Heh, the wide variety of bird species on my list is why I came here!
There are so many of them it is a bit overwhelming to try narrow down, and I was hoping for suggestions on that narrowing.
Letting a bird from the shelter pick me (when me and the budgies are ready) would be cool, but then I'm afraid I'm going to end up with a plucked bare cockatoo. Because they definitely have a bunch of those, I'm going to be tempted to do anything in my power to help them, and I don't otherwise know what species would be best to specifically wait for.
I actually don't want to go into the volunteer position without something in mind for that very reason.
Also I'm sorry you felt attacked as well, noodles, when I said some responses were rude. It was mostly feeling unread.. only being told I'm not ready when I thought I started off saying I know I'm not ready - just researching and not doing anything until the budgies are fully mature (ie, past puberty).
It's all good. Thank you! Glad you stuck around and sorry if it sounded like we were being down on you.
So now...I know cockatoos are tempting, but they are major allergy producers (the dust is insane from and Umbrella), and they are absolutely not the right bird for the majority of people (even long-time parrot people)..Also, a cockatoo who is not yet 6-8 years old will not have hit puberty, which changes things a lot (lots of people see major behavior changes years after adopting as a result of hormones).
If you spend many years volunteering and working closely with cockatoos and other large birds, then down the road, maybe you will decide you are comfortable with their unique body language, extreme dust, noise, possibility for aggression, neediness etc etc...I am very pro adoption and I love them dearly, but their charm is what gets them adopted and bounced around, because they will melt your heart...Just remember...They are known for that ability lol! Total hams...totally needy...totally loud...totally a full-time job and MOODY like a 3-year-old....who is also an attention vampire with a very powerful bite. God knows there are many in need of homes, but there is a reason for this...So I would advise not taking that plunge without a lot more experience with them and without having spent so much time with them that your novelty wears off. Any large bird is going to be a big transition but a cockatoo is it's own thing altogether..
Whenever I say anything negative about cockatoos, people feel the need to defend them (and therefore gush over their positive qualities)...BUT I just want to emphasize that I am not negating their good qualities.. I am saying that they are not for most people and that they are a challenge even for those who have spent a lot of time with other large parrots. I am not saying they are bad or evil, but they get re-homed more than any other bird for a reason. I just want you to remember all of this when you go in and a U2 melts your heart...Not saying you can never get one, but given your current situation, I would advise against it.There are many good things about them, but everyone knows about those already...so...this is some stuff to think about in terms of the challenges.
It is extremely hard to meet their needs in captivity-- that is why so many pluck and that is why they get re-homed constantly. They can also be very dangerous in certain scenarios (again-- not always, put the potential is there). I am not saying that no one should ever get them, but a big parrot is a huge change in a lot of ways.. A large cockatoo ( ESPECIALLY umbrellas and mollucans) is like the deepest end of the pool...or Niagra Falls.
They are also total attention *you know whats* in many cases and will turn on the charm to get attention..For this reason, it would be very had to tell if a cockatoo had "picked" you, unless you had an obvious sign, like being the only person in the rescue who could get near the bird without being attacked, or if you were the only one out of many who could pick the bird up (but being "the one" comes with its own complications for your family etc--it can be rough for those around you who are not lol).. They can be socialized, but sometimes that means training them to tolerate certain people..That doesn't always come naturally. They can are SUPER social and will often let other people pet them etc-- but it depends on a lot of factors and it isn't always consistent, even in a well-socilaized bird (I guess you could say that about any bird, but the intensity may be part of what makes the difference).
They tend to be a bit flirtatious and a bit fickle at times . I am not saying they don't pick people, but they are good at making people feel special in order to get something they want ha! They are charming clowns when they want to be. If mine sees a new person she wants to meet and they ignore her, she will start sucking up and saying things like, "I love you, come here"..BUT this doesn't mean she actually likes them that much...Sure, she may let them touch her- but they still have to be careful because it's not necessarily a reflection of anything super special.
In terms of "picking" people, mine loves me, she always wants to be with me, she trusts me, she is pretty obsessive etc etc...I am like her favorite person in most situations, UNLESS my dad is around, and then I drop to #2. The first time she met my dad (about 6 months after I adopted her) , she bit him hard on the thumb (no indication that she even liked him). He said "she bit me!" handed her back to me, cussed, shook his head and walked away.
From that moment onward, Noodles decided that he was her obsessive love interest. Years later, she is still IN LOVE with him. When we visit, I am the only person who can take her off of him (if he wants to hand her off) because she will run from or bite anyone else who tries..She also cannot stand for him to be in the same room without acknowledging her...He has to go pet her if he walks in, or she does crazy things (including sometimes flying erratically) in an effort to get to him..and if other people are holding her and he talks or enters the room, she will sometimes bite them because she wants him (and he has never broken any of the rules as far as petting her sexually or anything).
Again, I know it sounds like I am down on them all the time, but their needs are SO hard to meet in captivity- part of me wishes people would stop breeding them altogether because they are so many in rescues. I am my bird's 4th home and she is 13-- She was in her 3rd by the age of 3 or 4 (which is crazy because she hadn't even gone through puberty yet and that is when their behavior gets more difficult). They can be SUPER loud (like..beyond belief),
they have unique body language that is very hard to read when compared to other parrots, they are super hormonal (and they want to cuddle, but you shouldn't cuddle them), they have a 3 point bite that could break a child's finger...and they are ultra sensitive and emotional (and no matter how ridiculous their reason for being upset, good luck reasoning with one).
The fact that they are such social love-sponges can be great at times, except there is no cap on this desire for attention, and it can be really hard to set boundaries while still meeting their needs (and even if you are being reasonable, if they don't agree, they may pluck etc). They are one of the only species in the wild that picks a mate but then stays with the flock and socializes, so you basically have to fill the role of 100 different birds all the time...Even with the best boundaries, you are always fighting their instinct to graft themselves to you.
