Animal-World > Pet Birds > Cockatoos > Umbrella Cockatoo

Umbrella Cockatoo

White Cockatoo Family: Cacatuidae

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Two Young Umbrella Cockatoos Cacatua alba Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The two Umbrella Cockatoos pictured here are still babies under 3 months old, and still needing to be handfed twice per day!

   To learn more about Cockatoos and their needs visit:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Cockatoo

Comments from people who have kept this pet:

We have an umbrella cockatoo called rocky. He is five years old and when we got him he was bald on his belly because his last owner didn't spend time with him. We have had him since august and slowly his feathers are growing back. He has a fantastic character and says lots of words like; love you, kiss kiss, hello, you a good boy, and hello sexy. He says rocky dance and starts dancing. He loves opera music and starts singing that. He laughs at you and he barks as well. We also have a budgie and a crimson winged parrekeet. The best thing about cockatoos is that they are so affectionate and love attention.

We have a cockatoo, her name is Obie. Obie has a very strong vocabulary, she sings happy birthday, to obie go nighty nite. She has a habit of screaming and wont stop. We love her but need to know how to stop her screaming. I make her toys and she destroys them, how else can we keep her happy. Thanks

We love our pet cockatoo but the screeching is a little nerve-wrecking. I really love to carry her on my shoulder. She is actually a very good bird. She is trained not to poop on the carpet and she can say a couple of words. We love our little birdie so much!

My husband and I are the proud owner of an umbrella cockatoo that was given to us when she was just three weeks old. No feathers and she was so ugly but now she is absolutely gorgeous. Her name is Peanut. I am like the others I wouldn't trade her for all the money someone would want to give me for her, but then that is somethng I do not have to fret about as she is not perfect. Her little legs and claws are twisted so she doesn't perch but this small deformity doesn't stop her from roaming her cage. I hand fed her until she was about 14 months old and thought that I was going to have to do this until I was 90. Finally she started eating her food that I put in the cage, thank GOD. We are retired so she is rarely alone, but has Amazons for company. By the way she has been talking since she was about 5 months old, not always real plain but plain enough to understand, and she loves to make noises but has little interest in toys. She enjoys being out of her cage and loves attention. She is really a wonderful pet. The three Amazons are also very enlightening. They all talk.

I adopted an Umbrella Cockatoo 6 weeks ago. She is the most lovable bird I've ever had. She wont talk yet, but can now step up and is outside of her cage for most of the day. She was found on a backyard shepherds hook (mine) and unbelieveably, my daugher works for an avian specialist. We tried to find her owner but nothing. Great for me because its too late now Calypso is MINE! She is not afraid of my Black Lab, or our cats, or the rabbits, chinchillas, cockatiels and my daughters Eclectus Parrot.......no wonder she found her way here!! We just love her. I will always keep her wings clipped as shes never getting away from me!

These birds often have serious behavior problems including self-mutilation and aggression relating to pair-bonding with their owners. They can have a 180% personality shift when they reach maturity at 8 or 9 years of age. They live upwards of 80 years. They are extremely destructive of furniture, walls, windows, etc and their normal vocalizations are damaging to the human ear. I love my bird, but it is like having a pet monkey. These are extremely socially complex animals and are potentially dangerous. They can cause serious injury to their owners and to themselves. I highly recommend www.mytoos.com as an information resource for cockatoo owners.

PLEASE READ ADS WITH CAUTION - AS THIS PERSON NOTES, THEY ARE NOT NECESSARILY RELATED TO YOUR PET: "In your "Care and feeding" paragraph you have a word 'Nutrition' that is highlighted to click on. When you just run your cursor over it, a balloon pops up that gives you a lot of food choices. This leads people to think that these are the foods that they can give their cockatoo. This is NOT THE FOOD THAT YOU GIVE TO YOUR COCKATOO!!! Because one of the electives in the balloon says CHOCOLATE, which is TOXIC to cockatoos and other birds as well. The reason I am mentioning this, is that a friend of mine just got a 'too', and got into your site at my house and saw the nutrition thing. She says to me "Wow! How fun! You can give them Chocolate treats!!!" Then when I told her No this is not true, that it is toxic, she said "No it isn't! It says right here that these are the foods that you can give them" I would advise you to change this, as it is very misleading, and may harm some Sweet "Toos" out there. And I know you wouldn't like this, as your site is very special and informative, and I know you care about animals. Thank you for your time."

We have an Umbrella Cockatoo that was given to us a few months ago. She is 7 years old and has brought so much happiness to our lives. When we are not home, her cage has a box in it with toys, balls and wooden clothespins. She loves to go in the box and throw all her toys out. She also chews on the wooden clothespins which I replace everyday. The box, toys and wooden clothespins were suggested to me by her previous owner. She also goes in her plastic swimming pool outside and tosses her toys all around in the water! Scrambled eggs and apples are some of her favorite foods among a few. She is a very loveable and cuddly bird and I'm so happy that we "adopted" her!

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