That drives me up a wall. That's how most of the birds in the rescue we worked with in Maine ended up there - Divorce was a close second, followed by a change in financial situation or living situation (moving into an apartment with a Too isn't something that gets you on your neighbors good side!).

Anyway, my husband and I can't have any more children (biologically), so I have lots of time. Plus, even if we were to adopt, I'd never give a bird up. We had an African Grey when our daughter was born. And two dogs. We never rehomed them (our Grey died of a lung infection we didn't catch in time and didn't respond to treatment. Trust me, I feel awful to this day). People who give up animals because they're moving (why can't you take them with you? I have done it three times now, and one was a cross-country move!), or because they've had a new baby drive me up a wall.

Sorry for the rant

I can't wait to get this little gal home. In the mean time, I'm going to be seeing a lot of the shop owner (who encourages this) while I spend time with my baby before bringing her home!!

 

[MaraWentz]

Oh you will love her!!!! I bought a Goffin Cockatoo at 1 or 2 years old as a wedding gift for my husband, but we didn't have much time for her as we were moving around a lot and just started out in the world (we married the day after I graduated). They are a great joy. Very willing to please and easy to train. We never had problems with her, until we both got a job and weren't home for her, so she began screaming- that's when we rehomed her to a friend. She was so friendly with even strangers.She didn't scream ever until I brought her to my grandmothers (who owns 7 very noisy screamers), so while there she began to practice her screaming and continued to do so when we left. (Great learners, aren't they!),Total sweetheart. Good luck! There's pictures of ours' in my albumns, have a look!

 

[KatherineI]

Thanks! She does seem rather willing to please, but she also lets you know if she doesn't like something! She's "attempted" to bite me a few times, but even when she does, it's barely any pressure, as if she's telling me "I don't want to" or "I don't like that" but trying not to hurt me at the same time. I can appreciate that! I have only heard her scream/call to the other birds once and it wasn't that bad compared to the things I've heard at my friends house and my Mom's. She seems really reserved but really wants to love and be loved. She was pushing her head into our chins yesterday when we had her out. She doesn't seem to have any height dominance (our GCC does), which is nice. I was able to get her to step up off my husbands shoulder, and he's 6'2" and I'm 5'5".

Yep, I'm in love and excited. Still trying to come up with a new name, as I hate her current one. It's even more difficult this time than it's been with any of our other pets or even naming our daughter. Yikes!

 

[MaraWentz]

Lol naming is hard. Ours came with the name Blossom and we were told she didn't talk, but as soon as we loaded her in our car she was none stop chatter

 

[luvmytooo]

Go on Utube and check out the Goffin videos , maybe you will like one the names there ? I just thought of Yoshi , have no idea how , I dont have children so I never even knew there was a video game or maybe a movie with a Yoshi in it
I had a dog named Yolla and have a dog named Yogi , so maybe just having the Y names that's how i got Yoshi , lolol. But it suits him very well
Even the names here of everybodys birds should give you some hints of names.
Maybe just not Merlin . There is a thread that there are too many Merlins , lolol
But it is such a cute name I must admit

 

[KatherineI]

LOL, my girlfriend with the 2 Too's has a Merlin. Her Moluccan. Her U2 is Gryffin, and I absolutely adore him (He's not handleable mostly though, so pets are purely through the cage. Merlin hates women and freaks out when a woman other than momma walks into the room) Plus, she's a little girl, so I want something somewhat feminine. I really like names that are "different" but aren't too far out there and that have a slight meaning to them.

I think I have it narrowed down to Ani (Ah-nee) or Tess. Someone said Ani and Zoe (my daughters name) are too similar sounding though

Oh and we've been youtubing Too videos for the whole week, every night before bed on our iPhones, lol. Some of the Goffins are hilarious, not to mention all the other ones as well. A good hours worth of laughter just from the videos. I'm curious as to how her personality is once she's comfortable and comes out of her shell. But she's mine, for better or worse.

 

[luvmytooo]

Have you seen the one with the Goffin throwing the rolled up socks around on the bed ? That had LMAO !
There are a ton of hysterical ones , I know , been there for hours
Just gotta love the TOOS

 

[KatherineI]

My friend always says "There's no love like 'Too love!"

I'm really hoping she's right. On top of having wanted a Goffin for the last 6-7 years, I really need someone cuddly (we call it shnuggling/shnuggles, lol). Loki is only cuddly right before bedtime, which is alright. The rest of the time he's bipolar, lol. And since there won't be any more infants for me to shnuggle with, this should be good for me. I'll (hopefully) have a shnuggly toddler for the next 40 years!

