Well I did it. Bought a baby cockatoo without researching it. And now I'm terrified. BUT...I will do right by my "Peaches". Now that I know what I have to do---I'm doing it. So...my question is....if I do EvERYTHING as perfect as I can-should I still expect bites? And when? Also how much should I have her out of cage right now? I'm doing twice a day for 30 minutes, petting her head only, and keeping my face FAR away. I'm scared and I don't want to be. And even if I do do everything right-there's still a chance she will turn on me?? I feel so bad I bought her after reading this page---but what's done is done. Can anyone help me answer some of these questions? Thank you!

Sorry but I have to laugh. I'm hoping that you meant to say that you bought her before reading this page. No 30 minutes twice per day is not enough time out of cage. Cassie is out of her cage when we are home. So at least an hour or two in the mornings and then as soon as someone gets home in the afternoon until bedtime at 8:30, weekends longer.
Yes she will bite you. Start now to "read" her body language. Each bird is an individual so reading them is key. Head bobbing in one home means a happy bird while in another means a bites is coming. It's impossible to give you exacts with these emotional and intelligent creatures. After 11 years of living with Cassie I still get bitten. It's always my fault because I get lazy and don't read her at times.
Find a local avian vet you're going to need one for not only Peach's health but for support to you.

Welcome. I'll post more later, but Cassie's post is spot on true.

Thank you! I did buy Peaches before reading this page. I can't have her out for 2 hours. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and when I bring Peaches out - all other animals are put away. And I thought since she was a baby it was best to get her used to her cage and independent play. Plus I'm going away for a few days in a couple weeks-my mother will be here to visit a couple times a day - so I don't want her to get used to being out of the cage that long.

Bad start. If you can't offer her what she needs bring her back or find her a new home. She is never going to get used to playing on her own, she's a cockatoo. Cockatoos are not like other parrots. They are called velcro birds for a reason. They need to be with their flock. They learn from their parents and the rest of the flock.
Peaches will be screaming in a few months or weeks for additional attention and guess what it's loud. She is going to be another bird passed around. This is so sad. It's the reason this page was started so many years ago.

WRONG! I'm here for advice to succeed my friend. I am asking for help here. I am an educated stay at home mom who wants to do this right. So...I will do what's right. Peaches will be well loved ---she already is. I read so many different things everywhere...one site said don't bring her out too much at this young age because she needs to get used to her cage and develop independent play--so that's what i was doing. But now since I see something different I will do something different. Thank you.

I will be bringing her out of the cage starting tomorrow for longer spells. She will not be "passed around" Trust me. Thanks for the warm welcome 🦄🐦

I'm glad to hear that you want to do what's right by her. It's going to be a tough road ahead. I heard the exact same thing about Cassie when I first got her. While it may work for other parrots like greys it doesn't for toos. Cockatoos stay with the parents for up to a year or more before leaving the nest. One of the parents is always with the baby 24/7. They learn how to eat, what to eat, accepted behavior in the flock, how to play, what to avoid and so much more. You're a mom so think in the terms of you just adopted a two year old. They have been taken from their parents before hatching, then uprooted from what they know and are now in a strange place with strangers around them. They need reassurance and need to learn to trust you. At the same time you need to show the little one that you can be trusted.
Someone is always around here on the board willing to help. Feel free to ask any questions, none are dumb. Also we have a search feature at the top of the page that is great for picking up on old post for information. This forum has been around now for over 13 or 14 years with thousands of members.
Welcome to Mytoos.

Best "in general" advice I have is buckle-up! You are embarking on the ride of a lifetime, literally! Be flexible, be patient, be kind, be willing to make sacrifices and ask questions. And know that your life will never be the same! Also keep in mind that hybrids are known to be extemely difficult.

Welcome to Mytoos!

I cannot recommend enough that you read the Natural Birdmanship article, here: http://www.charlieandpeggy.com/mikedoolan.pdf

Owning a prey animal is very different from owning a predator, and 4 months is way too young for a cockatoo to be removed from its parents and flock. It's now up to you to try to replicate, as much as possible, what she would have in the wild. Advice that works with older toos/birds does not work with babies (just as you treat a 6 month old child differently than a 16 year old or an adult.)

There is a lot of really bad information out there. The last time I saw stats, which was a few years ago, the average parrot spends less than 5 years in a home before it is rehomed. While I hope that Peaches stays with you forever, it is likely that she will have another home at some point, and since you decided to buy her as a baby, it is incumbent on you to provide the gentle nurturing and guidance needed for her to live as successfully in captivity as possible.

I, too, bought a bird before I knew about the plight of captive parrots. Luckily I had done enough research to know that a too and I would not be a good match, but I've raised my grey knowing that I needed to provide an environment for her that would allow her to live a successful captive life if something were to happen to me.

