Will getting a cockatoo be unfair to my other bird?

[pigibut]

Hi, my name is Dani. I've just joined here to seek advice on the dynamics of adopting a new cockatoo, when I already have a cockatiel that's closely bonded to me. I want to make sure I'm doing right by both birds. I've thought on getting a cockatoo for years, and definitely want one, but I've still got anxiety about it because I've read some pretty discouraging comments from mixed species owners with cockatoos. I was told I should "say goodbye" to spending time with my other bird, because my cockatoo will demand all my attention. I know that cockatoos demand a lot of attention, and I think I have plenty of time to give it as I work at home. However, my cockatiel is very bonded to me and wants to be with me all the time. I let her out of her cage most of the day and she spends a good portion of her time sitting on me. I've been told the cockatoo I'm getting is from a household that had two cockatiels so the rescue owner didn't seem concerned at all when it came to the topic of having to "divide my attention" between birds, even when I told her my current bird is very bonded to me. Am I just being overly anxious? Another issue I've come upon is some people have told me that you can give your parrot too much attention and I should discourage my cockatiel from being with me all day anyway? My cockatiel doesn't seem to have separation anxiety as she doesn't pace, or beg to be let out, but when she's out, she's on me. Is this something I should correct? Should I force her to spend more time playing by herself outside the cage? She really doesn't play much at all. She really just wants to be around me. I've also heard from some people that it's particularly harmful to let a cockatoo bond to you to that extent? Will it be impossible to have two clingy birds, or is this misinformation? I research, research, research, and I always find something that contradicts what I've been told last, or my concern is so specific I can't find answers. I respect the opinions of experienced parrot owners more than random YouTube comments so that's why I'm here. Thanks in advance for your advice, and if any of you have anymore information to offer me on cockatoos, especially keeping them along with cockatiels I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[Hermesbird]

Going to tag members who do have both.

@sunnysmom @JLcribber

 

[macawpower58]

Anytime you have more than one bird, you have to divide attention.
Yes, Toos are more demanding than many other types.
No, Toos do not need to be on your 24/7, in fact they really need to learn to entertain themselves when alone.
Your Teil also should learn to entertain himself at times.
Because of size differences, housing them separately may be necessary for safety's sake.
Your cockatiel may well enjoy another 'flock' member to chat with, even if it's in a different room.
Birds like being around other birds, even if not in close contact.

It's very easy to want a cockatoo around you, they can be love sponges.
It's not healthy though for them to always be on you.
It can cause harm to their emotional wellbeing, as the novelty wears off and the Too becomes frustrated with less of your time.

Bringing a Too into your home will upset things. Toos are notoriously disruptive to any nice calm household.
It's the strong disciplined owner that manages to make it work.

Only you know if you've the strength for that.
And time will test that for sure.

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue Dani!

 

[sunnysmom]

Welcome to the forum. What kind of cockatoo are you thinking about getting? I will share my cockatiel/cockatoo experience. I started with one cockatiel who thought I was his entire world. He was what I considered at the time elderly (15- I don't think that's that old anymore) and chose not to get another bird because I didn't think it would be fair to him. He had lived his life as an only bird and had some health issues. So I thought another bird would stress him out too. I still feel that was the right decision for him. He passed away at 20.

Sometime thereafter, I adopted my goffin cockatoo Elvis. He is a joy and a hand full. I had these lovely visions of having him out all day- like I did with my cockatiel. That unfortunately isn't a possibility. He is way too busy and destructive to be out without constant supervision. So, I have him on a getting out schedule. He gets out of the cage time at certain times a day and he accepts this. (This also cuts down on his screaming to get out because he knows when it's time to get out and when it's not.) It also has made him good at independent play. Although actually he was pretty good at that from the get go. Cockatoos are attention mongers. They will take all the attention you can give them. So, you have to try to reach a middle ground where they get needed attention but don't become totally dependent on you. The schedule has also made it easier to have other birds. I was asked to foster a cockatiel, Scooter, and became a foster fail by adopting him. He is a pretty independent bird though. He likes having me around but definitely doesn't need to have me around. Scooter and Elvis were in the same room every day, in their cages, and I found that Scooter was a calming influence on Elvis. I was then asked to foster a second tiel Rosie, who is now a long term foster. The rescue decided not to adopt him out because of his age (31 now). So he'll stay with me too. They all seem to enjoy hanging out together during the day in their cages and see each other as a flock.

