I didn't see the introduction forum until I realized it was at the very top of the list lol..
I just dived into the world of parrot ownership back in late December. My fiance's family and I picked up an umbrella cockatoo from a vet's house, where the dogs were proving to be dangerous around her. However, I speculate if that is the real reason or not seeing as she had an Amazon that she didn't seem interested in giving up. Maybe it's all the screaming haha
Whatever the reason, Molly the U2 has been with us for almost 4 months now and is opening up (more slowly to some than others). Some info on her. Definitely female. Her band indicates she is 21 years old, although the vet claimed she was 8. Confusing... Anyway, she's changed homes 4 times now, us being the 4th. Original owner was an elderly man who passed away, I empathize with her she probably misses him. I can tell she is used to being cuddled and babied, but her hormones are running high because of inappropriate petting so we've been less cuddly with her and careful not to work her up.
She has a painfully obvious preference and attraction to any guy. Very cute, very sweet, a bit sexual but overall a sweet bird. She knows how to say "hi pretty girl" but only to the guys, lol. She also does that two toned whistle, not sure how to describe. Like the whistle guys do when an attractive woman walks by, the guys taught her that. She doesn't respond aggressively to women, but she is very wary of them and not nearly as quick to trust. Sad for me. It took her a month and a half I think to get her to let me pet her head, with confidence that I won't be bitten. Now if she turns up her beak when I approach with my hand, I can freeze, say 'No don't do that' very firmly with a frown, she will lower it and usually oblige to a couple scritches. I don't force it, if she really seems like she doesn't want me to touch I'll back off, try again later.
Actually I feel like she and I have come a long way since we first brought her back, albeit I no longer allow her shoulder/arm time with me personally because of an incident in the past (I had at least 5 welts on my arm/shoulder/neck and am slow to trust her like that again). I do more hands off stuff with her and I still step her up to take her to and fro, as well as letting her sit in my lap to groom her, but I have to have one of the guys take her off my lap because she'll bite me if I try to. I do think it's because she just doesn't have the same trust in me as them. We actually made leaps of progress before the biting incident, where she would actually come to greet me and step up very nicely and was even starting to tell me I'm a pretty girl (lol), but somehow something happened to cause a bite frenzy one of those times and both her and I kind of went back to square one. I'm not sure what happened, I was hanging out with her sorta climbing back and forth from arm to shoulder in the kitchen with some of the family, and suddenly she just kinda went berserk on my arm. I guess it was a good enough reason to bite me, I just don't know what it was and that's why I'm wary. She's kind of phobic about a lot of stuff.
She is not very good at trying new foods, esp fruit or veggies. I realize she needs these things in her diet but I don't think she knows that. Any cockatoo owners out there who know of healthy foods she might enjoy as a picky eater? Or ways to get her to try new food?
OMG I wrote a novel, my apologies to you readers v.v