What have I got myself into??

[Shezbug]

I think I am going to need some help and advice from all the great knowledgeable Cockatoo owners here......I have just been asked to take on the care of a Sulfur crested cockatoo named Barry, his owner is no longer able to provide him with the care she feels he should have so she asked me if I would consider taking him in for the rest of his or my life.

He is healthy and does not pluck or have any behavioral issues but I forgot to ask the age of Barry, I have been told the reason the owner is looking for a new home for him is because since having surgery on her head (I am not sure what for) she is not able to clean his cage properly or often enough and she can not spend physical time with him any more and she feels it is not fair to him. He is an outside bird and will come with his cage/aviary.

Being an outside bird will make the move in a lot less stressful for me as I will not need to consider Burt's breathing health, I would eventually like to transition Barry to be an inside bird who enjoys outside time (like Burt is/does) but that will not be until I move and have the room available to keep the two birds completely separated with air purifiers all around the house.

I have not actually been around cockatoos very much at all since I was a child/teenager and I will have to relearn how to read their body language. I find them to be a little more full on and tricky to read than some of the other birds I have been around and dealt with but that is possibly because the last few I have interacted with were very cheeky and sneaky.......in other words, they outsmarted me

Before I bring Barry home I will meet him and possibly see if I can make a regular time to visit with him for a few weeks (it is a bit of a distance away so not sure if this will be possible), but I would like some advice on the best way to proceed to introduce myself to him and interact with him. I will start reading as much as I can here in regards to cockatoo diet, health, behavior, needs and anything else to look out for or be aware of.

I feel that with the support and information available here from all the members Barry and I should be ok but I would like to be as prepared for all of Barry's care and need requirements as I possibly can be.

I will be completely honest and say that I am as worried as I am excited to meet him and bring him home
Another bird to love on and spoil.......I feel so lucky

 

[faislaq]

Wow how neat! This could be a fun opportunity. We have the two goffin girls and one macaw, but I feel like you may need advice from the folks with full-time aviary birds more since you're not bringing Barry indoors (yet). Maybe @Barcann? I'll tag more folks if I can think of any.

@JLcribber has an indoor aviary (same difference).

I get how you can live in Australia & not have much cockatoo experience. I live in North America and have even less experience with pigeons and grackles. Even though when I imagine what it's like living there it's more like this:

 

[Begone]

I will be completely honest and say that I am as worried as I am excited to meet him and bring him home
Another bird to love on and spoil.......I feel so lucky

And if you decided to bring home home, Barry will be the lucky one.

I hope you soon will have great advices of the things you need to know.

He is an outside bird and will come with his cage/aviary.

I think that can be a good start for you both. You will have a chance for time outs without him and that can avoid him to be too needed.

 

[iamwhoiam]

Very nice of you to take the SCC. Hope everything goes well. My only suggestion is to just let his behavior guide you. Continue feeding him what his current person is feeding him and then transition him to a healthier diet if necessary. Don't know how mechanical Sulfur Cresteds are but make sure that aviary is escape proof.

 

[Tiel Feathers]

How exciting! I’m sorry that his current person isn’t able to keep him any more though. He sounds like a wonderful bird, and I’m sure you will give him a great home!

 

[Shezbug]

I have interacted with many cockatoos but not for a very long time, all the ones I knew when I was younger were very friendly and very very well behaved towards people. I think the last one I closely interacted with was one my grandfather rescued and he was a cheeky little snot, lol. He had one wing missing and was a terror, he found it very entertaining to intimidate people by chasing feet and trying to remove toes. He had been attacked by four legged pets who ripped his wing off trying to drag him through the bars of his cage, I believe he had to have the bars of his cage cut to remove him from them, he had sort of fused with them as they had cut into his body. The poor thing had then recovered from that and then been physically abused before my grandfather got him. I know not all cockatoos are like he was but that is honestly the last vivid memory I have of dealing with 2's, being chased by a bird who was trying to eat my feet. He was lovely if my grandfather was not near him, if he was near the bird would try to get everyone away from my grandfather by any means possible. If he did get you he bit and hung on like he was starving for human meat!

I am used to seeing and hearing cockatoos from a distance and in their natural habitat but ever since the episodes with my grandfathers rescued one I have been much more cautious of them......actually I have kept my distance as there is no need for me to try and befriend someone else's bird and get bit in the process There is one fat cocky that I have regular visits with but we keep our distance from each other because he is also a little moody if you talk to his owner or get too close to him. He calls me over and asks for scritches (in Turkish which is hilarious to me) but if I am silly enough to give him what he asks me for he will without a doubt grab my finger.....I learnt that the hard way many years ago

Thank you for tagging some others with cockatoos @faislaq. I hope when Barry comes to live at my home he settles in as smoothly and sweetly as Puffin has for you You guys must be doing lots of things right by her I think.