So having both can be done. The downside to having both is that it is more work. I don't believe in mixing beak sizes like that outside of the cage. Some people successfully manage it. I don't feel comfortable with it because my 'too is just too excitable and I worry he would accidentally hurt the tiels. So separate out of the cage time. Because of the schedule thing, it works okay. But there are times it's a bit exhausting. I am constantly trying to figure out ways to improve what I do. But basically, I get up 1.5-2 hours before I would normally get up for work to take care of the birds. Elvis gets out first. He flies around and plays. And "helps" me get the tiels food and cages ready for the day. (The tiels have separate sleep cages and sleep upstairs.) Once Elvis goes back in his cage, I bring the tiels downstairs who then get their out of cage time. The process is reversed in the evenings. The tiels get out first, and then Elvis gets out. I love cockatoos and cockatiels. So I wouldn't not do it again, but I will say life would be easier if I didn't have a mixed flock.

 

[JLcribber]

Anytime you have more than one bird, you have to divide attention.
Yes, Toos are more demanding than many other types.
No, Toos do not need to be on your 24/7, in fact they really need to learn to entertain themselves when alone.
Your Teil also should learn to entertain himself at times.
Because of size differences, housing them separately may be necessary for safety's sake.
Your cockatiel may well enjoy another 'flock' member to chat with, even if it's in a different room.
Birds like being around other birds, even if not in close contact.

It's very easy to want a cockatoo around you, they can be love sponges.
It's not healthy though for them to always be on you.
It can cause harm to their emotional wellbeing, as the novelty wears off and the Too becomes frustrated with less of your time.

Bringing a Too into your home will upset things. Toos are notoriously disruptive to any nice calm household.
It's the strong disciplined owner that manages to make it work.

Only you know if you've the strength for that.
And time will test that for sure.

Fabulous advice.

Be careful what you wish for. Taking care of a cockatiel is like free lunch compared to a cockatoo. They require a whole new level of bird ownership. You need to be educated in ABC's of behaviour (Antecedent. Behaviour. Consequence) in order to "manage" these birds. They require as much time, space, effort and resources as you would need for a small child. Literally. This bird will be a life long commitment because they live that long. No free lunches. Ever.

They don't even grow up until they're 5-7 years old. So if you get one younger than that you won't even know the real bird because when hormones begin to dictate its behaviours they become different creature.

Some enlightening reading.

Site Name - Articles - Behavioral - Sex And The Psittacine

 

[Lady Jane]

The Inconvenient Truth About …Cockatoos

Cockatoos are one of the most consistently relinquished parrots, handed over to sanctuaries and rescue organizations with regularity, after being deemed just too difficult. Clients with cockatoos m…

blogpamelaclarkonline.com

 

[pigibut]

Thank you all for all the honest replies and trustworthy resources. I should've been a little more clear about how far into the process I was. The rescue actually cleared me to take the cockatoo home on the same day I made the post, and I was having a lot of last minute anxiety about it. I already had a level of trust built visiting with the bird before putting in an application to adopt him so he's settling in pretty easy. He's about 17 years old and he's a U2. I'm told his previous owner took awesome care of him. I am in my early 20s and work from home with no kids, so I have plenty of time to give him.

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[JLcribber]

Thank you all for all the honest replies and trustworthy resources. I should've been a little more clear about how far into the process I was. The rescue actually cleared me to take the cockatoo home on the same day I made the post, and I was having a lot of last minute anxiety about it. I already had a level of trust built visiting with the bird before putting in an application to adopt him so he's settling in pretty easy. He's about 17 years old and he's a U2. I'm told his previous owner took awesome care of him. I am in my early 20s and work from home with no kids, so I have plenty of time to give him.

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Buckle up and hold on. This is the biggest baddest roller coaster you will ever get on.

you will have a “honeymoon period” anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. Once the bird starts to feel at home he going start trying to dictate things to his liking.

I don’t wish you luck because luck has nothing to do with. I wish you strength courage and fortitude to see this through. Educate yourself in the ways of animal(parrot) behaviour. Will save you a lot of heartache.

Always here to help.

 

[sunnysmom]

He's beautiful. The big mistake that I made when I got my cockatoo was assume he was like my cockatiel. Sounds dumb, right? I was very go with the flow with him because he was so easy in the beginning. We had a super long honeymoon period and I thought- wow, I have the easiest cockatoo in the world. I think there are actually posts on here of my saying that. Then one day I walked into the room and 2 feet of my 100 year old door was stripped off. I was only gone for 5 minutes.... LOL. And then he started biting my fiance. I wished I would have worked on training more earlier. That would be my advice to you. Start training now- going into the cage, stepping up, etc. Just because he may be good about all of that now doesn't mean he won't test you once he settles in. If a 'too can get away with something, they will. : )