Cockatoos?

[mimitabby]

oh brother, my cousin has a cockatoo. Her daughter bought it, acquired a boyfriend, and promptly dumped the bird on mom and dad. the bird bonded to my cousin, but it is hysterical and jealous of ANYONE that gets near her, including her kind gentle husband.
This bird shrieks and carries on even when she's on the phone.
They can put its cover on and tell it it's bedtime, but you can't fool that bird.

I am not sure why anyone would want to take this bird out of its natural environment.

[sundial]

Tulip, I knew these birds live a long time so I won't be making any hasty decisions. Actually, I don't think I'll be owning one after reading the threads on the too forum. The only reason I was thinking about it was a local pet store is about to close it's doors and I was afraid I'd have to rescue the too and the African gray parrot and foster them until I got them into a rescue. Fortunately they found a home.

Mimi, here's a clip for your delight:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JRnLPDcLGHs

[mimitabby]

Mimi, here's a clip for your delight:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JRnLPDcLGHs

oh, thanks now I can skip visiting my cousin for another year.

[sundial]

Lol!

[bambu101]

Sundial,

A lot of people in the bird world feel that cockatoos should not be kept in captivity, and consequently suffer a lot of behavioral problems such as plucking, screaming, biting, etc.

I had little birds for years, like finches, parakeets, and canaries. Our first parrot (Bambu, a Senegal parrot), was purchased as a baby a little over 10 years ago, and he can be unpredictable, and bites hard without warning. He usually loves me, but bites my DH at every opportunity. His bites are far more painful than our Blue & Gold macaw, BeeGee! She was adopted from a rescue in Philadelphia last summer, and was turned into them after being confiscated from a police raid on a crack house. She had been kept in a dark basement, and fed a crappy diet of peanuts and sunflower seeds. Now she is a beautiful girl in perfect health, and a sweet, loving, goofy character. We also have a moustached parakeet (Moe Green) that we adopted from a friend's family where the couple both died of cancer in their 40s. There is also a canary and one parakeet in our current flock.

As you can tell, I am pretty passionate about birds and avian rescue and adoption. There are just far too many people who buy a baby bird on impulse, and then don't want to deal with it after the first few months. It is indeed like having a perpetual 3-year-old in your house that never grows up. But there is also a strong bond of unconditional love, constant entertainment (and messes), and I cannot imagine a life without birds!

I don't know where you are located, but there are number of bird rescue and adoption facilities throughout the country, and most are full to capacity with birds that have lost their homes for various reasons like family illness or changing financial circumstances. If you contact them, and go to visit with an open mind and heart, you might just fall in love with a new, feathered family member. If you want some recommendations, please PM me, and I'll try to point you to a rescue in your area.

Wendy

[TsPoet]

Sundial,
I had little birds for years, like finches, parakeets, and canaries. Our first parrot (Bambu, a Senegal parrot), was purchased as a baby a little over 10 years ago, and he can be unpredictable, and bites hard without warning. He usually loves me, but bites my DH at every opportunity. His bites are far more painful than our Blue & Gold macaw, BeeGee! She was adopted from a rescue in Philadelphia last summer, and was turned into them after being confiscated from a police raid on a crack house. She had been kept in a dark basement, and fed a crappy diet of peanuts and sunflower seeds. Now she is a beautiful girl in perfect health, and a sweet, loving, goofy character. We also have a moustached parakeet (Moe Green) that we adopted from a friend's family where the couple both died of cancer in their 40s. There is also a canary and one parakeet in our current flock.
Wendy

I, too, have a number of birds and have for years. One thing to point out, is that even though different birds have different personality reputations, you never know. I have a Meyer's Parrot (close relative of a senegal) and she's an opinionated pushy pest, but she'd never bite anyone. If she get's mad at you, she poops on you. I have a cockatiel that has been mistreated, passed around to several owners for various reasons and is frankly insane. I'm just giving her the best (caged) life I can. I have several budgies (parakeets).
My best pet of my entire life was a budgie! He knew 50 words and what many of them meant (he'd land on your shoulder and say 'hello' and say 'goodbye' right before he left, he'd ask for kisses...). So, don't discount the little "cheap" guys. (But budgies have been overbred and have lots of health issues and I'd like people to stop buying them until they aren't "disposable" cheep things anymore)
Birds are wonderful pets, but they are much much more intelligent than dogs and cats (I love my dogs), so they need a lot of attention, imagine locking a 2 year old child in a closet and expecting it not to go insane. That's what happens to so many birds. A minimum of 1 hr/day of attention is what every bird needs - and that can be a lot of work.
I was going to recommend that you consider a bird like a Senegal, but then I saw Sundial's post! Still, there are lots of nice small parrots out there - Quakers, Poisephelous (like Senegal’s and Meyer's Parrots), Conures...

[Drtgirl]

I have a wonderful Triton Cockatoo. We were cockatiel owners and wanted to expand our flock. She is a great bird (other too owners tell me this all the time) but she can be a royal PAIN! She screams a lot but we just deal with it. Whenever we go overnight somewhere we have to take Daisy to the "bird sitter"...she can't be left alone for more than a day. No one told me about all the issues birds have- illness (and vet bills!), egg laying, raging hormones, plucking, etc. Despite all this I can't imagine life without one!

I agree with the above posts- they are not for the unexperienced! I would recommend a smaller bird to start- maybe a little Senegal or Conure.

I can't resist posting a pic of Daisy!