Thank you for the sweet kind words @Eloy, that was very nice of you to say that Barry will be the lucky one......I think we will both be lucky if he does come to live with me, I would love to be able to spoil him with care, kindness and love and continue on with what he has been used to before his person needed surgery. Being an outside bird will be good for a start and over time if he shows some interest and comfort with being inside then I will ensure he has both indoor and outdoor places to be comfortable in. I will just have to wait and see how he is before I worry myself about making two separate indoor bird areas, he may not even like having a visit inside so I will just work it from his reaction to everything over time once we get to know each other.

@iamwhoiam, Thanks, I think that your suggestion of letting his behavior guide me will be the best way to proceed with him and also not changing his diet straight away will be a great help for settling him in, I have my fingers crossed that he is already on a great diet but you never know so I will be prepared for the worst just in case. The owner did not say anything about him being an escape artist but I have heard of some people who have major issues keeping their cockatoo's caged so I will be ready for that and make sure I ask the current owner about his history with locks. I know long billed corellas can be quite good and well known for opening cages and all sorts of other things but I have only heard of a few with cockatoos who are as good at opening locks, I will keep my fingers crossed he is not a little Houdini.


So some things I know I should ask are- about his health and vet history, home history as far back as possible, age and breeder if known, any quirks or behaviors I should be aware of (I already know he is not fond of men).

I can not thin of anything else I should ask but I feel like there should be more.......I am too excited to think about this whole thing straight at the moment. Any help with what things I should be asking his owner or keeping records of for him would be great if anyone can think of something I have missed (which there is likely to be a fair bit of)

Thank you all for replying to me

 

[Rain Bow]

I don't know a thing about too's except that they're tough for anyone/anything that has a breathing issue. I'm very excited for the 2 of you. I hope it all goes as planned. I think it'll be good for Burt to get some outside time too. Let me know how you make out!

Rain

 

[Shezbug]

Thank you @Rain Bow, I can not wait till we move so I can buy an aviary for Burt to use outside on the nice warm days, it will be much more enjoyable than having to have his harness on to enjoy the outside. He hates the harness when he has pin feathers....I do not blame him, even though I try to be very careful we always catch one of them.

 

[cassiesdad]

Congrats on the pending addition!

Buckle up for a crazy ride...'toos are a handful! Since Barry is coming from a good place and is healthy, I'd think the most important thing is to glean as much information from his current owner. You want to make his transition to your home as easy as possible..and knowledge about him and the way he lives now will be key in that transition.

You will want to know everything about Barry's routine...food preferences, sleep schedules, what kind of stimulating things he likes. You want to know his dislikes, too...information is so essential to what you're striving for here...a smooth transition to your home!

The best thing here...you're coming into this with a positive attitude and a determination to do the best for Barry...

 

[Shezbug]

Thanks @cassiesdad, I feel very lucky to have been asked to be his carer/companion.
I got some photos of him this morning and he is a cutie pie. He is 23 years old and does not like men apparently, the lady who has him is more than willing to share information about him as she really does want him to go somewhere where he will be loved, cared for and not passed around. She did not hesitate to answer any of the questions I asked yesterday so I am sure I will be able to get some good background history on him to make things easier for the both of us. She has also said I am more than welcome to visit with him before hand to make sure I am making the right decision for us both.

It might be a good idea for me to put the questions and answers in a book and keep them like a record of Barry's life history so if I ever need I can refer back to them or pass them on when I am too old to look after him, I think all birds should have something similar because if something happens to me all the information will be in my head and not accessible to others if it is needed and it will be the bird who gets stuffed around.

I really appreciate the supportive words and your belief in my ability to manage, it means a lot to me. I know it will not all be flowers and rainbows and I am honestly up for the challenge (even though I am a little nervous about it all) as I think it will be good for me and also very rewarding to be able to see him happy.

 

[iamwhoiam]

I don't know a thing about too's except that they're tough for anyone/anything that has a breathing issue. I'm very excited for the 2 of you. I hope it all goes as planned. I think it'll be good for Burt to get some outside time too. Let me know how you make out!

Rain

I have been diagnosed with mild asthma. I have two 'toos and two 'tiels and have air purifiers running throughout the house. Hopefully @Shezbug has a purifier or two or will plan to get one.

 

[Shezbug]

@iamwhoiam, thanks for thinking about the dust and mentioning the asthma......I have asthma too but not as bad as it once was (thank goodness), I also have an air purifier that sits next to Burt's cage. I will not have to worry too much for a start because Barry has been an outside bird so I do not think bringing him inside to live straight away will be in his best interest. I will bring him in to the house for visits and see how he likes it and work things from there but I dare say he will prefer staying in an outdoor aviary because that is what he has been used to.......most people here tend to keep them in outdoor set ups, I can not say I know of anyone who has a galah or cockatoo living inside a house here and I do not really know why.
I am actually trying to work out if I should have my carport altered (again) and have it turned into a massive bird aviary for Barry or if I should just wait till I move and buy him a new aviary.
If he does end up moving inside then it will have to be a distance from Burt which will mean a total house change about to keep the distance between them and I will also need to buy more purifiers so it will be a bit of planning before hand if Barry does want to move into the house

 

[iamwhoiam]

It's good you have an air purifier. My thought was that if you bring him inside it would be good to have one.
BTW, I am always curious about what happens if someone's cockatoo or cockatiel gets lost. How do they find them since 'toos and 'tiels are common in Australia? Do all pet 'toos and 'tiels have to be banded or chipped? I would think it would be difficult to find a lost one and also difficult to be 100% sure regarding identification unless that bird said certain things, had certain behaviors or was chipped or banded. I know that many of the wild 'toos will come up to anyone and will even go into people's homes or hotel rooms.

