Talk to me about bare eyed 'too's.

[BeatriceC]

I went to the bird store today. They keep birds there for sale by breeders and also from rescues. I often go into the bird room to say hello to the rescues, and today was no different. While I was there we got to talking about one little guy, a bare eyed 'too, who's been there for five years. He's not very friendly, and as much as the staff has tried to socialize him, he's just getting worse and worse. He's pretty aggressive with most people, somewhat friendly to a chosen few, and mostly friendly to one particular staff member.

She wound up taking him out of his cage for me. He pulled his usual stunt and jumped to the floor. I asked if I could try to get him to step up. She said it was okay, so I did, and he did. And he immediately started cuddling. We talked and chatted with the little guy snuggling for quite some time. He was pretty cool, and with my soft spot for the "lost causes", I was a little bummed at the thought of having to leave him there forever.

But then I had a thought. This guy has been there for five years. He's probably not going to be going anywhere any time soon. I'd never tried to interact with him physically before, but I've chatted with him and so I wasn't a complete stranger, but he was definitely more affectionate than he's been with anybody else except the one employee. I'm in that store a few times a month, but pass it several times a week. I was thinking I could make an effort to go in and interact with him once a week or so for the next 6 months or so, and see what kind of relationship builds.

If it turns out he's choosing me, then I would have to make a decision about bringing him home. But, I have a pretty full flock of high-attitude birds already, one of whom is still very, very new (which is why I wouldn't consider anything shorter than half a year). I don't want to build a relationship with a bird, only to realize later that he wouldn't make a good addition to my flock, or even a manageable addition. So I want to start educating myself about this now. I've pretty much convinced myself that I never want a cockatoo, but you know what they say about never saying never.

So what do you guys think? This wouldn't happen for many, many months, if it happened at all. But like I said above, I don't want to do anything at all if it would just be an impossible situation in the end. I'd rather disappoint the bird (and the store, who are willing to almost give him away just to get him a home on account of how long he's been there) now rather than later after he's formed an attachment.

 

[Scott]

Jenphilly (Jen) has a Bare Eyed and would be the authority! My impression is their behavior is similar to the Goffins, but she would know best. That means a playful and alert companion full of personality!

 

[BeatriceC]

Doesn't she also have a senegal and a macaw? She might be the perfect person to describe life with this combination of birds. We have the YNA and the cockatiel as well, but the YNA is MrC's bird. All I do with him is feed him and clean out his cage, plus a small amount of training. The "fun" interaction with him is with MrC. Cookie is pretty much retired. He just likes to perch on his cage and chill these days, as he tires out very quickly. I'd be mostly worried about splitting my time between the 'Too, the macaw and the senegal.

 

[Flboy]

24x7
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUD8IQo7_E&feature=youtu.be

Poor attemp to be funny, early happy hour!
Dumping all Too's in the same bucket! (Racial profiling?)

 

[Scott]

24x7
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUD8IQo7_E&feature=youtu.be

LOL!! Are you suggesting the Bare Eyed and other small toos are noise 24x7?

 

[BeatriceC]

24x7
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gOUD8IQo7_E&feature=youtu.be

LOL!! Are you suggesting the Bare Eyed and other small toos are noise 24x7?

I have four noisy birds already. I've raised three boys. I was a middle school teacher for a decade. I have five siblings. Noise does not worry me.

 

[jenphilly]

Just saw the thread.... we actually have 2 bare eye toos in our home. My daughter has the infamous Folger... do a,search and reading on him, he sounds more like the bird you are looking at. Folger has been horribly abused and mistreated in life - physically abused, locked in closets, starved, thrown and then there is the emotional abuse. We have 8 documented known homes but gaps in history could mean 12, 13 or more times he has bounced around. He was at AHW for 6 years before we came along. He was known as the vampire bird and not handled because his aggressive behavior. We all have scars from Folger.

But all that said he bonded to my daughter and we knew he was just waiting for her to show up. He is not cockatooish in any behavior. He is by far the quietest bird in the home, literally near silent. And is terrified then aggressive with anyone but Victoria.

Then we have the flip side of the spectrum. Ivory, a gorgeous outgoing loving super social too that if a woman would be the town tramp - loves everyone, especially men! I posted in my update in new member section a couple videos of her and can dig up some others. She is a loud bird, tho smaller she's still all too. Flock calls can be nonstop some days. She warns that the garbage truck is eating up the front yard, or when our apparently serial killer of mail lady stops... she flies and flock calls cause it's busy.. . Cause it's quiet.... cause no one is around. Cause someone is around. Cause I'm on the phone. Cause the phone hasn't rang... and of course, cause it's raining outside.

