Problem about adopt 3 cockatoo

[ozgur]

Hello everyone.

Firstly i want to mention a little about me. Im a univercity student. I spend most of time in school and home. I am getting a three cockatoo parrot ( 3 years old ). Than i start to read everything i found. Most of them too scary thing. I care parrots nearly 10 years, one amazon parrot, others are budgie. ( My amazon loved to scream all day long, my budgies very liked to chewing every corner of my house). I dont have any pet now. I live with my family and we dont have kid in our house. I think i have enough experience and knowledge about parrots. But getting 3 large cockatoo ( sulphur, umbrella ) a little scary for me. I know the emotional needs of parrots. I seek a parrot who be my lifetime friend. These parrots will be able to freely fly and play at least 3 - 4 hours a day in my house.

I have a couple of questions. Can i care this 3 parrots in a single big cage ( This parrots are 3 years old and they grow up together.) Can i handle needs of large parrots? Does really cockatoo's get a phobia and problems too easy as i read? Having 3 cockatoos ( one male, two female, well actually i sense some problems right there ) in same cage will entertained these parrots. Does cockatoo's easily pluck his feather due to little stress ?

Thank you for your answers. I really need some help about this. If i cant care these parrots perfectly, i dont want to adopt this beauties.

 

[Dopey]

I would think you would have to have a REALLY BIG cage. I have one cockatoo and he is in a big cage. What size is the cage?

Phobia about what?

Screams - yes he has them but then again so does my son's amazon and so does my macaw. The amazon does more screaming than the macaw and the U2 put together.

You can handle three at one time if you think you can. It is a big job but if you think you can do it then do it.

Give the birds a chance before you start getting too scared. Please?!

 

[Jayyj]

Have you visited All About Cockatoos - MyToos.com That would be a good starting point. I don't want to be overly negative but to take on one large too is a big undertaking let alone three. If they're three years old then you still have the onset of sexual maturity to come as well.

I'd certainly do a lot of homework before commiting to anything.

 

[sonja]

I think taking in 3 at once would cause you lots of problems. The noise of all of them screaming, the cost to feed and buy toys for all of them. And, I think 3 in one cage is a bad idea. Once they start to sexually mature they could fight, and become very stressed.
Can you take only one of the birds and give him a great home?

 

[ozgur]

Actually i accept screaming and chewing pretty normal. But if parrots get a phobia about his owner ( as i read ) and bite his owner every chance, i start to see some problems here. Maybe this problem owner related, maybe cockatoo's want to be boss of home ( like untrained dogs want to ).

Yes. I read this site and many others. Well, actually if this parrots start to scream all day long like my amazon, im sure i get some hearing problem. I cant handle to listen this scream all day, but its ok if its only scream a couple of times a day.

First owner of this parrots care this parrots together on same cage. I dont want to separate them. Maybe seperate them before their maturity will be good choice ? I dont know.

 

[riddick07]

Yeah I'm not sure I would get all three if I were you! If you do get them all then I would suggest separate cages. You don't want them attacking each other or pairing up and attacking you before you bond with them. They might be fine now but there is a chance they will pair up and ignore/attack you when they reach sexual maturity or attack the odd bird out. The fact that it is different cockatoos not just one species would not be safe in my opinion for caging together. Sure maybe it will work out but sanctuaries cage all one species together for a reason. Or if you cage them separately and they bond to you there is a chance they will attack each other for your attention so they could end up needing separate out times.

The bigger cockatoos can pluck easier then the smaller ones. If they have all been socialized correctly so far then you might have a chance for everyone being okay. If they are not then you have a chance at 3 new cockatoos with very annoying issues that need to be fixed. People find fixing one cockatoo a trial let alone three at once.

I think you could handle one easier then three. One big cockatoo can be a challenge especially if you don't have the cockatoo personality. Cockatoos can be a hundred times more annoying then an amazon. Don't get me wrong an amazon can be annoying if you heard the April, an amazon, show at the shelter you would agree....but there is just something about a needy white loud too that can drive people crazy. And three large screaming cockatoos are much louder then one amazon. When Buffy, an umbrella cockatoo, was in the house at the shelter he would out scream every single bird in the house and he was only one large cockatoo. And there are a lot of macaws, amazons, and grays in the house!

