Hey, guys... Some Questions.

[jaimmorr]

Hi, everyone! I've missed you!

A little update on Ricco first: He's the love of my life! We do everything together. He's completely switched to pellets now, no more seeds! He now says: Ricco, Hey Ricco, Pretty bird, pretty Ricco, What are you doing?, I love you, and makes the kiss noise. He's so smart! I'm about to start harness training him, I have an aviator.

Now a couple questions: First of all, his wings twitch a lot. Is this normal? Is he just adjusting them? He really overpreens his wings, so maybe that's why? Could it be wing flipping or no? I know that's mostly in Eclectus parrots, but I know it can affect other species as well.

Second of all... Here's the big one... I'm sure a lot of you remember me talking about an Umbrella Cockatoo that my friend owns. Well, she's officially actively trying to find him a new home now. I'm sort of thinking about it, but I'm leaning towards NO right now. He's a very sweet guy, over 10 years old, not a screamer, not a plucker, not a biter. They have owned him since he was 1 year old and he has only ever bitten once, he bit my friend years ago because he was going for her cat and she intervened.

Right now he is housed in an enclosure, not a cage. They're very well off and so they built him his own (soundproof) room. In the room he has two different cages that he can go in, but he has maybe one perch between the two of them so he spends most of his time on the floor... Which is not clean, ever. I've never seen it swept out or anything. I'm pretty sure he's on a seed diet. He gets out of his enclosure maybe once a day for around 10-30 minutes, I believe.

I would really love to take him, and my partner REALLY wants him. Ricco hates her and Ozzy (the U2) LOVES my partner. So of course, she really wants to take him. But I really want to be logical about it. I told her to give me a week to think about it before she placed any ads.

So, here we go. I am PRETTY sure we have the room for a cage big enough for him, BUT we'd have to buy one. Since he's in an enclosure, the two cages inside the enclosure aren't even big enough for a small 'too, let alone an Umbrella. So, we could house him in one of those for now, but we'd have to get something bigger. Which is extremely expensive, and I honestly don't think we have the money for that right now. We really don't have the money at this moment to take him for a vet checkup, although he seems pretty healthy to me. I could possibly work this out with their family though, and have them take him to be seen by a vet before we take him. They are offering him to my partner and I for free because they know we'll take good care of him. I do not work, but I am going to college. I have one class on Mondays and Wednesdays for 1 hour, and then I am home the rest of the day. On Tues&Thurs, I am gone from about 10AM til about 3PM. The rest of the day I am home. Fridays I'm gone for about 2 hours and then home. I really don't go out much, maybe once a week on a good week. I have social anxiety so I don't like to leave the house. Ricco is really helping with this, by the way.

Anyway, I need some advice and some opinions. I will NOT be offended if you tell me there's no way we can handle a U2! Honesty is very much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Pookamama]

If Ricco doesn't like him, do you have enough time for both birds to have separate out of cage time? If the U2 is accustomed to having free range of his home but then it changes to him having to be caged, his behavior could be different in the different situation.

 

[SuperandZhana]

Take him on a week trial period. Then if it doesnt work out take him back.

 

[jaimmorr]

Pookamama - I'm not sure, to be honest. I'd like to think I do, but I think I'd rather spend all of my time with one bird as opposed to having to put one up to get the other out again and again. Does that make sense? Also, I should have been more clear about his enclosure. It's not exactly a whole "room." It's probably around 4ft by 9ft? That's a guess.

SuperandZhana - That may be an idea. I'm just afraid that my partner will get too attached in a week and then things won't work out... Because I'll most likely be the one taking all of the responsibility for him. I'll be the one feeding, prepping meals, switching his diet, cleaning his cage, training him, etc. She works 9 hours a day, M-F. So he'd really be MY responsibility and she'd get the fun stuff in the evening. Don't get me wrong, I really would love to have him, he's such a joy. But I just know that if we take him on a trial period, she wouldn't get to see the hard stuff, just the fun stuff. I'm also a bit concerned as to if my friend would want to do that and then take him back... I don't see why she wouldn't, but I don't know.

Also, I'm a bit concerned about Ricco and Ozzy getting along... Plus Ricco already is an overpreener/plucker and I don't want that to get worse. Ozzy is not, but he could start with a change of owner, even if he was getting way more attention. Ricco wasn't a plucker before we got him, but he started after the switch of houses, even though here he's getting close to 12 hours a day of out of cage time and before he wasn't getting any, I'm pretty sure. He also went from a 24X20 cage to a 36X28 cage. But he still started plucking.

 

[MJJean]

I can't offer much help with the daily maintenance aspect of ownership, but I do think that if a person wants something...truly wants it...then they find a way to make it work.

As to your concern about cage size, I suggest Craigslist. I didn't want to spend $700-$1000 on a cage. I went on Craigslist and found one is perfect shape for $125. It retails for $850. It took a couple weeks searching a few times a day and I drove to a neighboring county, about 45 min away, but it was totally worth it.

Brought the cage home, cleaned thoroughly with bleach and water, then left it in the direct sun for a few hours. I've had the parrot and her cage for over a year now

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

First, wing twitching goffin.... a cockatoo that chews their wings is usually irritated by them (this is why I don't trim 'toos ever. Cut feather edges can really bug them and cause more chewing. My advice is to pull out the trimmed feathers and let the wings grow. You can leave it but the bird will likely continue to twitch and shred them.

As for the Umbrella... a trial period would be mandatory in my mind. As a general rule I advise people against two cockatoos. There are a lot if jealousy issues, and other issues tgar arise with a multiple cockatoo household (I have 19 cockatoos and they are my sort of specialty).

 

[ShreddedOakAviary]

Owning 2 pet cockatoos is often like being married to two people at the same time and trying to convince both that you love them most.

 

[Pookamama]

Owning 2 pet cockatoos is often like being married to two people at the same time and trying to convince both that you love them most.

Oh my goodness!! Polygaparrotry! That's hilarious to think about, but I'm sure it's awful in real life!