Umbrella Cockatoo being aggressive towards my mother

[Jtholst410]

Hello! I've had my Umbrella Cockatoo, Bettencourt, for a few weeks now, and she's been wonderful, Of course there are the occasional attitude problems but she is very loving, cuddly, and is thriving in her now home, The only problem I've come across, is that she is extremely aggressive towards my mom. The second she sees her, she hops down from whatever perch she's on and goes in for the kill.
Its very puzzling, Especially because my mom hasn't done anything to make the bird dislike/fear her. Its gotten to the point now where shes bitten her fairly hard and has drawn blood. I was wondering if anybody has any suggestions or has any experience in a situation like this, and can lend me some advice on how to make bettencourt less aggressive and learn to trust my mom.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thankyou!

 

[Hankmacaw]

@JLcribber

Try reading this thread.

Umbrella Cockatoo being aggressive towards my mother | Avian Avenue Parrot Forum

 

[JLcribber]

How old is she? Some background/history would be nice. I don't know the circumstances of how/why you got her and what your large bird experience is but you have taken on the biggest challenge there is getting a very high maintenance, emotionally needy species.

This is the short answer. She has "chosen" you as her "favorite/mate". Yes it happens that quickly. That would make anyone else in the "territory" where you two are an intruder/competition that needs to be driven off. In the wild that intruder would just fly away and thats the end of it. In captivity the intruder is not going away. As a matter of fact it keeps coming back and interacting with its mate. That's a big no no in bird world. Whatever you do going forward do not show affection to your mom in front of the bird. Them's fightin' words.

but she is very loving, cuddly, and is thriving in her now home

Yes they are loving and cuddly but with cockatoos that opens a big can of worms and not something you should be promoting/doing. As long as you are in the picture or just "known" to be very close by your mother will be a target. "If" she is going to establish a relationship with her it will need to be done outside of your presence. It will never be on the same level as your relationship but it is possible to make friends. It won't be quick or easy.

Here is the long answer.

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine

 

[Jtholst410]

She's 9 years old.
I received bettencourt from a close friend who breeds exotic animals and couldn't give her the attention she needed.
Thanks for your reply! anything else I can do for now that could discourage aggression?

 

[Tim]

Welcome to the Avenue. There is no one better to give advice on Umbrellas than @JLcribber
The folks who wrote that article he linked to are my advisors, too, and there are other good articles on their site (they own 2 caiques, two DYH amazons, a BFA, a hyacinth, a Senegal, a Pionus and a U2! )

 

[JLcribber]

Read the article first. There's lots of good insight in there.

Here's some more info.

Cockatoo aggression

Do you know for sure it's a female and not a male.

 

[Jtholst410]

She is female, I have the documentation