 

[Sterling1113]

I think ultimately it is up to you if you think you can handle it or not.
I'd definitely suggest different cages for the reasons Riddick mentioned above.
With three 'toos you'll have to make sure they're all entertained otherwise you're going to have the game of "who can be the loudest the longest?" Going on.

Cockatoos have a reputation of being needy, neurotic, and not good pets. This is partially because some(most?) of the time when people get a cockatoo they think they're getting a white snuggle cloud that will never harm a fly. Wrong.

'Toos go through hormonal and maturing periods like any other bird. Though it's hard to tell between a mean too and a hyperactive too, the body language is there. Many people can't or don't read the body language and that results in a bite, then the owner deems bird as 'vicious' and it becomes cage bound, which leads to the screaming and plucking. It's a really awful cycle and it puts most cockatoos in shelters just for being birds.

If you think you can handle the time, money, space and patience it will take, then that's your decision. All we can do is inform you and wish you luck.

(P.S I've never owned a 'too so nothing I have to say is from personal experience. I just did a ton of reading and talking to multiple 'too owners.)

 

[drcyclops]

In my humble opinion, taking on 3 toos is A BIG challenge to say the least. For our family we read everything we could get our hands on regarding Too care. I highly recommend this approach before taking such a big plunge into the TOO World. Just learning myself and I vowed to do what was right for the bird. You cannot go wrong with reading, reading and read some more. This site I have found is an excellent source of information. I know you will do the right thing for the bird or birds.
Drcyclops

 

[drcyclops]

Ya good start with MyToos.com :20: Real eye opening site for sure. However I think the point comes across clearly on Too's who cannot be cared for properly and the end results that can and unfortunately do occur with with these "Frankentoo's" that are created.

 

[Kiwibird]

I will be blunt with you- this has "bad idea" written all over it. If you *thought* your amazon was bad, wait until you hear a too on full volume! And as lovely as they can be in the right home, out of all the types of parrot kept as pets, cockatoos as a species seem to have the most problems adapting to a domestic home. They do tend to be more prone to plucking, self mutilation, screaming, aggressive behavior (after sexual maturity) ext...

Heres how I look at large parrots- they are VERY similar in the overall care, emotional and attention needs of a small child. Are YOU ready for 3 toddlers with big beaks who will never, ever advance past the mental capacity of 3 or 4? I think you should stop and THINK HARD before you adopt these birds. There may be a single bird of a more laid back species out there who you could provide a better home for

 

[Allee]

Hello, and welcome to the forum. I am very glad you are doing a lot of research before making this decision. Some of our members have given you excellent advice. Taking on three large cockatoos that haven't reached sexual maturity would be a huge responsibility, even for someone that has a lot of experience with cockatoos. Each bird would need its own cage immediately for safety reasons and the health of the birds. Even if they appear to get along well, they are capable of doing serious damage to each other.

I am not sure what you're circumstances are, but I respectfully suggest you at least consider some of the other wonderful species of parrots. As fantastic as these three toos sound, I think you might be less likely to be overwhelmed with a single bird to start with. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

[MikeyTN]

Cockatoos are one of the harder ones to deal with and to start out with 3, your asking for it! Especially with someone with no Cockatoo experience. You can not stick 3 Cockatoos in a cage together!!! The only way to put them together is IF you have a large flight aviary where they can get away from one another if needed. Even in a pair situation, a male can easily kill a female when he wants to mate. And it's a bad thing mixing a larger Cockatoo such as Umbrella together with a Sulphur Crested!

Someone mentioned prior about bigger toos likely to pluck over small toos, that's a false assumption!!! It doesn't matter on the size, they can pluck regardless!!! The U2 that I used to have was a plucker and I got him to stop plucking. My Lesser Sulphur Crested, she used to pluck as well but only barber her crowns now days so it's better then plucking. Be aware that the bigger toos can have HUGE emotional issues and can be dangerous if you don't know what your doing. Most Cockatoos, especially the bigger ones aren't really meant to be in a home situation.