Please do a lot of reading, and take what you read from breeder or breeder-friendly sites with a grain of salt (their goal is to sell more parrots -- over here, our goal is to help the owners of captive parrots provide them the best life possible!) Our advice can come off as a bit harsh at times, but it's only because we keep the bird's interest paramount. Good luck!

Well I am happy to report that Peaches is a happy content girl. After discovering Mytoos...all I wanted to do was return the bird. Your site should be specifically for uneducated and lazy people who know nothing. All one really needs to do is be patient and kind and know what is right and wrong. Thos happens to be me everydau with or withkut an animal. This site had me terrified the 1st week...and I don't appreciate it. All I read was bad bad bad...the home page made me call everyone I know and complain and express my alarm. I will return occasionally but I think I'll stick to positive forums and pages. Thank you

What a shame. You're not the first person who leaves to go where people will pat you on the back. Here we will tell you what you're doing good and what you're doing wrong and ways to help change the things that can be. I was the first member here to say something negative to you. You know what it needed to be said and hopefully you will remember it in the months to come.
Do yourself a huge favor and ask everyone on those forums how long they have had their cockatoos. Then come back here and ask folks here. You really don't even have to ask us just check out our registration dates. I'm a fairly new comer here with only 11 and a half years a member. Some folks newer than I have had birds much longer but a computer or time for less.
Peaches is a baby. What you are seeing in this happy content girl is exactly what we all saw in ours for the first couple of years. Then sexual maturity hit and the hormones raged. At that point we all scoured the threads, asked a thousand questions and cried a thousand tears. Most of us have scars from during the days we were learning all over again on how to read the body language of our now adult bird.
Good luck to Peaches and you, things are going to be difficult. Plan now on how you will be attempting to deal with a screaming adult female with a crushing wire cutter attached to her face and daggers on each foot. Remember also that this little cuddle bug is going to choose her preferred person in the house. It will be her choice no matter how you try to change it.

Poor Peaches. We don't really need a "like" button here to show our approval of BE2Cassie's post (and the others). We ALL know she is SO right.

Like we always say, Take what you need and leave the rest!!"

Sorry you feel that way. I didn't find this site full of negativity at all, in fact I found lots of encouragement & good advice, not to mention valuable information in the archives. Don't take personally the passion these people, myself included feel about the bird breeding industry & those who support it, it's what makes this site the best there is, in fact my Avian Vet here in Melbourne, Australia even recommends it.
If you love your bird & are in this for the long haul & it sounds like you do, stick around & read up, you will need the information found in the archives as you progress on your journey. Feel free to ask lots of questions, the people here want what's best for your bird & that starts with the right information.
Welcome to you & Peaches, I look forward to hearing updates on your journey, the good, the bad & the ugly :-)

I just LOVE this site!

So no matter how good I am to this bird.. she'll end up being a nightmare??? Really? And the screaming I can handle. I've got more emotional scars than any bird could give me. I'm sorry..and please stop saying poor peaches. This bird is a like our whole family's whole world. I'm socializing her and right this minute we are on a road trip to Key WEST in her $500 birdie backpack. Have a little faith. And! The sales of these birds should be outlawed then if after putting in years of hard work...the bird attacks you.

Please come back and tell us how Peaches is doing in 7 or 8 years. I honestly hope that she is the same. I also know that you are in for a bumpy ride just as all of us have gone through. Get over your anger and think about who we are and why we are here. We have continued to offer the best that we can to our birds through the bumpy roads, bites, eggs, hormones, diets, feather damage, self injurious behaviors, sick vet bills, daily screaming fest and just about everything else they toss our way. That's why we are here. This site has offered all of us the support and ways to change what we are able. I know that I can come on here at any time and ask for help with a problem that Cassie and I are having. Once asked I will get help from not just one or two people but from all that check in. Good luck I hope and pray that everything works for Peaches.

You're right that the sale/breeding of these birds should be outlawed -- they belong in the wild, not in our living rooms. Unfortunately, human greed and hubris knows no bounds, so the sale/breeding continues, only for humans to discard the bird when it's no longer novel, convenient, matches the decor, etc. (average bird spends less than 5 years in its home before being rehomed), the human to forget about the bird, and the bird to suffer. But since it's only a bird that's suffering, that's ok, right?

Having faith is not the best way to attempt to live with one of these wild creatures in your home -- it's learning from others' mistakes, realizing you don't know everything, forming a relationship through trial and error with your bird, and realizing that you almost certainly will get attacked at some point, no matter how much love you have shown the bird, or how much money you have spent buying it things.

Birds pick up on our emotions -- more than most people realize. Your posts come off as very angry and defensive. I hope that's not how you act around your bird, because she will pick up on that negativity and internalize it, which leads to even more screaming, self-destruction, and attacks. Unfortunately, you've already got two strikes against you in that she's a hybrid and she was removed way, way too early from her parents. When you're fighting an uphill battle, you need all the help you can get. This site can provide it, but you need to be open to learning. I wish you and especially Peaches all the luck in the world.

What does the cost of her travel carrier have to do with it?