"Mytoos.com"

[Elizebird]

Hey guys.

So I'm not sure who, but when I first mentioned looking into getting a cockatoo, someone recommended mytoos.com. Always eager to find another bird forum, I checked it out the next day.

My first impression of it was to find it pretty horrific. The introduction page shows a slideshow of plucking / mutilating toos to a background of two screaming U2's with warning slogans plastered up and down the page. Then you can continue to the actual website.

First of all, I'd like to say that even though it was a shocker coming from this bright, cheery forum (with a rainbow banner, and cute little emoticons ) I completely understand the seriousness of a cockatoo and actually appreciate the fact that their presenting the cold hard facts of owning a cockatoo, or a large parrot in general.

I basically went through their detailed "cockatoo checklist" (not the 3 min version) to see if I was an ideal owner, found that I could meet their high demands, and was done with the website. I didn't return until recently, when i just surfed the forum for about 30 min.

My only issue was that I could not find a single positive cockatoo story. There were no solutions, only horror stories of even very experienced bird owners who "love their birds" yet if given the chance to go back, would never have gotten a cockatoo in the first place. When I posted a post asking something along the lines of "was it really not worth it?" but in a more formal way, I was banned from the website. In the box where they are supposed to give you a reason, there was none...

So that's my experience with the website. Right now I just kind of want to hear a story about a cockatoo over the age of two that does not lunge at it's owner's face and cause scars everyday...

[Pomlover2586]

My grandmother had a Goffin. He came to us as an adult- we never knew his exact age- but definitely sexually mature when we got him. He flew into my dads auto-body shop one day and we couldn't find an owner.

Anyway she had that bird until he passed away 19 years later. He was loud when he wanted attention, but beyond that no issues. He was not a biter, or a plucker. He did need to be introduced to new toys slowly, and he was not super cuddly with anyone except my grandma.

No two cases of Too's are the same, and you just have to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

[Elizebird]

Thank you pomlover, that sincerely made me feel better. I pretty much knew that going in - just hoping for a good outcome. My boy (i've been visiting him since he hatched XD) is very bold and has a leader personality (all the bully amazons and greys ect. in the play pen respect him, even though he's tiny!) , and thinks anything is a toy, so he's pretty much fearless.

I'll probably have to remind him who's feeding him at times with, but hopefully he can learn to respect me too.

[terri]

Im going to give you my view on this .My toos in my flock due tend to be more sensitive[emotionaliy speaking than the rest].Before I got them I did my research on this [and spent alot of time on that website]I was fully aware of the worst that could happen.Im not going to encourage everyone to run out and get a too.But there are so many birds that need good homes.Im disgusted by the bad rap these birds get.Which I bet the majority of these birds are like that CAUSE SOMEONE DID IT TO THEM!!!!![but they wont talk about that].Im sure alot were told what and what not to due with them till they were blue in the face.Of course your going to have problems if you dont listen.Out of my 9 birds I wouldnt say they are the difficult ones!

[Grey_Moon]

I actually love the site.

Why?

Precisely because its ugly, its blunt nitty gritty and it scares the crap out of most 'omg I wanna pretty bird' people and they never ever get a parrot---and I want it to stay that way.

I don't agree with some of the fine points of their opinions---but by and large I applaud them.

You have to understand these people work with and see every day the ugly results that pro-parrot ownership sites never ever disclose or they brush it aside with 'oh well that particular bird has a screw loose, or it was abused---but if you buy one of my premium handfed babies that'll never happen...' The birds that are locked in closets, torn from the wild, abused, neglected, tortured and those 'but I did everything right and loved him' birds who self-destruct simply due to the incompatibility of everything they are and feel with captivity.

They never tell you that you are purchasing a sentient intelligent being who is as intelligent as a toddler and keeping it in a cage for your enjoyment.

In humans we have another word for that---slavery.

It makes me sick.

But its an uncomfortable truth people can't accept.

I don't approve of keeping parrots in captivity---they should not be 'pets' (ie. animals we keep in whatever environment or manner to suit our whims in order to provide for our emotional needs).
But I realize that the captive birds here are by and large too stunted mentally, mutilated behaviourally and dependent to survive in the wild so someone needs to care for them.

I come on strong, and I'm not in a majority here or anywhere else. But no one here would tell me that I didn't adore Jacko--I do. I respect her and love her enough to feel this way.

They should have been left alone to be free.

No one should be continuing the cycle and buying more baby parrots.

[pennyandrocky]

i always wanted a too but was talked out of it for years. then i got in touch with a rescue who had mya up for adoption after speaking to the woman who runs the rescue and the man fostering her i liked everything i was told about her then when i met her i fell in love. she was plucked but after a year she's almost fully feathered. my experiance with mya has been noisy, and messy but i wouldn't trade her for anything she loves to cuddle all day,she's smart and so funny she makes us laugh everyday.i agree with grey moon both with the site and keeping parrots. my first was an that was always in a cage when i would visit my grandmother it made me sad to see him locked away so when i inherited him i mae sure he had as much freedom as possible.i even freeflighted him outside,a dumb idea by the way fortunatly nothing ever went wrong with him but i would never do it again knowing what i know now.i still get sad sometimes watching mya and penny fly around my house thinking they should be in the wild.

[terrylmc]

i too just had a bad experience with mytoos and got banned!
I put up a lengthy detailed post about feather plucking and all i hd been through with the issue with one of my birds.
After vet trips,online research ,talking with numerous other bird ppl,talking with my froomer (who also breeds,raises,and nurses birds) i found no help.
tried everything i was told....and spent hours and hours reseaching picking/plucking.
long story short i found some long feather shafts that had been clipped were irritating my bird.
after having them clipped short my moluccan seemed to be very relieved and started growing new feathers.
my post on there was much more detailed.....all i got from the moderators was clipping feathers too short can cause problems also
putting cortizone creaam can cause all kinds of problems with birds
watch what you post on here there are a lot of unknowing ppl that come here and dont have money to go to the vet that might read this!
and let me say i only used the cortizone cream on a couple spots that were under her wing and for a very short period.
these ppl are so negative....i finally let em have it and got banned.....but they seem to be very arrogant and know it allish!
so ill use other forums to share my experiences...and to read others ....maybe we can all be helpful to each other!

[terri]

Terrylmc Im glad you were able to find something that worked.Having had a plucking bird I would have appreciated your experience.[I tried everything] The only good thing about that site as I took it as a heads up .But I dont think any species should be portrayed as awful and not to bother with.Im pro 2 on here

[Pricey_boy]

I've got 3 galahs and a corella but wouldn't trade them in a second the galahs don't bite or scream and bandit has never bitten anybody and won't scream unless he's moved to a new environment when I'm not there or if he knocks down his water to let me know he's thirsty bandit is very playful I can let him on his back and play with him. I think there would be more positive stories than negative but all the positive stories aren't posted online

[Pricey_boy]

Forgot to mention that my lorikeets are noisier more destructive and temperamental than bandit and he's a LB corella and he's pretty big and has a massive beak