Alright well I want a tag so much, but my sister is getting a umbrella cockatoo. So I am going to wait until she leaves with hers to get mine. So I will have to live with a too. I read all of mytoos, and know how dusty they will be. Is it okay to give it a mist daily? Also my sister is never home and I am mostly while I am not at school or working, so call it my bird basically. I know it will be noisy but should I ignore it's noise as muchas possiable then when they quiet down go see him, or will that make them feel lonley and possibly pluck?

I made my sister read mytoos and all of that but she is convinced on getting one. And I dont think she will take it when she moves out, so it will be with my parents but when I leave since it will most likely be bonded to me won't it pluck? I know they pluck a lot but what are some things I can do to stop that? Also how much toys should he have, and how much sleep do they need because I know greys need a certin amount but do cockatoos?

can your sister pay for this bird and all that comes with it? (vet, cage, toys, food etc)
if not, speak to your parents - from what i'm reading in your post it would be a VERY bad idea for your sister to get a too....

She alredy has 2,000 saved up. The cage she is getting is 600. The bird is 1400. And she will need about another 300 for toys, food and all that which she will get with ehr next paycheck. Remeber though it will be my bird in the end I will give it all of my time becausde I cannot handle watchig a bird sit in my house and pluck when I could give it affection.

Congrats on your new nephew! Baby too is lucky to have you in the family!

Garen, I don't know enough about the special needs of Toos to offer suggestions to you. We have several Too owning members here and I'm sure someone will be along shortly to offer advice so you can learn everything you can to give the bird a good home.

In the mean time, this site appears to have a lot of Cockatoo information:
Cockatoo Heaven - About Cockatoos - Cockatoos (Birds, Parrots) - General Information

Living With Companion Cockatoos: Broadening the Human Perspective
Living With Companion Cockatoos

Garen, I think daily showers will be fine. Just make sure it is early enough in the day so she doesn't go to bed wet. From my reading most 'Toos love all sorts of toys and are very mechanical birds who love to figure out how to take things apart. Lots of uninterrupted sleep is important for any parrot, so a Too is no different from a Grey in that respect.

It sounds like your sister is set on this, and I think it's great that you are willing to step in and make sure the bird is well cared for. Keep doing all the reading you can on Toos, they are wonderful, fascinating birds. It will be a challenge as you already know from reading the MyToos site, but can be very rewarding as well.

I'm sure there will be some Too owners along soon with more advice.

Every 'too that I have been around has been wonderful and fascinating - don't be surprised if you're won over by their antics I'm sure it will be a challenge, but I'll bet it will be a rewarding challenge if you put a lot of effort into this.

This article covers a lot of questions regarding Too bathing.

Cockatoo Bathing and Species-Specific Behavior
By Donna Hefton

Now we come to the question that has developed into a great debate...do you soak the cockatoo? There are two schools of thought on this question: 1) Do not soak the cockatoo to the point of compromising the powder or: 2) Get the cockatoo soaking wet. I have always been a proponent of the second opinion, that is, get 'em wet, real wet. Film footage of cockatoos in the wild has revealed that the 'Too will put itself in the position of getting wet in rainfall until you can see that beautiful black skin. For this to occur, a cockatoo must be literally soaked to the skin. In a healthy cockatoo, powder will be produced as the bird's feathers dry and this will become apparent by the dust on its beak as it preens after a shower.
Continued at:
Reference - Cockatoo Bathing and Behavior

Hi Garen. Why won't your sister be taking the too with her when she leaves?

I own two toos and love them both dearly. They are both very comical, cuddly and a lot of work. Most of your large cockatoos can be "high maintenance birds", but I make sure I have the time and money to provide the best care that I can for them.

They are very dusty birds, but so are your greys. I have a glass dinningroom table that I have to clean daily and I also use it to monitor how much dust is building up in my house for health reasons of everyone else who lives here.

As far as bathing, I can offer to you what I do. Each too gets a shower at least every other day. As far as how wet they get? I let them decide that. My U2 usually loves his showers and will flap away while in the shower. When he's done flapping I know his shower time is over. Sometimes he's soaked, sometimes he's just pretty wet.

As far as my other too, my moluccan.....we are still working on him learning to enjoy his showers. I haven't gotten him thoroughly soaked yet, but I do get him pretty wet. I say, get em as wet as you can.

I wear a lot of black shirts and everyday when I'm done helping them preen or just hanging out with them, it's very obvious by the dust on my shirts they have no problem producing powder. Their beaks appear grey also instead of black due to the dust.

You've come to the right forum for questions on any bird. Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with, it would be my pleasure to help you with all information I can offer.

Thank you for inquiring. That's the first sign of a responsible pet owner.

She now says shes getting a goffins, but I say if your going to get a too just go for the umbrella. Is there anything I can do to make it quiet enough for a apartment, in case I fall in love and buy if off her... I will bath it daily, how do I bath them though get a spray bottle, I hear some like to take baths with you... I can handle the noise, and money will not be a factor for her, what should I get for inside the cage and how much? Does it need a playstand?