bare eyed cockatoo and my grey.

[NVBird]

First off I've had my grey since he was 5 years old and is now 23, I was 15 when I got him and he's been my best friend through adolescence. Remains so today and has grown fond of my children, still despises my wife after 8 years. With all that said I'll get into this.

We've been thinking about a getting a smaller cockatoo for about 2 years, really just hit high intensity the last few months and it has truly peaked in the last week. We have found a 9 month old bare eyed female who is a big baby, we've made several trips to the pet store to spend time with her and extremely attached and interested. However I am concerned that my grey will become jealous, he is very independent most of the time, is quite content to just sit on his play area and talk to you, but I'm afraid with attention a cockatoo needs it could affect him.

Any advice on this matter would be huge before I make this decision. Thank you.

 

[Allee]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

As long as you've had your Grey, I'm surprised it's taken you this long to catch Multiple Bird Syndrome. Now that you have, I'm glad you are giving a lot of thought to the decision. It's really hard to predict how well two birds will get along. Some of our members have had both species for years, hopefully some of them will chime in and tell you what it's like.

We'd like to hear more about your Grey and see photos. What's his name?

 

[Birdman666]

That very much depends on the bird. Is there any way you can take your gray with you to visit to see how he reacts to the other bird?

My CAG is actually my youngest, so he grew up with a flock, and was raised with amazons and macaws. He doesn't know any different.

Mine grew up knowing they had to share.

It kinda sounds like the whole deal with your wife was not wanting to share you. (You took him away from me you @#$%!) So, it depends on the bird.

I wonder if there is a way to test the waters...

 

[Scott]

I have an uncaged Timneh Grey in a room with 4 mostly uncaged Goffin Cockatoos. Goffins are very similar to Bare Eyed Cockatoos in temperament, and they are typically less clingy and needy than the other white cockatoos. They have no significant interaction other than they each occasionally cage-hop for a change of scenery with no hostilities.

My situation, however, is a bit different in that while the Grey was a handfed baby born and raised in my home, he is fiercely independent and does not like to be handled. ET is not bonded to anybody in my house, though he gently take food (of course!) from hands. Hence, there is no jealousy for human interaction among the two species.

 

[Birdman666]

Hence, there is no jealousy for human interaction among the two species.

Yep, that's gonna be the potential issue right there...

 

[NVBird]

Allee, you have no idea. I've wanted a mulluccan since I was a kid and somehow have been able to resist that want for many years.

Birdman, we have taken Jumba down to the store and introduced them, he seemed indifferent about it. He has other birds he has social interactions with about once a week, but it's never in our house. There lies my concern having another bird in his space. We have an area set up for another cage already, I've modified his play area for a 2nd parrot as well. He loves to talk to other birds and interact, outside of his space. But this will be in his space do I guess I'm just intimidated by it.

As far as my bird Allee. His name is Jumba, he's 23 years old. He's a picky eater. Loves his fruits and other sweets. Eats some vegetables willingly., most I have to force myself to eat for him to want them. He loves to sit on his perch near the window and talk to the kids leaving and coming home from school. He constantly screws with the dog, calling him over and chasing him off. He has a oobsession with peanuts, throws an absolute fit when he realizes he's had his daily limit. If I leave the bag out he'll jump with excitement and make a snatch and run mission to get himself another treat.

 

[Birdman666]

If he didn't seem to care then I would suspect that he would be fine with it.

M2's... I love them to death, but they just do not do that well in captivity. So many of them end up as scream n plucks... and those guys are the number one most likely to be plucked down to their very last head feather and covered in ulcers.

They are the neediest of the bunch...

To me, the toos that seem to do the best in captivity are the RB2s.

 

[Birdman666]

He has a oobsession with peanuts, throws an absolute fit when he realizes he's had his daily limit. If I leave the bag out he'll jump with excitement and make a snatch and run mission to get himself another treat.

With my CAG that would be the yogurt covered raisins...

Way too high in sugar for more than one or two. But he'd take the whole bag.

 

[NVBird]

Here is Jumba, hopefully the upload works.

 

[NVBird]

Well after our morning visit with her she has been brought home. We overly excited to add such a beautiful little girl home with to add to our family.

 

[Birdman666]

She looks stunning!

 

[NVBird]

Thank you. And the first thing my grey did was whistle like he was hitting on her. I think with a little time hes going to come right around.

 

[Scott]

She's beautiful, in excellent feather!

 

[Allee]

Awww, she's a gorgeous girl! I'm not surprised Jumba is hitting on her already, he knows a pretty girl when he sees one. Congratulations!

I love the photo of Jumba, he's a very handsome guy. Thank you for sharing.

 

[jlockhart29]

Cougrat an the new girl! We have a BE girl that we bought as a fully weaned girl three years ago. Before I had a nanday conure Jake that I had for 24 years. Heads up Jake was a lot like a Gray, calm and content to hang out for the most part. Aerial my BE is a head case like me!! She is into anything and everything. No way to do anything else when she is out as she will not stay still. 10 min. ago we were watching tv and I let her out. After 3 or 4 min. playing in my lap she took off, grabbed a magnet off the frig, bombed the dog with it then snatched my cord that was charging my Samsung S5 up and tried to drag the whole thing airborne all before I could jump up and stop her!!lol Just another day in life with a BE!! She drives my wife nuts as well as our working German shepherd and myself. All 3 of us are a little ADD I think! Congrats and welcome to the nut house!!

 

[Birdman666]

Aerial my BE is a head case like me!! She is into anything and everything. No way to do anything else when she is out as she will not stay still. 10 min. ago we were watching tv and I let her out. After 3 or 4 min. playing in my lap she took off, grabbed a magnet off the frig, bombed the dog with it then snatched my cord that was charging my Samsung S5 up and tried to drag the whole thing airborne all before I could jump up and stop her!!lol Just another day in life with a BE!! She drives my wife nuts as well as our working German shepherd and myself. All 3 of us are a little ADD I think! Congrats and welcome to the nut house!!

In other words... pretty much a normal too!

 

[NVBird]

Update: 2 months into owning a cockatoo...our life has drastically changed. The first month was a rough one with her adapting to a new environment. She was very flighty withouse our children and when the dog came into the room. We weren't sure how to handle her with these issues. So again we went to rearranging our house once again. We moved our grey and her around as to see if that helped. They ended up closer together but still seperate. she also was moved next to the couch which has proceeded for her to become more social with us on her terms.

She is now a royal pain in the ass...always has to be with us, has destroyed 2 direct TV remotes. 2 phone chargers and just about anything the children leave out. She has came out of her shell and became a typical cockatoo. It is amazing watching her grow and be part of our family.

 

[Scott]

Busy beaks are happy beaks! Thanks for the update!!

 

[Jujubee]

She is beautiful - congratulations!

 

[kalypso123]

I love cockatoos. My mom loves cockatoos she said when she retires she will have one. Honestly she could own one now but she is worried about not giving it enough attention. I give my tiel around 4 hours of attention on week days(there are exceptions) and typically more on weekends and she says this isnt enough. Oh well, I guess I will always hear that. I would love a too except the neediness and loudness keeps me away. I know that goffins and bared eyes arent always loud but I would be the exception. I think I could handle the neediness but I would worry that I wouldnt give Kalypso enough attention. Or maybe I keep making up excuses for another bird because of the possibillity of MBS lol.