From: brenner@wums.wustl.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.birds
Subject: RE: Macaw (and Cockatoos)
Date: 1 OCT 92 16:08:07 GMT
Organization: MIT PLASMA FUSION CENTER
NNTP-Posting-Host: msnews.wustl.edu

In a previous article, bhtongue@highlander.berkeley.edu (Benson H Tongue) wrote:
>...the Cockatoo (probably a Citron if we
>got one) would be VERY demanding of attention, very loving
>and cuddlable for the whole family, create mounds of 
>possibly allergetic powder and chew anything he (or she) could
>get. Not to mention yell loudly at times. The macaws are
>reputed to be more independent, less cuddly, less family oriented
>as opposed to single person oriented, also destructive of beak
>and perhaps less loud but still capable of producing plenty of
>volume. Now to the question. Do any of you owners out there
>disagree? If you all agree, then there's not much to discuss.
>But do some of you have counter experiences? Cuddly macaws or
>cockatoos that don't want to be with their owners every hour
>of the day. Macaws that relate to the whole family. Etc.
>Thanks
>Benson

Story of a more independent, very cuddly, two-people oriented Umbrella Cockatoo
follows:

In July of 1991, I was looking for a birthday present for my S.O.  I had had my
Red-Headed Amazon for about two years, and although my S.O. thought he was 
pretty cool, my amazon saw my S.O. only as someone stealing attention from him.
Needless to say, it is somewhat difficult for a person to develop a close 
relationship with a bird who's constantly trying to eat that person.  After 
some introduction over the 6 months prior to July '91 to beaks of various
species, my S.O. became convinced that a cockatoo was the perfect bird for her.
I was calling around a couple weeks prior to Maggie's b-day and found a pet 
store who had a cockatoo in the back but the clerk wasn't sure if it was for
sale or not, so I contacted the owner and got the story.  It seems this 
cockatoo had escaped from someone and was "found" by a guy in a pickup truck
during an afternoon in early April.  He was driving down Hampton Ave., a four-
lane road in St. Louis, with his windows open, when the cockatoo flew into his
truck.  He tried to shoe the bird out but the cockatoo would have none of that.
The driver decided to drive to the nearest pet store.  When I called the pet 
store they had had the cockatoo for over 3 months and had not been able to find
the owner.  The cockatoo had gotten pnemounia and was rather stressed out.  
After meeting with the pet store owner a couple times, we reached an agreement
where Maggie and I would "buy" the cockatoo with the understanding that if the
original owners came forward, we agree to return the cockatoo to the owners for
what we paid.  The store owner only charged us to cover the vet bills and food,
etc., totalling $300; far less than the $1200-$1900 for a hand-fed umbrella.  I
got the cockatoo for Maggie who had been named Hamptom by the store personel.
Our major concern was that this bird would not tame down.  When we first brought
her home, Hampton would run to the back of her cage whenever we entered the 
room she was in, hissing, and puffing up.  Within 3 months, she would no 
longer hiss at us but would still move to the back of the cage when we
approached. Around this time moved her to the same room as my amazon so they 
could start to get to know each other.
In the fourth month I was able to start feeding her peanuts from my
hand (her diet had been pellets from the first day we got her since my amazon
ate pellets).  After five months, we still had not petted her.  I felt it was 
becoming important to trim her wings, since they had grown out fully and felt
she was comfortable with us enough to give it a try.  We threw a towel over her 
to catch her in the cage, brought her out, trimmed her wings and nails, and
petted her for a few minutes.  She did seem to enjoy it a bit, so little by
little we started working with her more.  

Today, she is as affectionate as any cockatoo I've met, is not attached to one 
person, does not scream too often, loves being played with and cuddled as much
as you want to give but does not demand it.  We spend about two hours each day
with the birds, and they seem very happy.  A weekly shower is all I've ever 
done to keep their feathers in shape; dust has never been a problem.  

My premise after this experience is this:
With cockatoos, since they are such affectionate birds, I would not want to get
one which was hand-fed early and constantly payed attention to.  I forgot to
mention that Hampton turned out to be an imported bird.  The vet identified
her leg band from a quarintine station in Florida.  Perhaps with cockatoos,
hand-feeding is over doing it, any comments?  I realize that this is but a 
single experience and would be very interested hearing from breeders who have
experimented with different levels of attention for their birds, especially
cockatoos.

By the way, she does destroy everything she can get ahold of with her beak :-)


Tim Brenner