Cockatoo experiences

[jayzandra]

Hello everybody, long time no see!

So, I've been thinking about getting an umbrella cockatoo. I have had cockatiels for years and I absolutely love my fids. So I was considering a Sun Conure, but now I'm leaning more towards a cockatoo. I have been researching like crazy, but I was wondering if anybody would be willing to share their personal experiences.

Thank you everybody

[notredamebird]

I have never owned a cockatoo, even though I think they are amazing. This is partly because they aren't the best fit for me personally, and because they are among the hardest parrots to keep -- and therefore they are not good fits for very many people. They are adorable and sweet as pie when they want to be, but they are also extrodinarily loud, very emotional/expressive, powerful, and smart-smart-smart. They require so much attention and stimulation to remain happy, as well as someone who wants a really active, boisterous bird. As it turns out, I am really an African gray and cockatiel sort of person: I'm quiet, and I kind of like to chill with my birds.

So, my main thought would be to ignore everything that talks about how cute cockatoos are and read everything you can about how difficult they are -- then decide. Also, because they are a lot of a partner/roomate, etc to handle, I would personally wait to acquire one until I was fairly certain of what my life was going to look like for the next decade or so. (Not sure if that's a factor in your case, just mentioning it).

If you have any rescues in your area, these are always full of cockatoos in need of homes, esp. Moloccans and Umbrellas.

If you were recently considering conures, you might also consider larger conures--like Patagonians--or perhaps the mini-macaws. I have a sun conure and love him to death, even if grays are closer to my own personality.