Umbrella Cockatoo For Free - What You Think?

[Scotty]

Hi Guys,

I was sitting at home the other day, the wife calls on the phone and says, you remember so and so and I was like sure, well the Mrs goes, she has a Cockatoo she'll give us for free, and I was like what? No way you're kidding me? The wife is like nope...

Well to my surprise this was no joke and I went over to the owners house today and the bird is just breath taking, Umbrella, 14 years old, but the condition is beautiful, and I'm thinking this is insane giving away a bird like this for free.

Well it's a girl, and she's been scared pretty much most of the day, and after about 4-5 hrs., finally getting calm and sitting on a cage I have for her.

But now I'm thinking, I know parrorts fairly well, and what I don't know I can learn, but BeBe my GCC has been about all I've ever wanted in a bird, small and not nosiy and not going to take your finger off, LOL...

Well this bird from what I can see is very gentle and cuddly, even with the owners at their place she came right to me and was not aggressive at all.

So this is a great bird, gentle and cuddly, but noise, oh boy, am I going to hate myself later with screaming hell at times? LOL...

So what do you guys think should I keep her?

I still can't belive this bird is for free this is insane! ...

She was well cared for too, she's not abused or mistreated, or unhealthy, she's as good as it gets in quality, that's for sure...

Here's a picture of her;



Cheers!

[KimberlyAnn]

WOW! What a beauty! What is her name? They must trust you guys to be great parrot owners to give you their bird for free! What a compliment!

I don't have any words of advice, I would be writing a post like yours if the same thing happened to me. Lol

So what ever happened to the little Sparrow you were taking care of? I remember his cute little face.

[Scotty]

Hi KimberlyAnn,

My wife knows the owner pretty well and knows we love birds so it all played into that...

The little sparrow is still kicking her name is Sora.

The Cockatoo, not sure if I'm getting the spelling right is Noalani...

Well just got her into a cage for the night, seemed to take to it pretty well and she became really playful and dancing around before bed.

And she let's my teenage daughter play with her and hold her, so she's not a one person bird...

I'm still freaked out about this, LOL...

[KimberlyAnn]

LOL! I bet! I would be too. Only time will tell about noise I bet. And great to hear Sora is doing good. You should post some pictures!

[Pajarita]

The most important thing you have to do with a cockatoo is keep them to a strict solar schedule because these birds are highly hormonal (they have two breeding seasons in the wild, one in the spring and one in the fall) and, when they get sexually frustrated they will scream and scream and scream as well as pluck -they can also become aggressive/unpredictable and a bite from those huge beaks is no joke!

I had two umbrellas, both rescues and both girls and they were the sweetest things but, when we moved back to the city (we lived in the middle of a 5 acre property on a mountain), I sent them to a sanctuary because they would not scream at all during the day but they would flock-call every morning and evening like clockwork and you could hear their pterodactyl CAW CAW CAW CAW from the road so we knew it was not going to work out surrounded by neighbors.

[Scotty]

Yeah I worry about that big nut cracker, LOL...

The owners had her for 14 years and said she never bit them, so it made me wonder, maybe this one is gentle and it won't happen? But then again as you get older, maybe there will be cranky times...

It's seems exciting to get such a bird, but then I'm still wondering if I should try and take this on... hmm

She keeps panting with me when I pet her, I think she's getting sexually excited cause she raises her rear and the tail flaps up and down slowly and I tell her no, and I stop petting her and she stops it...

She likes to walk a lot around the floor, and today she's walking all over tapping her beak on things, maybe to get a feel of what things are around her...

Oh what do I do? LOL...

Ooops almost forgot a picture of Sora;



Here's Noalani, she climbed up my leg to sit and play in my lap. She's been sitting here, rolling her beak around in my shirt, then she'll bob up and down making a sound like he he he and I guess she's happy is what's she's expressing...

She seems like a big cuddly baby this one....

[KimberlyAnn]

Awwww Sora is so cute!

Noalani sounds like a sweetheart! How could you say no to such a beautiful face? Lol jk. It is a huge commitment. Just the thought of the bigger droppings gives me pause. But I'm sure she will win your heart over and she will be a keeper!

[Pajarita]

Yes, white toos are explorers and they love to walk around and get into things -LOL- But I am afraid that the 'he he he' (if it is what I think it is) is a vocalization they make when they are hormonal and want action -and, going by your description of her movement (tail up in the air) when you touch her, I would say that's it's pretty certain that's what it is.

But, I don't understand... did you tell their previous owners that you might not keep her and they still gave her to you? Because I would think that they would want to make sure she goes to a good home and that would not be possible if the decision is no longer theirs to make.

[Scotty]

No, I'm going to keep her, she's amazing, such a cuddly little sweetheart...

Yeah she's getting sexually excited, LOL, but I tell her no panting and I move away and she stops...

Here's a video at the dropbox link below; (Check out the cuddly action at the end)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1stgd7pdx8huapq/noelani.avi

I spelled the name wrong it's Noelani...

[Weka]

Aw, Sora is so cute!

I do wonder why Noelani is losing her initial home. Do you know what their reasons were for giving her away?

Best wishes,

Weka