Differences between a umbrella cockatoo and a CAG?

[Melissa2010B]

Are african greys a lot different than umbrella cockatoos when it comes to demands on time and affection? I know all birds need time and affection, but the umbrella cockatoo is extremely demanding isnt it?

 

[antoinette]

Hi there.
I am the guardian of an African Grey. Mishka is not a demanding bird at all.
At night she sits on my lap for about an hour, I train her, chatting and playing with her.
She thrives on routine. EG: when it is 5pm her dinner time, she begins to make the sounds of the microwave oven, telling me come on come on.
After dinner, she sits on her playpen, waiting for her yogurt, if I not give it to her immediately she lets me know and how !!!
Any bird requires love and attention, no matter what species, demands I would say most birds have certain demands, just like us humans !!!!
Not familiar with the umbrella cockatoos.
Browsed the internet, found a link which might assist you.
All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

Take care, and that of our feathered friends !!!!

 

[Melissa2010B]

Yes I'm aware that all pet birds need caring and attention. We adopted this umbrella cockatoo last May and had NO IDEA just how much, though. If we dont spend 4 hours a day adoring him, he becomes very demanding and even nasty. And when he's out, it's like having to babysit a 2 year old, he wont just sit on a shoulder and get the occasional pet, he wants to chew up and destroy the whole house, if allowed to. He's the most destructive animal we've ever seen. He's chewed up computer cables, keyboards, furniture etc., just from taking out eyes off him for 20-30 seconds!

We wanted a pet, not a destructive brat. That's why I was wondering if CAGs were the same way, or could be more of a pet like we originally wanted and need.

 

[antoinette]

Hi there, it saddens me to hear you had no idea, about being a guardian to a bird. Perhaps you should have done some research before adopting.
How old is the bird? No matter what their age, they can be trained.
Surely having had the bird since May last year, there should be some kind of set rules. When he is out the cage, walking towards something he might destroy, he should be reprimanded. Mishka my African Grey, tried her luck believe me, BUT before she could destroy anything I said STOP IT DON'T DO THAT. Now when she goes towards an object, she knows not to chew it, she says STOP IT DON'T DO THAT.
It took hours of training her.
Whenever a bird is outside the cage, someone should be supervising the bird, at all times.
Having a bird is like having a child 24/7. You constantly have to keep an eye on them. Letting the bird sit on your shoulder with the occasional pat, is just not enough. I have yet to come across someone who has to spend 4 hours a day, giving constant attention to a bird. Mishka is with me most of they day, but spends the majority of time in her cage. They love human interaction constantly. When he's in the cage, do you spend time sitting nearby, talking to the bird, bonding with him?.
It's natural for a bird to chew anything in site. They are inquisitive creatures always exploring and learning. Does he have enough toys in his cage, ones he can chew and destroy?.
In my previous post I attached a most informative link, from A - Z, all about umbrella cockatoo's, have you read through it?
You mentioned you wanted a pet, not a destructive brat ??????
Perhaps you have chosen the incorrect type of pet.
Take care, and that of our feathered friends !!!!

 

[natalie]

well, it sounds like you did do some research, it just so happens that sometimes even good research doesn't always prepare you for the real thing. Parrots are destructive and can be a handful, and some are definately more so than others.
If you are wondering if a CAG would be a bit less overwhelming, I would say for the most part, probably yes.... but again, its an individual thing too, and some CAGs will demand more than others. Being they are so smart and social, all parrots have a tendency to be overwhelming and become bratty, but they do need training, patience, and gentle guidance to learn what is proper behavior and what is not.
If you find yourself not having the time to put the training into a parrot, maybe finding another pet is a good idea. If you do have the time, I'd say it is best to give your umbrella a little more time to learn. She should only be out if you can watch over her all the time, teachign her right from wrong, etc. I know it is hard seeing things get destroyed....but it is up to you to be sure she does not have the opportunity to do so. ALL PARROTS will destroy something if given the chance to. If this is really more than you are willing to deal with, I'd suggest a new type of pet that will suit you better. However, you do already have this great little umbrella cockatoo .... instead of rehoming her, it would be more fair to give her more time to learn better house manners. It is ultimately your decision, and we are here to help you.

