New bird, need advice

[bighog85]

Hey everyone, I just recently adopted a six year old female bare eyed cockatoo and just have a few questions regarding her behavior. When I went to the ladies house to look at her she was really pretty friendly after she figured out she could bite me and I wasn't going to leave. I just brought her home yesterday and just want to make sure that she is acting normally. She seems to be very moody now and at times will be very excited for me to take her out and then will not want to have anything to do with me. I am assuming that she is just going to need to adjust to the new environment and not being with her previous owner who she was pretty attached to. At this point, should I just handle her and pretty much do everything on her terms? I know that these birds are very smart and you can't let them run the place but since she is new should I just leave her alone? I leave the top of her cage and the front door open while I am around but she really does not show any interest in coming out on her own which the PO told me was true at her house as well. She did not have hardly any toys in her cage so I went and bought some stuff. Should I make her cage very busy with toys and foraging apparatus? If you all could address my specific questions and add any advice you think is necessary that would be great! Thanks!

 

[PetoftheDay]

I would not fill her cage with toys quite yet - did you notice what she had with her previous owner that she enjoyed? It is quite early in the adjustment process, I'd interact with her a little each day, but not force it too much right now. She may be confused about why she is now with you, in time she should realize she's now in her new forever home.

You can add a toy, and see if she likes it, how she reacts to it, etc, but I'd wait a couple more days, as long as she isn't seeming distressed or agitated.

 

[Pedro]

Just take one day at a time, she will come around but don't rush her. Most things on her terms remember you must build trust with her & that could take months. You will know when you are winning her over.

Good luck.

 

[JensFlock]

It sounds like you're doing the right things. I recently adopted a 14 year old sulphur crested, and he acted the same way. I just let him do everything on his terms. He lets me know when he wants to be with me.
Griffin had never played with toys until he came to live with me. He had them in his cage, but didn't play. Now he plays with them sometimes.
Congrats on your new baby!!!

 

[mtdoramike]

I would put in a few foraging toys, this will keep him occupied. The fear with Cockatoo's is when they get bored or stressed, they start plucking. The best way to avoid this is to keep them occupied as much as possible and to re-focus their attention to something else.

 

[bighog85]

Well she is actually coming along really well. We don't force anything on her but she is very loving and wants to come to us quite often. She goes to a certain spot in her cage when she wants out so she makes her intentions very clear. One thing that worries us is that we noticed that she has what looks to be a bite mark on each of her wings. Could this just be her being a little stressed or what? They don't seem to bother her at all so should I just leave them and make sure she doesn't do anything more? Any advice?

 

[mtdoramike]

You may want to have her checked out by a vet to be on the safe side. But it sounds like it could be stress bites. Cockatoo's are notorious for biting themselves and self mutilation.