Is she noisey 24/7... no (she does sleep). Buy seriously, she's a wonderful bird and not really THAT loud or vocal, but if you have a flock that responds to other loud birds, you might have a challenge. My macaw doesn't pay much attention unless he also thinks a serial killer is at the door. But she does have call / noise competitors with the Senegal too often. No one can answer if you should ever add a bird to your flock, I very honestly admit if I knew the day we rehomed her to our family what I know today it's a 50/50 chance she'd still come home.

Ask any specific questions, happy to answer and help if I can!

 

[BeatriceC]

Thanks, Jen!

I think my biggest concern is my physical time and meeting everybody's needs. Charlotte is pretty needy right now, though I believe she will become less so as she continues to get better. I'm a housewife, and MrC is retired, and both of us are introverts and homebodies, so we do have lots of time.

My next biggest concern is Charlotte adjusting. That's why I'm not considering bringing home the BE2 for a few months at least. Her bond with me is pretty solid, but it's only been 6 weeks, so I think she needs more time to feel secure before a new bird comes in. She's not bothered at all with the birds that were already here when she arrived, but that's a whole lot different than bringing in a newcomer.

My current bird population is loud, but not 24/7 loud. Charlotte and Leo occasionally get into opera competitions, but those rarely last more than 10-15 minutes, and rarely more than once or twice a day. Other than that, there's just a lot of conversational level noise. Very occasionally Charlotte "flock calls" to the macaw that lives on the next block over (and he calls back...it's kinda cute). Goofy occasionally does his full volume porn star imitation. Other than that, it's constant bird noise at a very reasonable volume. I don't mind the noise at all. More importantly, my neighbors don't mind.

I think I'm going to go visit him regularly, and not make any decisions for now. At the very least, the 'too will get some regular attention he's not getting now. The staff does their best, but they just don't have the time to give him the attention he needs. Having a regular visitor will help with that.

 

[Scott]

I have four noisy birds already. I've raised three boys. I was a middle school teacher for a decade. I have five siblings. Noise does not worry me.

Middle school teacher for a decade? Game over, you are invincible!! The only segment of my life I would NOT want to relive would be those years!

 

[BeatriceC]

I have four noisy birds already. I've raised three boys. I was a middle school teacher for a decade. I have five siblings. Noise does not worry me.

Middle school teacher for a decade? Game over, you are invincible!! The only segment of my life I would NOT want to relive would be those years!

Lol. Yeah. 7th grade math in a gang controlled inner city neighborhood in one of the most violent cities in the US (Miami). But I loved those kids. I miss them. The only reason I left is because my own kids have intense medical needs and I needed the greater flexibility of a corporate job. Even that wasn't enough. I'm a housewife these days.

 

[Scott]

I have four noisy birds already. I've raised three boys. I was a middle school teacher for a decade. I have five siblings. Noise does not worry me.

Middle school teacher for a decade? Game over, you are invincible!! The only segment of my life I would NOT want to relive would be those years!

Lol. Yeah. 7th grade math in a gang controlled inner city neighborhood in one of the most violent cities in the US (Miami). But I loved those kids. I miss them. The only reason I left is because my own kids have intense medical needs and I needed the greater flexibility of a corporate job. Even that wasn't enough. I'm a housewife these days.

Well, your heart is in the right place! Seems you are well equipped to handle it all!!

 

[BeatriceC]

So this is Bender. I made myself wait a few days to go back and visit him. He seemed to remember me a little. He didn't want to come out of his cage for me, but once he was out he stepped up with no problem, and calmed down a lot faster than he did on Friday. He even got a little bit snuggly. I'm going to continue to go back and visit him once or twice a week for now. I want to give Charlotte more time before I bring another bird in, but I'm smitten with Bender, so I want to see what happens over the course of the next few months.

He's on my hand in this one.



I'm terrible with selfies, but here he is starting to get a little snuggly.



The employee who's the only one who can really handle him took this one. I'm just not photogenic at all, but we're not looking at me. Look at that adorable 'Too!

 

[SirEdwin89]

Did he give you the present there on your right hand also? Ouchies!

And he really is an adorable little guy, looks like he is rather enamored with you as well!

 

[BeatriceC]

That present was from Charlotte. She was mid-stepping up on my arm to come out of her cage Thursday morning and a kid came in the room talking to loudly which scared her and she lost her balance so she chomped down to keep from falling.

 

[jenphilly]

Well you are where we were a few years ago... Ivory was sweet and cuddly, we all thought she was just the sweetest thing in the world. Now there are days when I eye her up for how much of an appetizer she would make... JOKING! well more or less. Tho small, they do not lack any of the cockatoo behaviors of their larger cousins. You can hear Ivory literally more then a block away and she's only doing a 'hey what's up' flock call. When she is doing a danger flock call, I can hear her in my car, windows shut and radio on before I pull into the drive.