 

[HRH Di]

All pets need training and parrots are easily as smart as pretty much any dog. They're going to test you. You mentioned that you have a "brat", well, only parents can rehabilitate a brat. It takes time and lots of patience.

 

[Melissa2010B]

Hi there, it saddens me to hear you had no idea, about being a guardian to a bird. Perhaps you should have done some research before adopting.

Yeah, I'm an idiot... :32:

We had two lovebirds and two cockatiels before this and thought birds were birds. We thought if they were friendly and would go on our shoulder, they should be fine. He was friendly. We had no idea about the unusual demands of that species ( male umbrella cockatoos in particular ).

How old is the bird?

11 years.

No matter what their age, they can be trained.
Surely having had the bird since May last year, there should be some kind of set rules.

He's like a 1000 lb gorilla to us. He bites me hard about 2 times a week, enough to cause painful bruising and breaking of skin.

In warmer weather, I did train him to put on the aviator harness and go out for walks on my shoulder, which he really enjoys, but with winter here in Denver, we've had few days that were warm enough for that. We need at least 50 degrees and sunny.

When he is out the cage, walking towards something he might destroy, he should be reprimanded.

He ignores it. You have to physically restrain him, which means watching him every moment. He's destroyed the front of Jennifer's dresser, her office chair, the computer desk in there, her ethernet cable from her computer, two of her keyboard cables, the phone cable in her office, one of the cordless phones and the charger it was on...

She either falls asleep in there sometimes or needs to do something on her computer and the next thing she knows, he's destroyed things. We have no idea how to train him out of it.

Here: Index of /photos/Oz damage

Oh, and he's also trashed maybe a dozen of Jennifer's shirts. He cozies up to her side while she's using her computer and the next thing she knows, her shirts are shredded on that side.

It occurred to us, after we adopted him from a married couple, who just happened to be getting a divorce, that HE may have caused the divorce.

Mishka my African Grey, tried her luck believe me, BUT before she could destroy anything I said STOP IT DON'T DO THAT. Now when she goes towards an object, she knows not to chew it, she says STOP IT DON'T DO THAT.

If ONLY it was THAT easy.

It took hours of training her.
Whenever a bird is outside the cage, someone should be supervising the bird, at all times.

Supervising is one thing, we understand this, but he needs hands-on babysitting at all times, or he does the kind of damage shown above. I always watch him hands-on in my office, but answered a phone call a couple of days ago, and within 10 seconds my keyboard was upside down on the floor!

Having a bird is like having a child 24/7. You constantly have to keep an eye on them. Letting the bird sit on your shoulder with the occasional pat, is just not enough. I have yet to come across someone who has to spend 4 hours a day, giving constant attention to a bird.

If we dont, we suffer from it. And I've come to resent feeling extorted, like we have to do this or we WILL suffer because we dont. It takes the fun out of having a "pet" bird and makes it more like a job. Do it or else...

Mishka is with me most of they day, but spends the majority of time in her cage. They love human interaction constantly. When he's in the cage, do you spend time sitting nearby, talking to the bird, bonding with him?

No, we have a dedicated bird room and the cage he came in was too small.
http://lakewoodcolorado.net/photos/OZ/Oz 1.JPG
So we spent ( on the credit card and are still paying it ) $850 on a nice aviary for him.
http://lakewoodcolorado.net/photos/OZ/Oz in his new digs 6-18-09 2.jpg

But we started a business here and it's been growing and if we're to pay the bills, I cant spend all day with him.

It's natural for a bird to chew anything in site. They are inquisitive creatures always exploring and learning. Does he have enough toys in his cage, ones he can chew and destroy?.

