Do Toos need a mate more than others?

[parrotluv]

My grey I believe would try to kill another grey. I was raising babies for several years and if she had the opportunity she would attack then. So I made a point to never have her out st the same time as the young ones.

 

[melissasparrots]

Obviously she would do better if she'd been allowed to live wild as they all would but of course that's not possible. View attachment 269620

Chances are very good that she would not currently be alive at 21 years old if she were wild.
As to the mate issue, do keep in mind that mate aggression is a real problem with cockatoos. If your goal is not to breed cockatoos, I would not risk the safety of the female by caging her with a male. I'd be more inclined to give them shared out of cage time that is supervised. You might also consider a same sex "mate." Although I think I'd still keep them separate except for out of cage supervised play time. Also, not all cockatoos really want a mate of their own kind. If they have been kept as a single bird for a long time, they might not want anything to do with their own kind.

I have a female GSC2 and she wants nothing to do with my male goffin's. Obviously the different species and size could play a major role with them. Although, even when my GSC2 was at her breeder's house, she didn't want anything to do with her older brother. I do think having a flock to hang out is helpful. Having similar species flockmates is most helpful, but even just having other birds around is good.

 

[Nancy B]

Milton would be a wonderful suitor...but he's not available..

Oh wow can you imagine Milton with another u2? They would be funny.....then two would be racing by saying HI.....BYE...LOL

 

[Sylvester]

There is absolutely no guarantee that she would bond with another bird and a male cockatoo could batter her to death.

 

[jmfleish]

I think we overthink these things. I do think that having a flock environment is a good idea but I don't think having a male mate for a female bird or vice versa is needed or that our birds even pick the same species as buddies. I have several same sex bonds in my house, two bonds are of siblings and they do share a cage. SIE brothers Cooper and Wylee who are from different clutches and did not grow up together but who are absolutely inseparable. And Kishka and Fozzie who were clutch mates but didn't grow up together and also share a cage. Then I have Amarillo DYHA and Iris BFA, both females...that bond is more on Iris' side than Ami's but Ami likes Iris...Iris LOVES Ami, they formed that bond all on their own. I have Seymour and Chevey, female/male CAGs who were paired up before I got them, both are very docile greys. I also have the male/female mated RB2 pair Leo and Letti who have produced babies together and came to me that way. Finally, I have Abigail YCA and Nibble LCA who are bonding now, but they totally decided on their own that they wanted to hang out together, I did not force it. I think it's nice to let the birds decide and when this discussion comes up I always think of Madeleine Franco's very odd flock: Feather Plucking, Feather Plucking Remedies, Feather Destructive Behavior, Pine Cones, Exotic Bird Food, Pinecones, Bird Toys, Feather Picking Solutions and Refeathering

Yikes! I forgot about Bobo (male) and Harley (female), my BFA bonded pair! They came that way too!

 

[sunnysmom]

I often wonder how Elvis would do with a friend. I do believe that my cockatiel, Sunny who had lived 15 years as an only bird before coming to us, wouldn't have done well with another bird. He liked his people. When Elvis's former foster mom watched him a couple days for us, I will say Elvis showed no interest at all in her other birds. I actually think they stressed him out. But they were little birds and much bigger birds. No one his size. I don't know if that made a difference or not.

 

[jmfleish]

I often wonder how Elvis would do with a friend. I do believe that my cockatiel, Sunny who had lived 15 years as an only bird before coming to us, wouldn't have done well with another bird. He liked his people. When Elvis's former foster mom watched him a couple days for us, I will say Elvis showed no interest at all in her other birds. I actually think they stressed him out. But they were little birds and much bigger birds. No one his size. I don't know if that made a difference or not.

My sister has a female U2 who they've had since she was just a baby and she's always gotten a lot of attention from her and her husband and their two kids. There has never been any other birds in the house. She's now probably in her late 20's early 30's and when she met some of my birds that I would take to visit over the last 8 years, she had no interest in them at all. We're pretty sure she has no idea she's a bird and has no interest in other birds. It's always hard to tell.

 

[danadear]

My sister has a female U2 who they've had since she was just a baby and she's always gotten a lot of attention from her and her husband and their two kids. There has never been any other birds in the house. She's now probably in her late 20's early 30's and when she met some of my birds that I would take to visit over the last 8 years, she had no interest in them at all. We're pretty sure she has no idea she's a bird and has no interest in other birds. It's always hard to tell.

This may be the case with CAsper. She was the only bird in her two previous homes. It makes me sad to think she might see herself as a different looking odd little human rather than the magnificent BIRD that she is.

 

[sunnysmom]

This may be the case with CAsper. She was the only bird in her two previous homes. It makes me sad to think she might see herself as a different looking odd little human rather than the magnificent BIRD that she is.

I think all 'toos think they're magnificent whether they have bird friends or not. LOL.

 

[cassiesdad]

This may be the case with CAsper. She was the only bird in her two previous homes. It makes me sad to think she might see herself as a different looking odd little human rather than the magnificent BIRD that she is.

This was the case with Milton. Obviously he was in an "only bird" household where he was adored... and spoiled. I truly believe he thinks he's a small human...or we're big birds.
IMO, we mess up our bird's minds by doing this. They become over-reliant on us for entertainment, stimulation and such. We turn them...or attempt to turn them... into little humans...which obviously they are not...