Here is a quote from a respected member, EllenD--IN REFERENCE TO A DIFFERENT RE-HOMING SITUATION in which the owner had owned many large parrots and wondered if she should get a cockatoo:
"I don't know if this OP decided to adopt the U2 or not, but either way I hope he found a loving, responsible home...It's sounds like he's in good health overall, and was apparently well cared for in his prior home (at 29 years old who knows how many homes he's already had, it may have been just the one, or it may have been 20). I too was both surprised and horrified that this U2 was living in an Automotive Paint Shop and is still in good health, or even alive for that matter...His prior owner must have kept him completely separate from any area that was exposed to the fumes; anyone who has ever spent any time in a Body Shop knows that you're not only dealing with paint fumes, but also fumes from all the different fillers and epoxies that they use (Bondo, fiberglass resin, etc.), as well as from paint thinners, turpentine, mineral spirits, etc. We're talking extremely lethal fumes for birds, so it's quite obvious that his prior owners knew what they were doing and kept him in a safe area that had to have been totally separate and away from the actual "shop". So that's good.
I don't know if the OP currently has this U2, but if not, or if you're still thinking about it, or for the future, as someone who interacts with all kinds of Cockatoos on a regular basis at an Avian Rescue but who owns only small parrots herself, and who also grew-up with a Congo African Gray, I can tell you with assurance that dealing with any species of Cockatoo is an entirely different experience than having ANY OTHER SPECIES of parrot in your home, and that includes African Grays, Macaws, Amazons, and any other species of large parrot. Cockatoos are probably the most overall-intelligent parrots, they have every bit the intelligence of a 5 year-old child...
However, the difference that I've noticed with every single Umbrella and Moluccan Cockatoo that I've ever spent time with on a long-term basis at the Rescue (and in a few cases actually formed a bond with, as most Cockatoos spend a longer amount of time at the Rescue than other species) is that the Umbrellas and the Moluccans actually perceive things on a higher-level than other species do. It's like they can actually understand what is "going on" in a situation without actually seeing it or hearing someone talking about it, just like we as humans can perceive things...They are more emotionally, psychologically, and mentally similar to human beings than any other type of animal/bird that I've ever had contact with, to the point that sometimes it can be a bit weird, if not frightening, lol...I would think that the same would go for keeping any type of primate as a pet, such as a Capuchin Monkey, Spider Monkey, a Marmoset, a Lemur, etc. I actually had a professor in graduate school who had a pet Ringtail Lemur that he often brought with him to work. He had a large enclosure in his office/lab where he kept him, but usually he was on a harness/leash and on his shoulder. That Lemur was very much the same way as the U2's and the M2's are, he could understand not only the words that were being said, but also the context of the words and the underlying situation that was going on.
So I guess the best way to sum-up what it's like keeping an Umbrella or Moluccan Cockatoo (as well as other Cockatoo species), or most species of Primates, is that it's pretty much like having a 4-5 year-old child in your family, your home, and your life for decades and decades. The only difference between bringing home a baby Umbrella Cockatoo and bringing home a human baby is that the human baby is going to grow-up and eventually be able to take care of itself, and move-out, and not rely upon you anymore. In the case of an Umbrella or Moluccan Cockatoo they simply never grow-up, and really are like having a perpetual 5 year-old child for the rest of your life that you are totally responsible for. And at only 29 years-old, this particular U2 has a long life ahead of it, and this is why there are so many of them in-need of homes, people just don't understand what they are getting themselves into.
That all being said, you're an experienced parrot-owner, so you're not the typical new bird owner who decides it's a good idea to adopt an Umbrella or Moluccan Cockatoo as their very first bird, when they've never even owned a Canary or a Finch, lol...The main issue that I see in the larger Cockatoos that are surrendered to the Rescue that makes their cases so heartbreaking is that they have a very, very difficult time getting over the loss of their "person", more so than most other species of parrots; while all parrots are very intelligent and form very close bonds to their people, and they all take it very hard when they lose their person, the large Cockatoos suffer this loss in the way we as people feel the loss of a loved one; this is one of the main reason that so many of the larger Cockatoos in Rescues/Shelters and that are re-homed to a new person suffer from Feather-Destructive Behavior and self-mutilate...
***As long as you are an experienced parrot owner and you not only understand the personalized care that an Umbrella Cockatoo is going to require, including their dietary needs and their regular medical/health care, but you also understand the daily amount of direct interaction, mental stimulation, and just plain love that these guys require, and you're ready, willing, and able to provide them all of this for the rest of your life, then I say go for it! Your home is the type of home that these guys need to be in..."
HERE IS MY (Noodles' addition to her post):
"AND, 5 year olds can't bite and fly like a cockatoo. Taking typical kid out of the house is easy (aside from behavior)--but on top of that, cockatoos have to be harness trained...Additionally, they can't use verbal communication as well as a child. Finally, upset kids don't often self-mutilate until they are much older...cockatoos do, and it doesn't help that changes upset them more than a typical child + everything can kill them (a scented candle won't hurt a child's lungs significantly). Finally, people (as a rule) are not truly TERRIFIED of kids. The same cannot be said for Toos. Not to mention the dust/allergens and noise capacity.."