Yes, absolutely. In fact he just decided to destroy the $130 net that we gave him, which he enjoyed for a few months, then started chewing it to pieces. It was a 4'x8' heavy rope net.

http://lakewoodcolorado.net/photos/OZ/Oz in his new digs with the new net 11-3-09.jpg

Here's part of what's left of it now:
http://lakewoodcolorado.net/photos/Oz damage/DSCN5450.JPG
http://lakewoodcolorado.net/photos/Oz damage/DSCN5451.JPG

We're far from rich, barely paying the bills actually, and cant afford $130 nets every few months, for him to shred.

In my previous post I attached a most informative link, from A - Z, all about umbrella cockatoo's, have you read through it?

Previous post in this thread?

You mentioned you wanted a pet, not a destructive brat ??????
Perhaps you have chosen the incorrect type of pet.

That's why I was wondering if a CAG was a bit more tame and less destructive. We love this guy but so did his last family, and I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I'm feeling pretty heartbroken at this point, but I'm also sick of being badly bitten several times a week, for no reason at all.

 

[Melissa2010B]

Hi there.
All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com

I came across that link a few months after we got him, but by then it was too late, here he was. We've loved him and done the best for him that we can, and it seems like all I get repaid with, are bleeding bites.

I've been beginning to wonder if umbrella cockatoos should even be owned by humans, or if they'd be better off in the jungles only, where they can destroy all they want.

That link only made me think that more.

 

[Melissa2010B]

All pets need training and parrots are easily as smart as pretty much any dog. They're going to test you. You mentioned that you have a "brat", well, only parents can rehabilitate a brat. It takes time and lots of patience.

That's why I was asking if CAGs were tamer and more mellow, less likely to bite me. I'm sick of it.

 

[Melissa2010B]

well, it sounds like you did do some research, it just so happens that sometimes even good research doesn't always prepare you for the real thing. Parrots are destructive and can be a handful, and some are definately more so than others.
If you are wondering if a CAG would be a bit less overwhelming, I would say for the most part, probably yes.... but again, its an individual thing too, and some CAGs will demand more than others. Being they are so smart and social, all parrots have a tendency to be overwhelming and become bratty, but they do need training, patience, and gentle guidance to learn what is proper behavior and what is not.
If you find yourself not having the time to put the training into a parrot, maybe finding another pet is a good idea. If you do have the time, I'd say it is best to give your umbrella a little more time to learn. She should only be out if you can watch over her all the time, teachign her right from wrong, etc. I know it is hard seeing things get destroyed....but it is up to you to be sure she does not have the opportunity to do so. ALL PARROTS will destroy something if given the chance to. If this is really more than you are willing to deal with, I'd suggest a new type of pet that will suit you better. However, you do already have this great little umbrella cockatoo .... instead of rehoming her, it would be more fair to give her more time to learn better house manners. It is ultimately your decision, and we are here to help you.

Thanks Natalie. The whole reason we got into birds, was because I was always allergic to dogs and cats and other mammals. If I even pet them, I get all itchy. One day we were walking by a Petco and stopped in to look and the woman in there had a sun conure on her shoulder and let us take it. I didn't get itchy. That was when we decided to look for a bird.

Georgie was our first one, around September 2006:
George the Lovebird's Very Own Little Web Page - George the Lovebird - George Lovebird

Since then, we wound up adopting two tiels and another lovebird, then Oz last May. At least the smaller birds can be controlled. Georgie can sit on my shoulder for a couple of hours a day, or play nearby, without trashing the house.

That was why I was wondering if maybe a CAG would be better, and we might find someone with a nice one, who would be interested in cross-adopting.

We love this little guy, but I'm not sure how much more of the biting and trashing of the house I can take.

 

[natalie]

my goodness ...

Well, to start off with, what you are experiencing does not sound normal for an umbrella too. I worked with 2 of them at the zoo and they were sweet, highly affectionate birds and not incredibly destructive. My M2 was also not like this.
It seems to me that maybe you have a high strung overactive individual bird, which is very possible....or ...a bird that got away with murder previously to you owning him.

