Parrot Forums - TalkParrots banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

adoption possibility

6K views 39 replies 10 participants last post by  hyacinthalex 
#1 ·
I am considering adopting a 2006 hatch umbrella cockatoo hen. She is a card. I am very attached to her, but uncertain about whether or not to take her. Someone else was looking at her on Saturday, so it may be a moot issue.
 
#27 ·
Daisy, she does seem to be following in your foot steps. She got her first bird in the spring the first year she moved here, her second bird in the spring the next year, and now her third bird, who will come home in late winter or early spring of her third year here.
 
#28 ·
hehe! Well good for her :biggrin5: birds really do enhance our lives!
 
#29 ·
Aurora surprised us with a new word today, too! We were at the bird store getting ready to have our parrot club meeting. A friend came in and was looking at the parrotlet, whom Cannary has now renamed Doug instead of Dove. Aurora was fascinated with this gal. The friend said, "Doug", and clear as a bell Aurora said "Doug", too. She said it twice, and several of us heard her both times. I guess this was a day for birds to say new words.
 
#30 ·
As attached as Cannary and I have become to Aurora, with much soul searching I do not believe I can give my current birds enough attention and care if I adopt another large bird. I am sad, but I think it would be sadder to bring her home and then give everyone less care than each deserves.

I have found that Ashlynn, my grey, requires so much that I do not feel I have that much to give to another bird. I can interact with all of my other birds on and off together, but Ashlynn must have her own time.

This probably isn't making any sense. It is not that the little birds deserve or get less care or time than Ashlynn, but that they are just easier to handle so I can do other things while I'm also interacting with them, but it is not that way with Ashlynn, and I can tell it would not be that way with Aurora, either.
 
#31 ·
I'm just reading this for the first time...I think that you've made a good decision, because you have given it so much thought. Big birds are different somehow. My little guys get attention but it's not as time consuming as the time I give Fred. None of mine have been getting the usual attention for the past few days. They all adapt to busy times, including Fred, but then Fred is rather laid back about it all. I do wonder if a Cockatoo would be so accommodating...
 
  • Like
Reactions: nanay
#32 ·
well that is fair enough then nanay, you made the right choice. Cockatoos, especially umbrellas and Moluccans can be a really huge responsibility as well as a huge bird!
On the other hand you are still getting a parrotlet for Cannary right? Because that will still be great for you guys!

Also thought I'd include a picture of Molly, the Umbrella cockatoo I see quite a lot!
She really is enormous, I never really thought how big they were until the other day. She put her foot up to step up and I'm not kidding it was huge! Compared to the macaws I've held too. I was amazed. But that beak is pretty scary haha
 

Attachments

  • Like
Reactions: nanay
#33 ·
Hi, I also think that you have made the right decision. I have a goffins cockatoo (and two cockatiels) and he is a very demanding bird, he takes up so much of my time that there is no way I could have another large parrot, I won't even get a green cheek conure because I know my cockatoo would be very jealous. I often see birds that I would like to have but i always remind my self that if I get this bird I will not be able to provide the birds i already have with the time and attention they need.
 
#34 ·
I agree! Cockatoos are, from what I've heard, very needy birds, so giving everyone the right amount of attention would be difficult. I also think you made the right decision.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nanay
#35 ·
Thank you so much for all of your support and kind replies. I still feel like a jerk because I feel I'm backing out on a sort of a committment, but Aurora never came home here, so I guess the worst I have done is to give her a lot of attention while she was at the store. She is pretty much a customer favorite now, so perhaps she will be adopted soon. The other day, when we picked up Doug, she didn't whistle her "Mexican Hat Dance" greeting to me. She seems to have sensed that there is something not the same between us. It was sad, yet I don't want her to miss us, so I should be happy. I do miss her very much, and I never took her out of the store.

I believe she is a wonderful umbrella cockatoo. She is actually very quiet for a cockatoo, and very sweet. She did bite me once, and it hurt, but it wasn't as bad as I would have expected, so probably she didn't bite as hard as she could have. If I did not already have a large bird, I would be adopting her. I do not believe she is a more difficult or demanding pet than Ashlynn, simply as demanding, and Ashlynn is already here.

I am sad, but I also think I have made the right decision.
 
#36 ·
Nanay - don't feel bad for making your decision. You've done what you feel to be best not only for you, but for Aurora. She sounds like an absolute doll, so I don't think she'll have a problem finding a home. Our bigger birds are much more emotional than smaller birds, that I've noticed, and tend to bond more strongly than smaller birds, NEEDING our attention more than smaller birds and seemingly less able to entertain themselves. I wonder if it's our tendency to baby larger birds more, be more hands on with them, and the fact that they're babies for so much longer?

I haven't found 'toos to be any more demanding than any other large bird species, provided they are given a routine and stimulation, like any other large bird. The biggest pitfall I've seen for cockatoo owners is that need to snuggle and smush them constantly, which is an easy trap to fall into since they are such lap-birds :giggle: Too many people bring them home and spoil them for the first few weeks, months, even year or two. Then life changes, and we begin to fall out of our routines, things change, and the bird hits it's period of sexual maturity - the time when it's the most needy. That's when most owners really struggle and the bird's become screamers or pluckers, and it's often because the owner did not set a routine and schedule to begin with, so the bird loses. They're used to being spoiled rotten and, now that they're a little hormonal and horny, they're not getting the attention they feel they deserve from their mates, which they tend to see their owners as because of all the snuggle time - in the wild, only a mate will preen for extended periods of time and especially only a mate would preen the whole body of the bird, not just the head, so it perpetuates this mate concept in the birds mind. Not to say you can't do these things - you just have to be careful to do it minimally and find a balance for you and your bird (a stage Goober and I are at now, and which I think we're finally progressing in :) )

Sorry for the long rambly reply haha
 
#37 ·
Thanks, Jenny. I really appreciated your reply. I'm still sad, but confident that my decision is right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jenny
#39 ·
I wish I could feel good about the decision. I feel confident it was right, but I am grieving her loss as if she had been mine. Everyone's kind words are greatly appreciated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top