 

[cassiesdad]

I am honestly up for the challenge (even though I am a little nervous about it all)

We had a LOT of nervousness before we adopted Milton, believe me! Although we had vast experience with many species and with small 'toos (LSCs) the thought of stepping up to care for an adult, male U2 was, frankly, a bit scary.

Thank goodness we took that "leap of faith"...

 

[cassiesdad]

It might be a good idea for me to put the questions and answers in a book and keep them like a record of Barry's life history so if I ever need I can refer back to them or pass them on when I am too old to look after him, I think all birds should have something similar because if something happens to me all the information will be in my head and not accessible to others if it is needed and it will be the bird who gets stuffed around.

We received 8 pages on Milton, written by his last person, when we adopted him...believe me, it made our transition much easier with that featherball...

 

[Shezbug]

It's good you have an air purifier. My thought was that if you bring him inside it would be good to have one.
BTW, I am always curious about what happens if someone's cockatoo or cockatiel gets lost. How do they find them since 'toos and 'tiels are common in Australia? Do all pet 'toos and 'tiels have to be banded or chipped? I would think it would be difficult to find a lost one and also difficult to be 100% sure regarding identification unless that bird said certain things, had certain behaviors or was chipped or banded. I know that many of the wild 'toos will come up to anyone and will even go into people's homes or hotel rooms.

Not all of the native pet birds here have bands but saying that I have also seen Macaws and other birds for sale here without bands. I know of a few 'pets' that definitely ended up in wild flocks......you knew they were previous pets because of their talking ability. I am not sure of the laws regarding banding and breeding native birds here but I do know that I have seen as many native pet birds banded as I have seen un-banded ones. I have friends with a SC2 and he is not banded or chipped, if he got lost the only way they could identify him is by the fact that he speaks Turkish and says certain words and phrases. We also had a SC2 land in our yard years ago and he was not banded or chipped but he did talk so that was the only way we had of identifying his correct owners...... we had so many people tell us it was their bird that in the end the police had to help with returning him to the rightful owners as we ended up with threats and all sorts of scammers trying to get him from us.
There are some places here where the wild too's have become quite friendly and do the things you have said, just recently my step mum and my dad went travelling around Aus and they could only get one nights accommodation at some places until they knew how invasive and noisy the local parrots were at the place they were staying as the place had had many people complain and ask for their money back because of the noise and the fact that the birds would be getting into all their stuff hehehe.

 

[Shezbug]

@cassiesdad, I have a feeling that Milton may be a little more 'full on' than Barry is, lol I have my fingers crossed that I am right. I think some of the things you have been through and seen with Milton would just break my heart, such a beautiful boy who says he is bad that would make me cry and feel awful that I could not change what he is thinking or feeling. I will be looking up to you and some of the others here as role models for myself on how to deal with Barry, I feel like I will have all the tools I need to make it work for us both

I will certainly get as much information as I can on Barry and also ask if I can keep in contact with the lady in case there is anything else I need to find out in the future. From what I have been told he is a pretty laid back boy but does have his special moments and times which I guess is just normal with any bird.

 

[Lady Jane]

Wishing you all the best in this venture. Is the bird used to men or does it even matter?

 

[Shezbug]

Thank your for the well wishes @Lady Jane, Barry's current owner is a female and she has told me he is not too keen on men.... That is fine as there are 3 females living at my house and 1 male who is very patient and does not have issues with hurt feelings and will be willing to stay away from Barry if need be.

 

[BirdEE]

I was sooooo nervous when bringing our U2 home, and I had known him for a year before hand and handled him many times. I’m still nervous I’m doing something wrong with him since he’s adjusting better than I expected which could be just because I knew some of his quirks ahead of time. He just loves to be a member of the family. He sits on the back of the couch or his perch and talks to us all night. He has the typical too mood swings when he’s tired or grumpy, and he does prefer me although he likes going to my wife too. He’s definitely a character and wayyyyy different than any bird I’ve ever owned. He’s more like a bi-polar dog to be honest. He prefers to follow me everywhere even if it’s just to sit in the bathroom with me and watch the water when I’m giving my daughter a bath. As long as he’s involved with the daily happenings he’s calm and talks up a storm. If he thinks you’ve forgetten he lives there, he will quickly and loudly remind you he’s still in the house haha.

It’s nerve racking for sure, especially if you’ve read as much as I did before bringing him home. I swear I read a long novels worth of horror stories. A lot of which had good tips regarding the typical quirks of Toos. It sounds like you’ll be fine though, you have bird experience which will help.