I understand your frustration, and dealing with a nightmare everyday is not fun. I think we all want to be understanding to the bird, and say its not his fault....and it not.... but, somewhere a line has to be drawn. You opened your home to animal to share your space with it, not to have it subjected to its destructive behaviour.
A behavioralist might be able to help you .... but, we're also talking more money.
If you do seek rehoming this bird in hopes of finding one to suit your needs better, it is NOT the end of the world. I would not tell anyone they HAVE to keep any animal that they simply can not get along with, because the bottom line is that you can easily start to hate that animal and that's not good for anyone.

However, if you do decide to find him a home, you must be honest about why you are rehoming him, and do your best to find people that will be able to work with him. I wish I lived close by so that I could help.

If you want to look into another large parrot again, perhaps another umbrella would not be so crazy .... or a timneh african grey. There are a lot of different kinds to go with that should not drive you so crazy. This particular bird needs something that you are unable to give him, and realizing that is not a bad thing.
Good luck to you

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

Any of the larger birds, including a CAG, can be demanding on attention and money. While they may not be quite the level of destruction that a 'too can put out, they will probably need every bit as much attention or you could end up with a bird that feather plucks or screams. Have you considered any other types of parrot? There are some lovely options out there that are less prone to behavioral problems then 'toos and greys. If you can't handle a 'too I'm not sure you'd to much better with a grey tbh.

 

[natalie]

Georgie is beautiful, by the way.

...oh and one question....what is it about the CAG that makes you want one?
Perhaps we can offer help in finding a type of parrot that will be good for you.

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

Agree! There are tons of amazing species out there that would make wonderful additions to almost any home

 

[natalie]

oh yes! Tons!!

I do find that as much as greys like attention, they also appreciate having alone time a little more than toos do, BUT....they are just as likely to climb down their cages and go look for something to get into....usually trouble of some kind. lol

 

[Melissa2010B]

my goodness ...

Well, to start off with, what you are experiencing does not sound normal for an umbrella too. I worked with 2 of them at the zoo and they were sweet, highly affectionate birds and not incredibly destructive. My M2 was also not like this.

What were the zoo and you giving them to shred?

It seems to me that maybe you have a high strung overactive individual bird, which is very possible....or ...a bird that got away with murder previously to you owning him.

I understand your frustration, and dealing with a nightmare everyday is not fun. I think we all want to be understanding to the bird, and say its not his fault....and it not.... but, somewhere a line has to be drawn. You opened your home to animal to share your space with it, not to have it subjected to its destructive behaviour.
A behavioralist might be able to help you .... but, we're also talking more money.
If you do seek rehoming this bird in hopes of finding one to suit your needs better, it is NOT the end of the world. I would not tell anyone they HAVE to keep any animal that they simply can not get along with, because the bottom line is that you can easily start to hate that animal and that's not good for anyone.

Yes.

However, if you do decide to find him a home, you must be honest about why you are rehoming him, and do your best to find people that will be able to work with him. I wish I lived close by so that I could help.

If you want to look into another large parrot again, perhaps another umbrella would not be so crazy .... or a timneh african grey.

Why timneh?

There are a lot of different kinds to go with that should not drive you so crazy. This particular bird needs something that you are unable to give him, and realizing that is not a bad thing.
Good luck to you

Thanks.

 

[Melissa2010B]

Georgie is beautiful, by the way.

...oh and one question....what is it about the CAG that makes you want one?
Perhaps we can offer help in finding a type of parrot that will be good for you.

I keep hearing that they're sweet tempered and well-behaved. I also like the aspect of them being able to learn so much and talk a lot.

But the main thing is not being badly bitten several times a week, and the destruction.

The woman we adopted this one from, also confided in me, that he had bitten her so hard on the cheek, without provocation, that she thought she had nerve damage and just couldnt handle it anymore, but overall he was a "sweet little guy". In retrospect, at that point, as sweet as he seemed, we should have run the other way. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Another problem is that my sister Jennifer is so attached to him that she would be very hurt to have to part with him.