I adore Ivory, but don't let the cute suck you in alone They are as difficult to live with as the big guys.

Not saying don't do it.... just realize he's gonna be a loud obnoxious turd once he's home and settled.

I'm not great with selfies either, but here is Ivory sucking up knowing I'm sharing what a brat she can be. Just took the snuggle pics tonight (the appetizer planning pic is older). She literally still climbs all over me and is a snuggle bug, but swear she does it just so we don't eat her If you can or have friends, go visit someone who lives with a too and spend a day. I really do love my girl, but she's a challenge.

 

[BeatriceC]

Oh, I'm quite aware he has a good chance of becoming a little ****. But still, I haven't left bleeding and everybody else has. For some reason, he likes me. It's far too soon to introduce a new bird to Charlotte, so I do have lots of time should something happen that would make him not suitable for my house. At this point, I'm thinking after the new year would be the earliest that I could move him in if all goes well. I'm more than a bit nervous about a cockatoo of any sort. I have other sting willed birds, but they are only noisy in short bursts. There's a lot I'm concerned about. Going to visit him regularly will help me sort those concerns out.

 

[Scott]

Love those pics from Jen and Beatrice!!!

Looks as if he as chosen you, Beatrice! You are correctly applying a healthy dose of caution..... but he will look great in your home.

 

[jenphilly]

Oh, I'm quite aware he has a good chance of becoming a little ****. But still, I haven't left bleeding and everybody else has. For some reason, he likes me. It's far too soon to introduce a new bird to Charlotte, so I do have lots of time should something happen that would make him not suitable for my house. At this point, I'm thinking after the new year would be the earliest that I could move him in if all goes well. I'm more than a bit nervous about a cockatoo of any sort. I have other sting willed birds, but they are only noisy in short bursts. There's a lot I'm concerned about. Going to visit him regularly will help me sort those concerns out.

Definitely taking it slow and spending more time with him at the store is good. But, things will still be different once home, but that is true of any bird.

Very happy to hear you are committed to getting Charlotte settled, stable and confident in her place in your home / flock before bringing in another bird. We have a wait period for adopters between birds and very seldom do people ever understand why. Awesome Charlotte is getting that settle in time to be happy and secure

 

[BeatriceC]

Jen, I'm curious how long your waiting period is. I was leaning towards six months. I got Charlotte at the end of July and was thinking early January would be pushing it, but possibly doable depending on how Charlotte is at that time. If I should make it longer, I will.

 

[jenphilly]

Jen, I'm curious how long your waiting period is. I was leaning towards six months. I got Charlotte at the end of July and was thinking early January would be pushing it, but possibly doable depending on how Charlotte is at that time. If I should make it longer, I will.

The 'standard' answer is 6 months... but there are exceptions, but general rule is 6 months. If someone adopts from us and we know the bird and its a super social or the bird literally packed its bags and went out to wait in the car for the paperwork to be done, so no worries about settling in or such, then we've adopted a second bird in a shorter time frame. But for someone adding a bird to their home, and we are the 2nd bird, 6 months is the rule. For larger birds or any that have had a rough life or some emotional 'baggage' then we still say 6 months.

The few examples I can share is a family who came to adopt a bird for mom because mom was the bird person. Well, once they got there, turns out the 2 sons (preteen) and dad did not realize what they were missing and while mom really was thinking something larger, a little green cheek just took to everyone and was a perfect family match. So mom 'gave up' her dream of a larger bird and the family went home with a social butterfly. A couple months later while checking in with them, the topic of a 2nd bird came up and by chance we had just gotten in a bird that we all felt would be a great match to mom. So they started their multiple visits again and we mom adopted her 'own' Grey that while being social was really her bird. That was about 3-1/2 month. But the GCC went home like he had been with kids all his short little life, so there was no worry about how the GCC would adapt.

The other example that I think of was a couple that came in to adopt a conure and they each connected with birds that had been living next to each other. They settled on one, but they could not get the other out of their mind and since the birds had lived next to each other for so long in the shelter, we allowed the second adoption before the 6 months.

So those are the type of exceptions.... but we had another family who adopted a cockatoo who had a really rough time, while she had been cared for technically very well, the woman was very OCD and the bird had some emotional issues and was not a cockatoo at all. They invested nearly a year before they added a second bird to the home only because the cockatoo needed so much time and attention to gain confidence and learn to be a happy outgoing goofy cockatoo. So, they took longer then the 6 months.

Boy that was a bunch of babble!!! Long answer is usually 6 months, and the short answer is usually 6 months You are completely doing the right thing for the best of Charlotte, and I really admire you for having that strength and selflessness to put Charlotte first above that thought of 'I want'... Truly admire and appreciate that, so huge hugs from me for having that wonderful caring logic and thoughts!!!