Missy has been tested by her prior owner for everything under the sun to explain the feather picking and nothing was found.  All that they could figure out was she was mourning the loss of her companion and owner.  A private affair that I think should be left that way.  Needless to say I came home with Missy and like some birds do she bonded with the males in my home better than me.  Only because I was put in the hospital almost a day or two after she came in.  But then she began to realize who was going to be there for her.

 

Now owning two cockatoos can be very noisy when company comes to visit because they both are protective of me and the house in general and are both trying to be center of attention.  So the volume goes up until I distract Missy with a trick and she gets her applause then she shuttles off to the top of her cage to watch over the house.

 

I don't advice a cockatoo for those of the faint of  heart.  They can deliver a powerful bite and will if they feel frightened even if you are not the frightening thing. 

 

Since Missy is out most of the day now.  Allowed to roam the chairs and sit on her favourite chair and look out the window the feather picking has reduced.  She is covered in a nice fuzzy down and I see no signs of her overpreening.  She is a much better speaker than Cappy.  But then again Cappy was raised originally by French speaking family.  So I am sure that when he goes into his little tirades that if I knew french I would be sure of what exactly I am in trouble for.

 

An Umbrella Cockatoo is not really a kid's bird.  I have noticed when little people come in she is much more agressive but she has right to be too.  She can't fly away from her danger and will not back up from any that confronts her.  In this house, space is a well respected thing.  Missy has her range and Cappy is allowed in only if she is not interested in it.  She is jealous of the other birds and will chase them off her human.  But over time she adjusted to that as long as they stayed where their space was and I was still paying most of my attention to her that she could readily share.  She is a night bird more than a morning bird.  She comes to cuddle at night and play in the daytime.  She dances for everyone so that when she is done she asks if she is a "pretty baby".   Now my answer is always very pretty baby, but my Father has a habit of saying afterwards if he is visiting that I am lying to her.  So now we have to answer to are you lying to me.  Its amazing how in tune and sensitive they are to your feelings.  My first thoughts were she would have to be collared to stop the feather picking but right now her chest is covered in down so I am hoping that just the extra attention is going to do the trick.  When I first got her she had no feathers on her front at all.

 

Research hard when you decide to let a cockatoo into your heart.  They are not a bird that is easily amused.  And they need stimulation like all birds to be healthy and happy.  But the bigger birds require a greater amount than the smaller ones.

 

She will chew anything that she can.  This includes, so my son has found out,  remotes for tvs etc, anything wood and shredding a blanket to get to see what is on the other side is nothing.

 

Like all my other pets, Missy has captured my heart and gets her required attention.  I will never regret getting her even though we aren't as beautiful as we could be maybe soon we will be.  Just takes some time and work to give her something to do is the best thing going.  And that happens to be all my son's friends have all those neat strings and zippers hanging off of them that must be investigated.  So she is busy each day checking for the attached toys they have.