I'm attached to him too, but getting pretty fed up. It's like he's wrecking my life sometimes.

 

[Melissa2010B]

oh yes! Tons!!

I do find that as much as greys like attention, they also appreciate having alone time a little more than toos do,

That's exactly why I became interested, from what I've heard. If we could at least spend a couple of hours a day, at least they wouldnt get nasty because of it. And I like the higher intelligence of the larger parrots. Lovebirds can be nice, but I was amazed when we got Oz, that he knew better than to poop on me. Seems like a higher level of overall intelligence.

BUT....they are just as likely to climb down their cages and go look for something to get into....usually trouble of some kind. lol

 

[natalie]

At the zoo, they just had typical parrot toys and they were happy with that. the female became my best buddy and went all over the zoo with me. She was a nosy little pest sometimes, and I kept a watchful eye on her all the time, because yes, one turn from me resulted in her finding something to chew on ... usually something she shouldn't have. Smart enough to learn the word NO, but also smart enough to want to disobey. Training only works 90% of the time. There are no guarantees that a bird will always obey.

I say a timneh because they are smaller and usually lower in price. Otherwise not a big difference.

A Grey is a lovely bird....but also capable of inflicting a serious bite. A lot of them, in my experience, is that they easily become a 1 person bird. I've seen countless greys attach themselves to someone and then give nasty bites to anyone else who tries to touch them. I'm not saying they all do it, but a lot of birds, in general do, and the grey is notorious for it.
I talked with a lady the other day looking to rehome her grey that she's only had for a month because it wont stop biting her..... she is too afraid to try and bond with it.
So, always, the individual bird is more important to learn about than just the species....because so many do not fit into their stereotypes.
Greys are also known for being playful, smart, and talkative. You'd definately have fun with an AG.

The most important thing is to not fill yourself with too many expectations. Learn the facts, but then meet the bird!! visit it more than once before you buy it. watch the owner/seller interact with it and try to handle the bird too. If you like what you see, visit again, if you don't.....run away!!
The bird will always surprise you later on doing things you didn't expect. They WILL destroy something. They WILL make messes ...they WILL be a pain in the butt. Expect it before they come home .... but also know they will love you as their own and never look at a new day as something bad.

It's unfortunate that you're having such a bad experience with your U2. Just let it be a learning experience so that this doesn't have to happen a second time. (for you or the bird.) I don't get so bird crazy that I think the owner isn't important too. You have to be happy in your choice, and the bird has to have a good home. It needs to work as any relationship does....you both need to be happy.

Are there any other species you are interested in too?? Have you thought about conures? NOISY, playful, smart .... but not as destructive or quite as needy as the toos and greys.
Lots of options out there.... You'll find something that works out.

 

[merlin]

i am sure as with all living creatures, all birds can be different. as for doing research, you can read and talk to people and get conflicting information. every one has had different experiences with large birds. a customer of mine did all the research on what they wanted for a bird, very friendly, everyone could hold it, loves to be with an active family. an umbrella is what they found. the problem? no one ever told them the problems. chewing everything, screaming when left alone or in the cage etc. i got a call at 7pm one night. please come get this bird before my husband snaps her neck. i went over, what a beautiful home they had. there wasn't a piece of furniture in the room where i was that didn't have at least one huge chunk out of it. they had spared no expense in all the things to try and make the bird happy. she was a love sponge. i took her home in my lap while my husband drove. luckily merlin is very tolerant of other birds. he knows he is my one and only and lots of birds need a little help. i had her for 2 years before i found her forever home. a couple who had lost their umbrella to old age and were well aware and willing to give a home to this little girl. the family ended up getting a congo and have been thrilled with their choice. she is fitting in perfectly. it has been over 10 years now. both birds found the perfect home. that is the only umbrella i have ever had and i can say she was a high maintenance girl compaired to my gray. i don't know if this helps you at all. i hope so, keep the faith, you are trying hard and it's obvious you love the bird.