 

[luvmytooo]

You would love my guy Yoshi He is the "shnuggliest" , lolol.
I can hold him on his back like a baby . He just melts when I scritch the top of his head , he flings his head all the way back and just looks at me all googly eyed :09:

I cant say enough about my boy , he is just everything I could ever want in a bird. Just talking about him makes me just want to give him a "squish" He becomes more and more of a love bug everyday. I feel like I hit the lotto when i bought him
I love him to pieces

 

[Molcan2]

Welcome! Congrats on your new addition . Hmmm, as far as names... I really liked the Ani - I think its cute. Cant wait to see pics.

 

[KatherineI]

Luvmytoo - Yoshi sounds adorable! I know it's going to take time with this little girl to get her to trusting and such. I was in the neighborhood and stopped in for a quick hello. She is just so easy to handle, but she's definitely not trusting. She has fantastic manners to boot. But she really loves shoulders :-/ Not sure how I feel about that. She was obviously allowed on her previous owners shoulders, she does very well, but I'm hesitant mostly because I still don't know her. It's also the fact that I know Too's can turn out of nowhere and the damage they can do to someone's face is incredible (although with the smaller beak, it's not nearly as extensive as a U2 or Moluccan). Something to work on, I think.

Molcan2 - Thank you!! Hubs was also trying to come up with a name for me. He found some Indonesian ones (since Goffins originate in the Indonesian Archipelago) but they're too difficult to pronounce, IMO. So she's still nameless (unless you count what her previous owners named her - Dragon. I wouldn't even allow our bearded dragon to be just called Dragon, lol).

 

[luvmytooo]

Ani , Annie , sounds so cute I like Izaboo for my macaw (whenever I get one )
My friend origionally named Rosie , Akala. I cant remember what it means though , I will get back to you on that one , but it was very sweet. It just didnt roll off my tongue very well and my husband wanted to name her after his grandmother's Galah , Rosie
Cameo was my horse's name...ummm , Candi ( because she is so sweet ) , Ali ....
Cotton , Powder ....

 

[KatherineI]

The names have taken a turn for the unusual. Oona/Una and Aria thanks to my daughter. Manis and Merapat from Hubs. I want it short, easy to say but imaginative.

We already have an Onyx, Loki, Norbert, Deemer and Freckles. DD wanted to call her Lucy, by my mom had a dog the same breed as Onyx (Boston Terrier) and she just died a couple of months back. Lana and Pearl were other ones we put on the list. Someone suggested Arctic (as in Arctic Circle because her pics make her look white). Allie was suggested, but that's one of my Mom's B&G's, lol.

So currently we have; Lana, Pearl, Arctic, Aria, Oona/Una, Manis, Merapat, Tess and Ani. I'm not extremely sold on any of them. With most of the pets I name, it's usually a name that just kind of "pops" from all the others. Good thing we aren't trying to name a baby!

 

[roxynoodle]

Of the ones you listed, I like Aria the best. I have used baby name books for finding names for my animals, lol!

My second choice on naming my cat was Trinity. I thought that was pretty for a girl. She ended up being Sadie because she's calico and it sounded like a country sort of name more than Trinity, and I think she looks like a country quilt. I once considered India as well for a cat. It's hard to come up with names when you've had a lot of animals.

 

[KatherineI]

roxynoodle - I have done the same! Sitting for days on end with a baby name book (which I loaned to a coworker and never got back.. grrr) trying to find the right one. And yes, I've had a lot of pets as well, plus all my close friends and family's pets, so it's coming to a point where I'm either going to have to start recycling names or using ones that are "common" for pets.

I love Sadie! My first cat was a Calico who sounds very much like you described (the ones that look like a white canvas had brownish red and dark brown almost black paint dribbled on them accidentally and created 'spots'). Her name was Sassy. My cat that lives with my parents (her choice, not mine) is Sophie. Hubs and I had a very special Tortoise shell cat named Sasha. Sassy, Sasha and Baxter (cocker spaniel) are all names that are officially retired - there will never be another cat or dog that even comes close to filling the "shoes" of those names. At least, in our minds anyway.

 

[roxynoodle]

In November I adopted an amazon named Pete. One of my very first pets was a little mouse named Pete when I was around 4 years old, lol! Now, I didn't name the bird, but apparently I've gotten to that point now where a name got repeated, even if just coincidentally.

 

[KatherineI]

lol - we've had a few accidental repeats as well. But I don't like repeating too close together. My Mom made me a bit mad, she's put down 2 dogs and a horse in a matter of 3 months, 2 of them within the span of a week. She adopted another dog and named her Lucy B. Lucy was her BT she put down in January. Lucy was another one of those "special" ones that really got to you more than the others seem to, so I would think Lucy would be "retired". Or at least certainly not repeated in a matter of months!

We think we're going to keep a list going but wait until something either really hits me as "perfect" or until she's brought home and her personality is exposed a bit more.

 

[roxynoodle]

My parents had a dog named Casey. As soon as he died they got a new dog and named her Cassie. I didn't really like that myself as I felt like they were trying to just replace the one they lost, and didn't even give the new dog a completely different name.