Problem

[Zezemama]

My cockatoo is 6 years old and his wings are not clipped. I was holding and petting him this morning and all of a sudden he turned and but my finger and was trying to attack. I got him back in his cage but I am not sure what to do. I don't understand what happened. Please help

 

[getwozzy]

What kind of cockatoo? Where were you petting him? Was there anyone else around at the time?

 

[riddick07]

6 is maturity range for an umbrella. He's hormones will go crazy through this period. The hormones will never go away from this point. You just have to learn and work around his behavior. No cuddling that can trigger a reaction this will be a trial and error period. You will have to be extra careful about how you handle and read his body language. Unfortunately cockatoos have some of the hardest body language to read because they are such good actors. Honestly they could win an oscar.... But you should be able to read most of his language. And then you have to think about how you are interacting with him. Are you doing something, are interacting with him somewhere that can trigger him, is it something you are wearing, something he sees or heard.... Once the hormones hit it can be tuff to deal with them sometimes! You can also do some training with him to get him to focus and burn off some energy! Foraging toys also help. Make sure there isn't something that can make him think of nesting especially if you aren't a hundred percent sure it's a him and not a her!

 

[MikeyTN]

Riddick07 hit right on the spot there!

Do you know the sex of your U2? You should be able to visually sex if you can tell the difference in the eye coloring as the males have dark brown to black eyes while females have light brown to burgundy eyes.

 

[RavensGryf]

Great advice there Victoria! That can also apply to non-cockatoo species